Hajja Salesjana April June 2018

Bite Your Tongue! A Reflection on Common Sins of Speech Msgr. Charles Pope (from Community in Mission) 1 4 The pastoral guide of St. Gregory the Great reminds us: “A spiritual guide should be silent when discretion requires and speak when words are of service.” This is not easy. Indeed, self-mastery in speech is among the rarer gifts and usually comes later in life! Some of the most common sins we commit are related to speech:  gossip, idle chatter, lies, exaggerations, harsh attacks, and uncharitable remarks. With our tongue we can spread hatred, incite fear and maliciousness, spread misinformation, cause temptation, discourage, teach error, and ruin reputations. With a gift capable of bringing such good, we can surely cause great harm! The Book of James says this: “ We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what he says is perfect, able to keep his whole body in check. When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, and thus we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider how a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.” (James 3:2-18). Yes, though by God’s grace one may conquer many sins, those associated with speech are usually among the last to be overcome.  It almost seems as if there is a separate, baser part of our brain that controls our speech. We can be halfway through saying something before we even realize how stupid and sinful we are being. Scripture speaks very artistically of the sinful tongue. Here is a list of ten sins of the tongue from James Melton. Although the list is his, the commentary is mine. Beware of these!