Speaking (as distinct from Writing) the Truth in Love

Albertus Minimus has some kind words about my previous post on Usenet controversies.

The real need is for each of us (the observant Catholics, that is) to live the message of the Gospel in our lives. As St. Francis of Assisi is supposed to have said "Preach the Gospel always, use words when necessary". My Usenet activities are an attempt to project a self that I wish were the real me. A knowledgeable, calm, logical and charitable Catholic.

It's easy to project knowledge in the impersonal forum of the Usenet because you have unlimited time to research and the wonders of Internet search engines to compensate for the limitations of your personal library. And you can be calm and charitable simply by practising reading the post a couple of times before posting. In some cases you can do better by waiting a day and then re-reading it before posting.

Wouldn't life be easier if we could do something similar in real life? Well, actually, we can.

Humility being a virtue, admitting that you don't know something is the best tonic for the know-it-all-itis that is a problem for some of us (mea maxima culpa!). Those who really want to know the truth (and which of us does to a virtuous degree?) will be patient enough to wait for the research necessary to answer.

Charity and Temperance are do-able too. Editing what we say before we speak is simple enough in theory. Practice, practice, practice is what we need. Keeping the voice level is also important and an area I have particular problems with. When an idea or issue I'm invested in is being controverted I get excited, my voice gets louder and shriller. It's not a pretty thing to witness the transformation, believe me. So sometimes, silence (as chosen by Albertus in his incident) can be the virtuous choice.

So what do we really need? Prayer and the Sacraments are what we need to keep central to our lives. Only then can Jesus transform us according to his loving plan. I'd better wind this sermonizing up. There's a severe penalty for Catholics who sermonize without the express permission of their Pastor. ;-)

And for courage and wisdom, I am encouraged by Father Shane Thorp's post about real sermons on an Unpleasant Topic.