In Jesus, our temperaments become facets of the Beatitudes…..

By Fr. Jerry Pokorsky ( bio – articles – email ) | Sep 09, 2024

Understanding emotional temperaments helps us understand our natural strengths and weaknesses and those of others. Self-knowledge of good and bad emotional and behavioral inclinations helps us grow in humility. However, the temperaments cannot adequately describe the emotional and spiritual make-up of Jesus. His sinless self-portrait directs every temperament.

Personalities and temperaments frequently distract us from relationships based on authentic human integrity. Occasionally we like someone because the person reminds us of a favorite relative. Other times, we dislike a person—often despite his goodness and competence—because his temperament reminds us of someone we dislike. The friends and enemies of Jesus loved or hated Him for who He was—what He said and did. He had no distracting emotional flaws or sinful inclinations.

After His journey to the outlying areas of the Jewish diaspora, Jesus’ words and mighty deeds attracted admiration: “They were astonished beyond measure, saying, ‘He has done all things well; he even makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak.’” (Mk. 7:37) His words and deeds define Him. We love Jesus because He speaks the truths that resonate with us. We hate Jesus because we reject His words or His deeds (e.g., forgiving sinners).

An individual’s temperament is God-given. But every temperament has disproportionate inclinations rooted in sin in need of God’s purification. The classical four temperaments ( re-popularized by Art and Laraine Bennett) include choleric, melancholic, sanguine, and phlegmatic—and countless hybrid combinations. The temperaments aid us in mutual understanding and help us tolerate the dispositions of our family, friends, and coworkers.

• Choleric: Cholerics are assertive, ambitious, goal-oriented, and thrive on taking charge and making decisions. They can be confident, decisive, and effective leaders. But they may also appear as aggressive, arrogant, domineering, and controlling. Cholerics are often easily angered and impatient.
• Melancholic: The melancholic temperament is sensitive, thoughtful, introspective, and analytical.Melancholics tend towards perfectionism and a desire for order and structure. They are often creative, artistic, and poetic but may also be prone to depression and anxiety. Melancholics easily struggle with feelings of loneliness or isolation.
• Sanguine: The sanguine temperament is enthusiastic, energic, sociable, outgoing, friendly, and charismatic. Sanguines have a natural ability to make friends. They are fun-loving, spontaneous, and adventurous. They are usually optimistic and have a natural ability to bounce back from setbacks or failures. However, they may struggle with impulsivity and lack of follow-through.
• Phlegmatic: The phlegmatic temperament is calm and easy-going, with a preference for stability and predictability. Phlegmatics are inclined to be patient, reliable, and consistent. They have natural ability to listen and empathize with others. They are usually peaceful, diplomatic, and supportive but may struggle with indecisiveness, laziness, and passivity. Phlegmatics are often introverted and may need time alone.

As we strive to identify our temperaments in need of God’s grace, we look to the Scriptures for hints of the temperaments of certain biblical characters. Peter is impetuous with a choleric temperament, but his awareness of his sinfulness suggests melancholic introspection and reticence. Jesus identifies Nathanial as a “true Israelite”—a man without guile. Was Nathanial—in his transparent honesty—sanguine, or was he phlegmatic?

Pontius Pilate seems predominantly melancholic with his introspective and depressing plea, “What is truth?” Herod’s lustful sociability embodies the worst of the sanguine temperament. St. Paul is a prime example of a volatile, hard-driving, and predominantly choleric temperament. Recall how he persecuted Christians before he became the zealous Apostle to the Gentiles. How do the temperaments of biblical characters help us understand our own temperaments?

The personality of Jesus is elusive. It is impossible to identify His predominant temperament. He courageously confronts the Pharisees. He is tender with sinners, such as the woman caught in adultery. He humorously tweaks James and John as “the sons of thunder” for asking Him to rain down death and destruction on their enemies. He has close and loving friendships with Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. He weeps upon learning of the death of His friend, Lazarus. His lonely prayer in the Garden foreshadows His Sacred Passion. He suffers valiantly on the Cross for all the injustices throughout the history of man.

There is no evidence to suggest Jesus is predominantly choleric, melancholic, sanguine, or phlegmatic—accompanied by the personality weaknesses of those temperaments. Jesus has the strengths of every temperament but without the weaknesses of impatience, sloth, shallowness, impetuousness, or self-absorbed introspection. Our inability to identify the predominant temperament of Jesus suggests a perfect balance of His human personality—never distorted by emotional excess, disproportion, or sinful inclinations.

We may safely assume that the personality of Jesus includes the virtuous inclinations of every temperament. But sinful inclinations are absent. Jesus provides the self-portrait of His humanity that transcends human temperaments during His Sermon on the Mount (cf. Mt. 5:1-11). Jesus blesses those who imitate Him:

• The poor of spirit.
• Those who mourn.
• Those who are meek.
• Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.
• Those who are merciful.
• The pure of heart.
• The peacemakers.
• Those persecuted for righteousness’ sake.
• Those who are reviled and lied about because they stick with Jesus.
• The Beatitudes accompanying God’s grace and the sacraments purify, elevate, and remedy the inherent weaknesses of every temperament. The choleric could use a good measure of mercy and endure persecution for righteousness. The phlegmatic would do well to hunger and thirst for righteousness. The sanguine should seek purity of heart. The melancholic should mourn with equanimity.

Every human temperament has strengths and weaknesses. Dismissing sinful weaknesses on temperamental grounds abuses our self-knowledge. Without striving to live the Beatitudes with God’s grace, our efforts to understand our temperaments are wasteful pop-psychological navel-gazing, and we become slaves to our emotional inclinations.

The self-portrait of Jesus gives meaning and direction to the self-portrait of our temperaments. In Jesus, our temperaments become facets of the Beatitudes. St. Paul’s volatile choleric temperament reaches its fulfillment in Jesus: “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” (Gal. 2:20)

Fr. Jerry Pokorsky is a priest of the Diocese of Arlington who has also served as a financial administrator in the Diocese of Lincoln. Trained in business and accounting, he also holds a Master of Divinity and a Master’s in moral theology. Father Pokorsky co-founded both CREDO and Adoremus, two organizations deeply engaged in authentic liturgical renewal. He writes regularly for a number of Catholic websites and magazines. See full bio.

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