8th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C
Sir 27:4-7; 1 Cor 15:54-58; Lk 6:39-45
March 1-2, 2025
There is something about which I have been thinking more and more in recent years, and with increasing concern, i.e. is how we speak in public and private about others.
Two verses stand out for me in today’s readings: “From the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Lk 6:45) and “When a sieve is shaken, the husks appear; so do one’s faults when one speaks.” (Sir 27:4)
How true it is. It reminds me of a particular caution and a particular sin I’d like us to think about today.
The caution is: Think before you speak! Do not needlessly harm a man’s reputation, or your own, with rash speech!
The sin is detraction, which is according to the Catechism: “The disclosure of another’s faults and sins, without an objectively valid reason, to persons who did not know about them, thus causing unjust injury to that person’s reputation.” In other words, telling others about the faults and sins of someone else. Everyone has a natural right to the honor of his name and reputation and to respect. Detraction is a sin against truth.
How many times I have regretted speaking impulsively about someone! My mouth getting ahead of my head, ahead of my better judgment. I suspect most of you recall times when you have spoken before thinking.
How we speak about others says a lot about us. Our heart and our desire are revealed in our speech.
So much political speech nowadays is pure detraction. For me, it has gotten to a point where I almost never pay attention to what is said in politics. When I turn on the radio, it seems to flood my home with rash speech — loud, accusatory, and negative — always attacking someone’s reputation. When I log on to websites, the same thing pops up on the screen. Blogs that are written even by Catholics often fall into that category, disparaging other Catholics. Free speech, they claim. First Amendment rights, they assert. Really? Even courts of law recognize no one has the right to slander or libel another. Too often, free speech claims are invoked to justify the sin of detraction.
I recall back in the late 1970s when I was working at a factory. I heard my coworkers dumping on their wives, devaluing them publicly, exposing their faults. It said a lot about those men’s characters. I have heard wives always finding one fault after another with their husbands, rather than looking for that which is admirable about them.
I tire of all this. Enough, I say. Stop it!
Detraction is a sin against the truth. God is truth, the source of all truth. God is the source of truth for each one of us and God is the source of the truth about that person we are tempted to criticize publicly, exposing their faults and sins to others who have no right to know about them. The truth is that person is a child of God and infinitely loved by Him. How different we would treat each other if we really believed that! How different we would speak about others if we would always remember that before opening our mouths. How differently we would speak about our spouses, our children, our neighbors!
One reason, I think, the sin of detraction is so widespread is that people do not believe there is a truth which can be discovered and embraced, except for the “truth” of themselves. This denial that truth comes from God is a big deal nowadays. Do we care about what is true? For many, truth is relative to their feelings. If I feel it is true and I can therefore express it. Everything “depends” on my view. Does God exist? Depends. Does truth exist? Depends. The “depends” part refers to whether or not I see it so. When we go down that road, nothing is true and nothing is sinful except what violates my personal viewpoint. I become my own God.
No, my friends, God is the source of truth. If something is really true, then it comes from God. So, what I am about to say about someone else, is it of God, and from Him?
I read in a church bulletin (not ours) that there are three questions we need to ask ourselves before revealing the faults of others. Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary to say it?
If it is true, it is from God not from us.
If it is kind, our motivation will be pure. Lies are never kind. Half-truths are cruel. Hatred is evil. Anger is destructive. Wounding others’ reputations is sinful. Never speak quickly when angry, hurt, or armed with hearsay. Speak in love.
Is it necessary to reveal this? To answer, we must sleep on it. We must pray about it before we speak about someone’s faults. When might it be necessary? On the witness stand in a court of law. Before God in the confessional. Before God in spiritual direction. When intervening to save a man’s life and well-being. When protecting a vulnerable individual from serious harm. In other words, it is seldom necessary to reveal someone’s faults to another.
Fill your heart with good things. Fill your heart with the Lord. Fill your heart with the truth which comes from God Himself. Fill your heart with the love of God for you and for all. Fill your heart with the truth who is God. Then your hearts will be full of good things and you will produce rich fruit as we heard in the Gospel. Then your speech will be just and true, and honorable.
Yes, from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks. (Lk 6:45)
