Ordinary Time 8
March 2, 2025
The Tongue of a Christian
One of
the more amazing miracles in our Catholic Church is the gift of
incorruptibility. Several saints’ bodies have not decayed, centuries after
their death, as a testament to their holiness. But sometimes, only a part
of their bodies remain incorrupt, usually connected to an important element of
their mission on earth. One such case is the tongue of St. Anthony of Padua,
whose statue we have in the vestibule of the church.
Anthony
was a great preacher of the Catholic Faith – he was a Franciscan from Portugal who
desperately desired to be a martyr in Morocco. But as he was sailing across the
Mediterranean, a major storm blew them off course, and he landed in Italy,
where he would stay for the remainder of his life. He was content to be a
humble laborer in a Franciscan friary until one day when a large group of
priests had gathered for a special Mass, and everyone thought that someone else
was preaching! No one had prepared a homily. So they prevailed upon Anthony to
preach, and preach he did! It was so eloquent, rich, profound – that for the
rest of his life he would travel all around Italy, preaching and bringing many
souls to Christ through his words. Because of that, his tongue alone is
incorrupt – it can be seen in the Basilica of St. Anthony in Padua, Italy!
Every
Christian’s tongue should be holy, though, for as it says in the Book of
Proverbs, “The power of life and death are in the tongue.” Our words can build
up or tear down; they can give life, and take it away. Let’s look at what the
tongue of a Christian ought to be like.
First,
the tongue of a Christian ought to be kind. Our words, if they must
speak about another person, ought to reflect that person’s great dignity and
the everlasting glory that awaits them. One time, a woman confessed the sin of
gossip to St. Philip Neri. The saint told her, as a penance, to take a feather
pillow up to a high tower and tear it open. She thought it was an odd penance,
but she did it anyway. She then returned to the saint and reported that she had
fulfilled the strange penance, but St. Philip Neri said, “Wonderful. Now go and
collect all the feathers.” But she protested, “That’s impossible! They have
flown all over the city by now.” The saint replied, “Exactly. And this is what
happens when we spread gossip – we cannot collect up what we have spread about
the town.” A Christian’s tongue ought to be kind – if we would not say it to
their face, we ought not say it behind their back!
Second,
the tongue of a Christian ought to be pure. We should shun impure jokes,
foul language, or inappropriate talk. One day, the young schoolboy St. Dominic
Savio overheard an adult use some rather foul language, but since he was a boy,
he couldn’t reproach him directly. Instead, he went up to the man and asked,
“Excuse me, sir, could you tell me how to get to such-and-such street?” The man
thought for a moment and replied, “No, son, I don’t know where that is, I’m
sorry.” St. Dominic said, “Oh, that’s fine, but could you do me one other
favor?” The man, now warming up to the precocious boy, said, “Of course,
anything for you.” Dominic leaned in and whispered, “Would you not allow such
foul language to come forth from your mouth?” The man was surprised, but agreed
not to curse.
In
particular, many of us may struggle with the habit of taking God’s Name in
vain. If that is the case, there is an easy solution – any time we slip and
say, “Oh my God,” immediately say out loud, “Blessed be His Name.” Not
only will it give God praise to make up for the wrong use of His Name, it will
also be so embarrassing that we will drop the habit quickly!
Third,
the tongue of a Christian ought to be modest. The Book of Proverbs says,
“When words are many, sin is inevitable, but he who restrains his lips is wise.”
A Christian does not need to voice an opinion on everything, or fill every
silence with words. Like most things in life, moderation is the key – one
should speak when necessary, and when it’s not necessary, remain silent. It was
said of St. Dominic Guzman that “he rarely spoke unless it was to God (in
prayer) or about God (to his fellow men and women).” So, discretion in speech
is a truly Christian trait!
Fourth,
the tongue of a Christian ought to be truthful, no matter what the cost.
Jesus calls Satan is the “Father of Lies”, but by contrast, Christ is the Truth
– so if Christ is in our minds and on our lips, then we too should speak the
truth. I think of the example of St. Phocas, a martyr from Turkey in the fourth
century. During one of the major persecutions of Christians, a band of soldiers
was dispatched to find the holy layman Phocas and execute him. The soldiers
came upon a house in the middle of the countryside and banged on the door, and
Phocas answered it, but the soldiers did not know it was him. They asked him,
“Do you know where Phocas is living?” Phocas knew he could lie and save his
skin – but lies are unbecoming of a Christian. So Phocas told them, “Yes, I know
him. He is not far from here. But it is late and you look tired – come have
supper with me, and in the morning I will take you to him.” The soldiers
accepted, had dinner with the man they had come to kill, and slept in his spare
room. Meanwhile, at night, Phocas went to his garden and dug his own grave, and
spent the rest of the night in prayer. When morning arrived, Phocas revealed
himself to the soldiers and told them that he was the one whom they were
sent to kill. But the soldiers hesitated – moved by his generosity, they said,
“We will return to the Emperor and tell him that we did not find you.” But
Phocas insisted, “I will not have you lie on my behalf. I am not afraid to die
for Christ.” So, reluctantly, they fulfilled their mission – and St. Phocas
became a martyr for telling the truth. So every Christian’s words ought to be
full of grace and truth.
Fifth,
the tongue of a Christian ought to be self-controlled. St. James writes
in Scripture that we put bits into the mouths of horses, so that through the
mouth, we can control the whole body of the horse. Likewise, our tongues should
be so self-controlled. I’ll be honest, I’m not great at this, and frequently I
will walk away from a class or a meeting saying, “Ah, I probably shouldn’t have
said that!” But I’ve begun praying a powerful prayer from the Psalms that says,
“Set, O Lord, a guard over my mouth, keep watch at the door of my lips” –
asking God to grant self-control to that most wild of horses, our tongues!
Sixth,
the tongue of a Christian should be pleasant. Aristotle speaks about a
virtue called eutrapelia, which means being joyful, of good humor,
pleasant. A Christian’s speech shouldn’t be pessimistic or a downer – after
all, it is good news that we believe in! A sad saint is a bad saint – saints
should be joyful, and it should reflect in their words. The saints themselves
have been known to share pleasant jokes with one another – one time a reporter
asked Pope St. John XXIII how many people work in the Vatican, and he replied,
“Oh, about half of them.” Another time a woman came to Confession to St. John
Vianney, and she was concerned that she cared too much about her appearance, so
she asked him, “Is it vain of me to use blush on my cheeks?” The saint replied,
“Well, some priests might think that using blush is a bit vain, while others
see no problem in it.” But the woman persisted, “Yes, but what do you
think?” He responded with a twinkle, “Why not take the middle road and just use
blush on only one cheek?” A Christian’s words ought to be pleasing,
joyful, uplifting.
Finally,
the tongue of a Christian ought to be filled with God’s praise. What
will we be doing for eternity? Praising God! So let us learn to praise Him
here, in our speech and conversation. Speak to others about what God is doing
in your life. Ask others for prayers, and pray with others. When you’re alone
in your car, pray out loud. Thank God publicly for all of His many blessings.
My
friends, a Christian’s tongue ought to be kind, pure, modest, truthful,
self-controlled, pleasant, and full of God’s praise. My dear Christians, how is
your tongue?
No comments:
Post a Comment