April 19th Fast

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JMJ

“The sin of detraction is the impediment to the very source of piety and grace; it is abominable in the sight of God, because the detractor feeds on the blood of the souls which he has murdered with the sword of his tongue. . . the malice of the detractor is far greater than that of the thief, because the law of Christ, which is fulfilled by showing mercy, commands us to desire more ardently the salvation of the soul than the safety of the body. . . The tongue is the instrument of life and death to man, not on account of the food it takes, but on account of the words it utters. . . Be modest, showing kindness to all, never judging or condemning anybody. And, as our Lord says, let us not pay attention to the small sins of others, but rather ponder our own in the bitterness of our hearts.  

(St. Francis of Assisi)

How easy it is to talk about the faults of others, rather than "ponder our own in the bitterness of our hearts"?  Gossip slips so easily into our conversations, as the poison of pride prompts us to compare our lives with others'.  We ask after people and situations, not out of charity but out of a sinful curiosity; we secretly hope that they have failed in a situation where we have succeeded.  We choose to judge others and allow the devil to convince us we are being objective; but in reality, what does it matter if we are objective? The Lord, Himself, must be the only one in the position of judging.

It would be harmful enough if this sin existed only in the community; yet, a vice does not affect the community without first affecting the primary community, the domestic church, the family.  We sow the seeds of distrust and disharmony when we gossip about our spouses, and our children.  Perhaps we think we are above this, that surely we may fall into when it comes to others, but not those closest to us.  But upon further examination we most likely cannot exonerate ourselves of this heinous sin.  Even the Pope, himself, acknowledges the terrible traps the devil sets for us in this regard:

"When we prefer to gossip, gossip about others, criticize others--these are everyday things that happen to everyone, including me--these are the temptations of the evil one who does not want the Spirit to come to us and bring about peace and meekness in the Christian community. . . If, with the grace of the Spirit, we were able to stop gossiping, it would be a huge step forward, [and] it would do everyone good." (Pope Francis)

Struggling with the daily strife, we allow resentment and anger to build up in our souls.  We no longer have the hearts of servants, and we pridefully compare our sacrifices with the apparent lack thereof of others.  If we judge our spouse, our children, it becomes natural to then judge our neighbor.  We must fight the inclination to gossip and judge lest, as Pope Francis recently said, we treat others as a commodity, as Judas treated our Lord when he sold Him for silver.  We must embrace the virtues of patience and humility if we hope to have the "Spirit come to us and bring about peace and meekness" in our families, and our communities.