Meekness

It’s time to shed some light on a virtue that is often misunderstood but very necessary today: meekness.

If someone called us meek, what would we think?

For whatever reason, meekness often conjures up thoughts synonymous with weakness or powerlessness. We sometimes think of a crippled old man as meek, almost harmless. 

Well, if that’s not meekness, what is it?

According to St. Thomas Aquinas, “Meekness moderates anger according to right reason.”

Putting this into perspective for us, meekness is controlling our anger and ordering it to reason. Anger isn’t always bad, but rash and severe actions spawned from anger can be. Very similar to the concept of patience — there are situations that are out of our control. Sitting in traffic, holding a screaming baby, dealing with a frustrating coworker. Meekness allows us to control ourselves and our anger in these situations. 

Aquinas continues, “Meekness above all makes a man self-possessed.” 

Meekness doesn’t imply weakness, but power over the self. Once again, it’s a virtue that requires practice.