Humility – Love's "Test by Fire"
Speak Up, Not Down!
Photo By: Flickr/Kevin Dooley
This anonyous quatrain speaks worthy "thoughts to live by":
A careless word may kindle strife;
a cruel word may wreck a life.
A bitter word may hate instill;
a brutal word may smite and kill.
A gracious word may smooth the way;
a joyous word may save the day.
A timely word may lessen stress;
a loving word may heal and bless.
The term "forked tongue" need not always connote duplicity; it may connote speech options. The tongue may curse or bless. It may engage in gossip, or charitably redirect such conversation. It may take God's name in vain or call upon God in humble prayer. It may insult or compliment, lie or proclaim great truths. It may brag arrogantly of one's gifts, or it may acknowledge that " a man can receive only what is given him from heaven" (Jn 327). James suggests such alternatives in the use of speech (see James 3:10).
In his classic treatise on the use of the tongue, James makes a remarkable statement: "If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man" (3:2).
One wonders what percentage of the world's sins are "speech sins." Let's ask the Incarnate Word to bless our gift of speech.
This excerpt is from the book One-Minute Meditations for Busy People, by John H. Hampsch, C.M.F., originally published by Servant Publications. It and other of Fr. Hampsch's books and audio/video recordings can be purchased from Claretian Teaching Ministry, 20610 Manhattan Pl, #120, Torrance, CA 90501-1863. Phone 1-310-782-6408 or www.Catholicbooks.net
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About the Author
The Rev. John H. Hampsch, C.M.F., ordained as a Catholic priest in 1952, is a member of the Claretian Missionaries, and is founder and director of the Claretian Teaching Ministry. Listed in Who’s Who in Religion in America, he has served as parish priest, seminary professor and rector, college professor, lecturer, magazine writer, newspaper columnist, editor, retreat master, hospital chaplain, prison chaplain, campus chaplain, Cursillo director and director of suicide prevention programs in Texas and California.
He earned degrees in philosophy from Loyola-Marymount University in Los Angeles and from Notre Dame University, with postgraduate work at the University of Southern California and the Dominican House of Studies in River Forest, Illinois, in ascetical and mystical theology.
Find his many books and audio/visual recordings at www.Catholicbooks.net
