Lent 2026 - Reading #24 - Temperance
Reading
The apostle Paul writes to the Galatians about the fruits of the Spirit and the works of the flesh, framing temperance within the larger drama of spiritual transformation: "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do" (Galatians 5:16-17). Paul continues: "Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law" (Galatians 5:19-23). Note that Paul places self-control, temperance, as the final fruit of the Spirit. It is not the first step but the culmination of a life lived in the Spirit, the crowning evidence that the soul has been genuinely transformed from within.
Reflection
Twenty-six days of Lent have passed, and Paul places temperance in its proper context: not as a grim exercise of willpower but as a fruit of the Spirit's work within us. Our journey through the virtues has been gradually revealing that the Christian moral life is not something we construct on our own but something we receive and cooperate with. Prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance, the cardinal virtues, are real human achievements, but they reach their fullness only when animated by divine grace. Paul's list of the works of the flesh is not merely a catalogue of sins; it is a portrait of the intemperate soul, fragmented, conflicted, enslaved by impulse. And his list of the Spirit's fruits is not merely a catalogue of nice qualities; it is a portrait of the temperate soul, integrated, peaceful, free. The movement from flesh to Spirit is the movement from slavery to freedom, and it is precisely the movement that Lent is designed to facilitate. Here is the good news buried in this challenging passage: self-control is a fruit, not a root. You do not produce it by gritting your teeth harder. You receive it by walking in the Spirit, by prayer, by sacrament, by the daily choice to turn toward God rather than away. If your Lenten disciplines have been feeling like pure willpower, today is an invitation to let go and let the Spirit do the heavy lifting. Ask for the fruit of temperance. Open yourself to receive what you cannot manufacture. The virtues we are cultivating are real, but their deepest source is grace.