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Dear Assumption Catholic Schools,

As we move through the month of May, we honor Mary our Mother in heaven.  As the Mother of the King, she holds a special place of honor.  In the Jewish tradition the Queen Mother sat at the right of the KIng and so Mary is the Queen of Heaven as befits her status as the choosen mother of God’s Son.

Our strength this week is temperance.

The virtue of Temperance, or Moderation, is the strength
that moderates the attraction of pleasures and provides
balance in the use of created goods.

PRAYER FOR TEMPERANCE
Lord Jesus, when You were tempted in the desert
by the devil You gave us a great example of
TEMPERANCE.
You had the strength to control the desire for
pleasure. We need Your help to do the same.
Grant us the desire to embrace the virtue of
TEMPERANCE and when we experience temptation
or weakness may we always reach out to you for
help.

From The Catechism
of the Catholic Church #1809
Temperance … ensures the will’s mastery over
instincts and keeps desires within the limits of
what is honorable.

“To live well is nothing other than to love God with
all one’s heart, with all one’s soul and with all
one’s efforts; from this it comes about that love is
kept whole and uncorrupted (through temperance).”
-St. Augustine

Bishop, Father and Doctor of the Church

How do we grow this virtue of
TEMPERANCE?
From The Catechism
of the Catholic Church #1811
It is not easy for man, wounded by sin, to
maintain moral balance.
Christ’s gift of salvation offers us the grace
necessary to persevere in the pursuit of the
virtues.
Everyone should always ask for this grace of light
and strength, frequent the sacraments,
cooperate with the Holy Spirit, and follow his
calls to love what is good and shun evil.

We are created for more than pleasure.
We are created to give the best of ourselves in all of our
relationships.
A lack of temperance prevents us from loving God, our
family, our friends, classmates, teammates as well as we
could.
When we lack self-control, we become slaves to our desires
for pleasure, always selfishly focusing on pleasing
ourselves.
Soon we will have difficulty sacrificing for others.
We will often put our own desires and preferences before
others.
We will be selfish and so focused on getting what we want
that we do not even notice the needs of others around us.

Don’t allow yourself into situations where you
know you will be tempted.
For example:
What you are watching or looking at on a device.
Where you are going with your friends.
What you are talking about in person or online.
When you are eating … stop at seconds …

RESOLUTION

Carry a rosary in you r pocket or purse
and ask Mary for help when you feel
tempted.

FAMILY RESOLUTION
Put flowers in front of an image of the
Blessed Mother in your home or
statue in front of home to honor her
in a special way this month of May.

Matthew 4: 1-11
THEN Jesus was led by the spirit into the desert, to be tempted by the
devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterwards
He was hungry. And the tempter coming said to Him: If thou be the Son
of God, command that these stones be made bread. Who answered
and said: It is written, Not in bread alone doth man live, but in every
word that proceedeth from the mouth of God.
Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, and set Him upon the
pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him: If thou be the Son of God, cast
thyself down, for it is written: That he hath given his angels charge over
thee, and in their hands shall they bear thee up, lest perhaps thou
dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said to him: It is written again:
Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
Again the devil took Him up into a very high mountain, and showed Him
all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them,
And said to Him: All these will I give thee, if falling down thou wilt adore
me. Then Jesus saith to him: Begone, satan: for it is written, The Lord
thy God shalt thou adore, and Him only shalt thou serve.
Then the devil left Him; and behold angels came
and ministered to Him.

“Virtues are formed by prayer.
Prayer preserves temperance.
Prayer suppresses anger.
Prayer prevents emotions of pride and envy.
Prayer draws into the soul the Holy Spirit, and
raises man to Heaven.”
– St. Ephram of Syria
Deacon and Doctor of the Church

“Prayer reveals to souls the vanity of earthly goods
and pleasures. It fills them with light, strength and
consolation, and gives them a foretaste of the calm
bliss of our heavenly home.”
– St. Rose of Viterbo

“Temperance is simply a disposition of the mind
which binds the passions.”
– St. Thomas Aquinas
Doctor of the Church

The opposing vice

INTEMPERANCE
THE WEAKNESS TO NOT MODERATE NOR RESTRAIN THE ATTRACTION OF PLEASURES AND
IS NOT BALANCED IN THE USE OF CREATED GOODS.

WHAT’S SO BAD
ABOUT INTEMPERANCE?
When someone isn’t able to temper or moderate
their actions, they are at risk of intemperance.
When you feel angry – you yell at everyone.
When you feel like shopping – you spend way too
much money on stuff you don’t need.
When you feel like eating – you eat too much.
When you are tempted – you give in and indulge.

PRAYER FOR TEMPERANCE
Lord God, TEMPERANCE is a tough virtue to
practice.
It is just so easy to eat too much, snack too much,
seek pleasure too much, etc.
Give us the wisdom and strength to conquer these
temptations so we can be in control of ourselves
instead of being controlled by food, drink or other
things.
Help us to practice TEMPERANCE by avoiding any
situations where we know we will be tempted. In
Your Name we pray. Amen.

In Christ’s Peace through Mary our Mother in Heaven

Daniel Minter

President

Assumption Catholic Schools