When anyone arouses my anger, I will immediately pray for them

Host: The evening sunlight spills through the large window, casting long, warm shadows across the room. The air is still, and a faint scent of incense lingers in the space. Jack sits at the edge of the couch, his hands clasped tightly, his eyes fixed on the floor as if searching for an answer in the cracks of the wooden floorboards. Jeeny, across the room, quietly adjusts the cushions on the armchair, her movements deliberate, though her gaze never leaves him.

Jeeny: (softly) “You’ve been quiet, Jack. Something happened today?”

Jack: (sighing, running a hand through his hair) “Yeah, you could say that. I don’t know. People… they just get under my skin sometimes, you know? Someone said something this afternoon, and I could feel that familiar anger rising up inside me. It was like I lost my center for a second. I’m just tired of letting people push my buttons.”

Jeeny: (sitting down beside him, her voice gentle) “Anger can feel so heavy, doesn’t it? Like a weight pressing on your chest. It’s hard to shake off once it gets inside you.”

Jack: (nodding) “It’s like it takes over. And no matter how much I try to reason with it, it just feels like it’s there, getting louder. I don’t want to give in to it, but I don’t know how to stop it.”

Host: There’s a long silence between them, the only sound being the soft tick of the clock on the wall. Outside, the sky is turning a deep shade of purple, the stars beginning to appear like quiet observers.

Jeeny: “What if there was a way to handle it… without letting it control you?”

Jack: (raising an eyebrow) “What do you mean?”

Jeeny: (softly, almost like she’s offering him a secret) “What if instead of fighting the anger, you just… let it go? Redirect it. When you feel it rising, what if you could do something completely different?”

Jack: (confused) “Let it go? What, like just ignore it and pretend it’s not there?”

Jeeny: “Not ignore it, but shift your energy. Mother Angelica once said, ‘When anyone arouses my anger, I will immediately pray for them and regain my peace of soul.’ Maybe the trick is to turn your focus from the person who made you angry, to something else — something that calms your spirit. Prayer, kindness, compassion... It’s a kind of refocusing.”

Host: Jack turns to look at her, his eyes narrowing, considering her words. The air in the room seems to shift, as if the idea itself is beginning to take root.

Jack: “Pray for them? Really? You think that’s going to do anything? That sounds… too simple. Too easy.”

Jeeny: “It’s not about simplicity, Jack. It’s about power. When you pray for someone who’s angered you, you take back your peace. The power shifts from them to you. You don’t let them control you by stealing your peace of mind.”

Jack: (shaking his head) “But it feels like I’m letting them off the hook. If I just pray for them, I’m letting them get away with it.”

Jeeny: (gently, almost as if she understands his struggle) “It’s not about letting them off the hook. It’s about freeing yourself. They’ve already affected you — why let them keep holding onto your peace? By praying for them, you’re not excusing their behavior. You’re simply choosing not to be bound by it.”

Host: Jack runs his fingers over his temple, as if trying to process the weight of her words. The room is still, the light outside now fading into darkness, but the conversation hangs between them, delicate yet powerful.

Jack: (softly) “It’s hard. You don’t just forget when someone crosses a line, you know?”

Jeeny: “No, you don’t forget. But you can choose how you respond. Anger is a reaction. But peace? That’s a choice. It’s about finding strength in the moment, and not letting the world outside control how you feel inside.”

Jack: (sighing, but with a hint of realization) “It sounds so simple when you say it. But when I’m in the middle of it… I feel like I can’t get out of it.”

Jeeny: (with a small smile) “I know. But that’s the point. The more you practice it, the more natural it becomes. It doesn’t mean the anger won’t come — it just means you don’t have to stay there.”

Host: Jack falls silent, turning his gaze down toward his hands. His fingers curl, then slowly relax as the words linger in his mind. The weight of his thoughts is not as heavy now. He seems to feel something shift within himself.

Jack: (quietly) “I guess I never thought about it that way. I always thought if I just confronted the anger, it would go away. But maybe… maybe choosing peace is the real answer.”

Jeeny: (softly) “Choosing peace is always the answer, Jack. Even when it feels like you don’t have control over anything else, you still have control over how you respond.”

Host: The silence that follows is not heavy, but peaceful — a calm that settles over the room, like the gentle embrace of a quiet moment after a storm. Jack looks at Jeeny, a flicker of something new in his eyes. For the first time in a long while, he feels the possibility of peace within his reach.

Jack: (nodding slowly) “I’ll try it. I’ll try to pray for them, next time. I guess it’s better than holding onto all that anger.”

Jeeny: (smiling softly) “It’s not always easy. But it’s worth it.”

Host: The light from the window fades completely, leaving the room bathed in the soft glow of the lamplight. The world outside is quiet, but inside, there’s a new sense of calm. The peace they both long for feels a little closer, as though, in this very moment, they’ve found something transformative.

The stillness between them is comforting, filled with a quiet understanding, a shared acknowledgment that sometimes the path to peace lies not in confrontation, but in choosing to release the anger, and pray instead.