Is anger the same as wrath? Is there a difference? In short, one is the cause, the other is its expression. The distinction between wrath and anger is important because too often they are conflated to mean the same thing, when in fact, one is a passion with the other a vice. To be clear, passion is not a sin in itself. Vices, however, are all sins, and wrath is one of them; one of the seven “deadly” sins. In contrast, anger is the passion that can lead down one of two possible roads, one is vice, the other is virtue. Anger is one of the passions. Passions unbridled go in any direction. They can lead to destruction as readily as victory. Like the other passions — love and hatred, desire and aversion, hope and despair, fear and daring, anger and joy — passions are movements in the soul, forward or back, towards or away from certain circumstances and situations. The intellect and the will serve to rein in one’s passions and provide direction for them. Without direction, they remain unruly, driving in whichever direction that seems most expedient. In the same way that the horse takes direction from its rider, the passions take their cue from the intellect and the will. The will and the intellect are the bridle and bit that move the passions towards their proper aim; for the virtuous, that aim is the Good. The question then, is where are those passions directed? The difference between anger and wrath is the final orientation of that passion. It would be better and more clear to say that anger is the passion that leads either to virtue or vice; the virtue would be charity, the vice, wrath. This clarification makes apparent the truth that anger in itself is no sin, but rather what one does with that passion. For instance if someone is angry at being wrongly treated, that anger is quite reasonable. Any injustice requires some reparation. Wrath, in contrast, seeks revenge. Wrath is an anger let loose; anger is unreasonable and their solution is the elimination of that which makes them angry. Children who have yet to learn how to master their passions, cannot express why they are angry; instead they throw tantrums, damage property (like breaking toys) and scream and yell.

Evil is ever-present in this broken world. We need to pray. Please offer your prayers for an end to violence, to hatred, to these evils. Eternal Rest grant unto him O Lord