Saturday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/021812.cfm

photo on the walk
from the VA Hospital
to Saint Leonard's Church

For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature
can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species,
but no man can tame the tongue.
It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

I know of no other member of the body which receives such vilification from the sacred authors as the tongue. True, Jesus recommends we cut off our hands or pluck out our eyes if they cause us to sin, but there are far more laudatory remarks about the hands and eyes. Not even the brain, Woody Allen’s “second favorite organ,” is condemned like the tongue, not to mention his favorite organ! 

Throughout the New Testament we hear of the tongue’s great damage. The apostles and evangelists complain relentlessly about gossip, backbiting, rumor and factions.  Though the Church is hurt by apostasy (betrayal of the faith) and scandalized by adultery, the real demon is talk.

And talk is something we all do.

Whenever we’re distracted from our purpose, whenever we lose our focus on Jesus – and it only takes a moment – we’re likely to indulge in a little gossip. No sooner has the minister left the sanctuary or the congregation stepped from the pews before it begins.

True, sometimes we must meet and discuss emerging problems. An uneasy feeling about suspicious behavior often merits discussion. Perhaps we know something that no one of us can guess, and discover it only with deliberate conversation. The body politic has a right and duty to protect itself from harm. This conversation should be conducted carefully and prayerfully, with confidence that God will show us what to do. If it dies in idleness and a failure to act, the problem may be compounded.

Keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus curbs the tongue as his prayer, that all may be one, is accomplished. His prayer cannot fail. We must not let it fail. With his prayer for unity anchored in our hearts we will speak of one another reverently, with gratitude and respect. We will greet each other cheerfully each day, and welcome one another with enthusiasm. Realizing that we are all one, and that we stand together before the world and the Judgment Seat of God, we will claim one another as brothers and sisters, despite the secret reservations that lie just below the tongue.