Monday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
“For greater things you were born.” (Ven. Mother Luisita)
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 7TH Mk 6:51-56 “Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak and as many as touched it were healed.”
As baptized Catholic Christians, we are called to heal through the Common-priesthood of the faithful.
Let us take a moment and review the difference between the Common-priesthood of the faithful and the Ministerial Priesthood of the priest. With the Sacrament of Holy Orders the priest undergoes an ontological transformation (a change in his very being) and receives an indelible priestly character on his soul. We have two indelible marks on our soul from Baptism and Confirmation. The priest has three indelible marks on his soul from Baptism, Confirmation, and Ordination or Holy Orders.
That being said, it is incumbent upon us to live out to the fullest extent possible the Common-priesthood of the faithful that flows from the Sacrament of Baptism—one of those functions being healing. As such, we are ambassadors of Christ—other Christs, if you will. And for some, we may be the only “Christ” they will ever encounter!
Today Fr. Ed shows us one way we can heal, and it is through use of our speech. Our words can either build up or tear down. Let us use this meditation as an examination of conscience.
BUILDING UP WITH WORDS by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV
All of us can remember having been hurt by somebody speaking without thinking and stinging our heart, leaving a lasting bad memory. Also, all of us remember having opened up our mouth without sufficient reflection and wounding our brother, sister or friend! Immediately after the word slipped out of our mouth, we wanted to fish it back in, but no, too late! Once the word has been uttered, there is no “muting”, cancelling or postponing its arrival to the ear and heart of the listener.
Jesus speaks very clearly about our words: “Every word that comes out of the mouth will be subject to judgment.” (Mt 12:36) St. James dedicates almost an entire chapter (Chapter 3) to the sins of the tongue. In short, the Apostle underscores the importance of learning the art of speech, reminding us that we should be slow to speak and quick to listen. He reminds us that man can control almost all types of animals, but not the tongue. Moreover, He says that the same tongue that is used to praise God ends up by cursing one’s neighbor. This is wrong!
Therefore, we would like to offer five short suggestions to help us utilize our tongue, our speech, our words, our conversation as a means to truly edify our neighbor—that means, to build up our neighbor!
FIRST COUNSEL. We should make it a habit to first talk to God and then talk to our neighbor. It was said of the great St. Dominic, founder of the Order of Preachers (among which were St. Albert the Great, and his student, St. Thomas Aquinas) that he would first talk to God and then talk about God to others! Superb! Ideally that should be our motto and objective in life with regard to speech—that our words would in some way be communicating the presence of God to others!
SECOND COUNSEL. Think before you speak! St. Ignatius observes that a soul that is agitated is a soul in the state of desolation; in this state, it is not the good spirit who is guiding us but the bad spirit! Therefore, this is the time to refrain from speaking. Speak only after reflection and the return of a calm and peaceful mind! Rushed and impetuous words from unclear thinking will only cause confusion and hurt. Avoid it!
THIRD COUNSEL. SILENCE! Pope Benedict XVI insisted on the capital importance of cultivating silence in our daily lives! Today we suffer from noise pollution! Radio talk-shows, pop music, non-stop TV programs, dogs barking into the late hours of the night. Add to that non-stop useless chatter, often filled with gossip. All of us have experienced these scenarios and all too frequently! Benedict XVI went so far as to say that if we do not have times of silence, then we really cannot understand the person who wants to talk to us! Silence creates an interior space for listening, listening disposes us for union with the Holy Spirit, and finally, the Holy Spirit teaches us to pray and then listen attentively and charitably to our brothers and sisters!
FOURTH COUNSEL. A Biblical counsel of great importance: THE GOLDEN RULE! The “Golden Rule” enunciated by Jesus Himself is very simple and everybody in the world understands it: “Do unto others what you want them to do to you.” (Lk 6:31) Why not take the Golden Rule one more step and apply it specifically to our speech. That is, “Do unto others what you want them to do to you,” but most especially, “SAY to others what you would want them to say to you!” Try it out!
FIFTH COUNSEL. At times it is not clear if what we are saying is harmful to others or beneficial; it is not always clear! What could be of great help in this matter is to imagine that during the time of your conversation—your choice of words, tone of voice, and even your facial expression—three very important persons are standing by and observing this. Those three persons are Jesus, Mary and St. Joseph. Now ask yourself this question: “If Jesus, Mary, and St. Joseph were present during this conversation and listening to my words, would they be nodding a smile of approval?” This is the acid test for followers of Jesus! Are our words pleasing in the sight of Jesus, His Holy Mother, and good St. Joseph—who never said a single word in all of Sacred Scripture!
CONCLUSION. Jesus says that from the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Jesus also warned us that we will be judged on every word that comes out of our mouth. For this reason, St. James warns us to be slow to speak and quick to listen.
In the Diary of St. Faustina, she admitted that her three primary faults were the following. First, pride in not being open with her Superior, Irene. Second, TALKING TOO MUCH! She admitted honestly that Jesus revealed to her that at times He preferred her to be silent rather than speak for two reasons: the person would not profit from her words, and it would be much more beneficial for the souls in Purgatory to have her prayers in those moments. Finally, she did not always observe the Rule faithfully.
Let us remember the challenging exhortation of the Franciscan Doctor of the Church, St. Bonaventure: “We should open our mouths on three occasions: to praise God, to accuse ourselves, and to edify our neighbor.” Faithful to this exhortation, we will surely avoid many slips of the tongue, the Holy Spirit will anoint our words, and we will store up for ourselves an eternal inheritance in heaven!
May Our Lady, who pondered in her Immaculate Heart before speaking, teach us to magnify the Lord in our words and to truly edify our neighbor! “My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” (Lk 1:46-47)
