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Sixteenth Thursday after Pentecost
Sixteenth Thursday after Pentecost. Mortification of the Tongue.
Summary of the Morrow’s Meditation.
We will meditate to-morrow upon the mortification of the tongue, and we shall see : 1st, what evil the tongue which does not know how to rule itself commits ; 2nd, what good the soul which is wisely ruled does. We will then make the resolution : 1st, to remember when we speak that God hears all our words, and that we shall have to render a severe account of them ; 2nd, never to speak of our neighbor excepting to say what is good of him, or at any rate to say nothing injurious ; 3rd, to speak little or to speak in a moderate tone ; he who speaks much and loudly speaks without reflection and without wisdom. Our spiritual nosegay shall be the words of the apostle St. James: “If any man think himself to be religious, not bridling his tongue, this mans religion is vain” (James i. 26).
Meditation for the Morning.
Let us adore Our Lord revealing- to us by the apostle St. James the necessity of governing our tongue, since if it be left to itself it may work so much evil, and if rightly governed it may do so much good. From the tongue, he says, proceed good and evil : with it we bless God, and with it, we curse men who are made in the image of God ; by it we are useful to our brethren, and by it we are hurtful to them ; by it we take desolation into the heart, and by it we take happiness and joy (James iii. 10). Lastly, the Holy Spirit says in the Book of Proverbs : " Death and life are in the power of the tongue" (Prov. xviii. 21). Let us thank God for a warning of such importance in regard to our salvation and to the welfare of society.
What Evil the Tongue Does when it is not Properly Ruled.
When the Holy Spirit speaks to us of the evil the tongue does when it is not governed, He seems to exhaust all that language can express : "The tongue" He says, "is a world of iniquity" (James iii. 6), it is an "unquiet evil" (Ibid. 8), which carries trouble and unhappiness with it ; which divides minds, embitters hearts, engenders hatred and discord. It is a mortal poison (Ibid. 7), which kills at one and the same time him who speaks and him who listens with an air of approbation, often even him who is spoken of, whether because of the spirit of irritation and vengeance with which it inspires him, whether on account of the loss of his reputation and honor, which he does not know how to bear in a Christian manner. It is a fire of hell (James iii. 6), which does not spare either what is sacred or what is profane, either superiors or equals, which attacks God by blasphemy and impiety, which corrupts souls and excites them to evil. The proof that this picture has nothing exaggerated in it is, 1st, that sins of the tongue are the most common of all sins and form the habitual subject of nearly all confessions ; it is, 2nd, that the tongue serves as an instrument for the most ignoble of passions : for the bad dispositions of those persons who cannot say anything calmly, but are peevish and are angry about the smallest matters ; for pride, which desires to make every one descend to a lower level than the one we ourselves occupy, criticises everything that is done by others, exaggerates their faults, diminishes their virtues ; for envy, which endeavors to darken everything which eclipses it, which thinks others worthy of blame only because they possess certain advantages over us, which cannot hear them praised without weakening approbation by a criticism, or see merit superior to its own without seeking to lower it ; for lewdness, which exhales from the heart in licentious speeches ; for anger, which gives way to violence ; for duplicity, which flatters persons to their face and tears them in pieces behind their backs ; for baseness, which shoots its arrows at the absent for lies, which sacrifice truth to the pleasure of being witty or rising above others ; for malignity, which casts mockery and ridicule upon others who do not please it ; for a bad spirit, which delights in disputes and contentions and always wants its own ideas to prevail. Now all these facts, and a thousand others revealed by daily experience, do they not tell us how necessary it is to mortify our tongue, to moderate our language, and to remember when we speak that God is beside us, that He hears all and registers it in the great Book, and will demand an account of it at the last day, not even excepting idle words ? (Matt. xii. 36.)
What Good a Tongue Wisely Governed can Do.
When a man knows how to govern his tongue he employs it only for things that are good, and says nothing but good things which lead to God and to virtue. “The mouth of the just,” says the Holy Spirit, “is a vein of life” (Prov. x. 11). His tongue is as precious as silver tried in the fire (Ibid. 20), and wisdom is found upon his lips (Ibid. 13). Jesus Christ teaches us this by His example, for He never let a word fall from His lips but words of grace, which ravished all His hearers (Luke iv. 22), and after listening to Him they cried out, “Never did man speak like this man” (John vii. 46). By the tongue we make God to be known and loved, together with His commandments and counsels ; we teach men to love one another, to endure and oblige one another, to turn themselves away from the evil road which leads to perdition and to follow the good road which leads to heaven (Prov. x. 21). By the tongue we console the afflicted, we dry tears, and we make men bless the religion which inspires such kindness and grace (Ecclus. xx. 13 ; vi. 5). By the tongue we bring together divided hearts, reconcile families, dilate the reign of peace and charity (Prov. x. 32). By a gentle word we make wise counsels and pious exhortations acceptable (Prov. xxxi. 26). Oh, what good the tongue does which is well ruled ! Let us ask Our Lord thus to govern ours !
Resolutions and spiritual nosegay as above.
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