“I am a compulsive drinker.” “She is a compulsive eater.” “I don’t know what made me do it; I just heard a voice.” These are the excuses one hears daily, implying that the will is no longer free, but as if under the direction of another.

Is there such a thing as compulsion? Definitely. How does it come about? Generally through three stages: consent, act and habit. Every person has buried in his subconsciousness certain powers, capacities or impulses given for his perfection. One refers to our body, the other to our mind, and the last to things outside the body and mind. The first is sex or the creative impulse; the other is a desire for power, e.g., through a search for truth or the pursuit of a talent or the right use of power. But outside of the body and the mind, there are things. The person is finally driven to possess property. Just as the will is free because a man can call his soul his own, so property is external and an economic guarantee of human freedom.

Each of these impulses is capable of being perverted. Fire on the hearth is good, but fire in the clothes closet is not. The sex instinct can be distorted into license and perversion. In that case, the other person is really not loved, but is used. One drinks the water; one forgets the glass. Hidden in our nature is a lot of flammable material which is not ignited except by some suggestion from without, with the consent of the will. External influences only tempt; they do not compel. There is no inseparable connection between the two. When Joseph was tempted by Potiphar’s wife he said, “How could I commit so great a wrong and thus stand condemned before God?”

The mind’s desire for knowledge and truth can be perverted by each person saying to himself, “There will be no measure of truth or knowledge outside of me. Whatever I decide to be true is true. I make the truth. I make the law. I am my own creator. I am my own savior.” The drive for the possession of things can be turned into avarice, greed, selfishness and the refusal to help the poor.

(Excerpt from: Guide to Contentment)

REFLECTION ON THE ARCHBISHOP'S WORDS

Archbishop Sheen talks of an important topic in his present meditation. We often hear about experiences of people who act in compulsive ways, whether they are aware of it or not. Obsessive-compulsive behavior is very common today. Obsession affects our thinking: an unceasing stream of thoughts seem to keep forcing themselves into our minds. The effect of obsession is: “I can’t get this thought out of my mind!!!” Compulsion affects our acting. It consists of an urge to do something, whether moral or not, that seems irresistible. And as the Archbishop points out, we have many different excuses today to justify compulsive behavior. Probably the oldest of them is, “The devil made me do it!” (That was the excuse of Eve in the Garden of Paradise!) Another excuse is: “I had no choice; I had to do it because I simply could not resist my driven needs and urges.” It is true that compulsion often lessens the free exercise of our wills, but it generally does not take it away completely.

The Archbishop explains that compulsion comes about in stages: (1) it begins with consent of the mind, (2) then it becomes acted out, and (3) finally, by repeated acts, it becomes a consistent part of one’s behavior. We will focus here on the first of these three aspects, leaving the other two for our next reflection.

With great insight into human nature, the Archbishop reminds us that deep within each of us, there are “certain powers, capacities or impulses.” He also tells us that they are given for our perfection. The first of these resides within our bodies and it is the creative impulse of sex. How does this sexual impulse perfect our humanity? Through this powerful impulse, a man and woman in marriage are drawn into a relationship which is meant to be both “unitive” and “procreative.” It is “unitive” because it joins their two lives into one in Christ. Since love, with its caring and concern for others, is the fulfillment of our human nature, the sexual impulse is meant to help a married couple attain this very fundamental human need. This is why marriage, the only true entrance into this “unitive” love, is a sacrament. The sexual impulse is also meant to be “procreative” because it leads the couple to give the gift of life to others. The human heart is fulfilled by these two effects of the sexual impulse in marriage.

A second impulse we all possess within us is the desire for power, which the Archbishop writes can be “a search for truth or the pursuit of a talent or the right use of power.” Like the sexual impulse, this impulse for power is meant to aid our growth and development. Since all truth ultimately comes from God, attaining truth helps us understand God's creation and our place in His plan. If God gives us a talent, we do not want to bury it, but develop it for the greater glory of God and the welfare of our neighbor. It is developing the potential God has given us. As St. Irenaeus said in the first Christian century, “The glory of God is man fully alive!” Finally, the right use of power – control, influence, position – can be used for good to build the “civilization of love” that Pope John Paul II has said we must strive to bring about in the world. However, it is obvious that these same goods – truth, talent, power – can be distorted. As the Archbishop points out in his meditation, many people distort truth: “Whatever I decide to be true is true. I make the truth …” No, God alone is Truth, and what God tells us and asks of us is truth. In a similar way, talents and power can be used selfishly. When these things happen, they will not add to our perfection, but to our imperfection.

The third impulse the Archbishop mentions is for things outside us. We need certain material possessions in order to live our lives with human dignity and freedom. People who suffer from abject poverty or a constant lack of the basic essentials of life live a minimal subsistence which radically diminishes their ability to live “fully alive.” Adequate possessions give us the ability to develop our talents and carry on meaningful lives above the level of wondering where we will find food and drink for our next meal. Proper possessions set us free to develop the deeper potentials of our life. However, possessions when sought for their own sake, can become an enslavement of their own. Our hearts can easily become preoccupied with avarice, greed, and the lust for possessions which distort our true human dignity. As such selfishness grows and there is a decrease of caring and sharing with others in their needs.