8th Sunday of Ordinary Time (C) 2 March 2025 Sermon

8th Sunday Ordinary Time (C ) 2 March 3 February 2025 Mind  your language

If we were visiting the King or the President or other such important people, we would be careful to guard our language and pick the right words when called upon to speak.

As Jesus points out in the Gospel, the quality of the tree’s fruit will be according to the internal health of the tree. Good tree, good fruit (Lk 6, 43).

If we have our thoughts and attitudes in the right place, then that will mean we speak words which edify, which build up and not destroy.

Anyone can act the part if only for a short time. If something would startle us we might lapse into ‘normal’ speech. This is what we have to change – what we call  normal.

The test of  a man is in  his conversation (first reading -  Sirach 27,5).

What we say will come from within. We need the charity and wisdom that come from Christ . It can be alright to speak words of anger, provided the anger is justified and moderated by charity.

Imagine what Our Lady would have said. Or count to three and then say nothing!

We have to get all the malice out of the system, not just out of the language, but all through, what we think, what we desire.

So, for example, it is good to be honest and not to steal, but we must not even want to steal. The same goes for all moral obligations. 

Regarding language we not only avoid uncharitable speech but develop a preference for the  speech which edifies.

There are different aspects of speech we need to get right.

1) No obscenities or crude language.

2)  No harm done to others. No detraction or calumny. Whoever thinks that he is able,  to nibble at the life of absent friends, must know that he’s unworthy of this table. St Augustine)

It is easy to drag others down, but it lowers the whole standard for everyone.

If we are in a situation where we cannot escape gossip we can at least not contribute to it. And we can set a better tone.

People in Heaven might have fought while on earth but not now. There is no malice in heaven; no desire to talk others down.

Whatever would we talk about if we cannot talk about each other? We will have to find more useful topics!

3) In all things praise and thanksgiving to God. We use the same tongue to praise God and to curse our neighbours (cf James 3,9).

It might be argued that we are only human and therefore cannot comply with such exacting rules. God wants to make us copies of Himself, an ambitious goal, but it must be achievable

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Speaking of which we come to Lent this week. In Lent everything is magnified by way of giving us ways of concentrating on holiness.

The days of Lent have this effect if we let it take full course.

We are supposed to be good all year round, but Lent is a focal point, a more intense quest for getting all the details right.

It is something like Sunday where we take one day to summarise all seven.

We cannot give God anything that is not already His, (cf Ps 50,10-12). But He does appreciate the effort to get right with him.

And we don’t go back to old ways when the season is over. We might ease off on the penances but not the quest for holiness of life.  Good trees, good fruit.