Sacraments are physical signs, tangible expressions of the love of God. See Thomas Richstatter's Catholic Update article on the sacrament of reconciliation for a further discussion of forgiveness. The Catholic Update series contains numerous articles on the sacramental life of the Church. Check out the St. Francis Feature for more. Our author calls on us to bless, not curse.
Anger is a swift and easy response to many situations, such as the way others drive in traffic.
Blessing is a conscious choice. In his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People , Stephen R. Covey talks of the personal victory that we achieve when we take responsibility for our own actions. Anger is simply reaction to stimulus. The act of blessing inserts a step between stimulus and reaction, a step based on values and principles. When we live as though we have a relationship with God, we take responsibility for anger, insert a pause before the hostile reaction and bless someone or some situation as our response.