Orthodox Health
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Fr. Michael Marcantoni on how passions make us passive
What the video says
The speaker describes how passions make a person passive, using the Greek term pathos to explain that one becomes acted upon rather than acting. He shares his personal experience with alcohol addiction, noting it developed incrementally, there was a period of moderate drinking before a line was crossed. After that point, interaction with the substance meant he was no longer in control.
Key moments
- Everyone has experienced losing their cool and apologizing by saying they don't know what overcame them.
- Passions make you passive; pathos means you are passive before it and do its bidding.
- The speaker's addiction to alcohol was incremental.
- There was a time when he could drink moderately and did so for a period.
- A line was crossed at some point.
- After that line, when he interacted with alcohol, he was no longer in control.
The social media post promotes Episode 83 of the Orthodox Health Podcast, titled "Why You Can't Find Real Peace," featuring Fr. Michael Marcantoni. The post opens with the phrase "I don't know what came over me," which the priest says reveals more than we realize. Fr. Marcantoni points out that the passions make us passive before them.
A person is no longer simply acting but doing the bidding of the passion. This can manifest as anger, alcohol, or any habit or desire that reaches the point where the person is no longer in control. The priest frames the question as larger than addiction: are you still free enough to say no?
The video summary elaborates that the speaker describes how passions make a person passive, using the Greek term pathos to explain that one becomes acted upon rather than acting. He shares his personal experience with alcohol addiction, noting it developed incrementally. There was a period of moderate drinking before a line was crossed.
After that point, interaction with the substance meant he was no longer in control. The video points add that everyone has experienced losing their cool and apologizing by saying they don't know what overcame them. Passions make you passive; pathos means you are passive before it and do its bidding.
The speaker's addiction to alcohol was incremental. There was a time when he could drink moderately and did so for a period. A line was crossed at some point. After that line, when he interacted with alcohol, he was no longer in control.