A sharp tongue is the only edged tool that grows sharper with use.
COMMENT: How correct Fr Willie’s assessment is! The more we criticise others, the more critical we can become. Like all vices, the more we engage in them, the easier and easier it becomes to keep engaging in them, and to grow worse over time. That is why big sins don’t normally arise out of thin air – they are normally preceded by smaller infidelities that weaken our resolve and undermine our spiritual lives. On the other hand, just like with exercise, the gradual pursuit of virtue strengthens us, and equips us for ever greater acts of virtue and charity. If our sins become “sharper” with use, then so too do our virtues. And that is precisely why Fr Willie’s methodical pursuit of holiness is so important. It is the safe and sure path that the saints followed, and it is the path that Jesus Himself recommended when He told his disciples that those who are faithful in little things will also be faithful in greater things.
Very clever of Father Doyle to point that out! How true…how many sins spoken have we had to confess though the years! Grace, self-discipline, and determination can help us control what,how, to whom, and about whom we talk.
Please, Father Doyle, help us, first, to think before we speak; second, help us to work to keep virtuous thoughts which will result in what and how we say things; third, let us choose to be silent when we are aware that if we should speak it might cause us to sin against charity.