Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Let your passion die within
“It is not enough, I say, to guard one’s tongue from these
and similar kinds of nastiness [public insult and abuse, venomous slander in
secret]; even slight offenses must be avoided, if anything may be termed slight
that is directed against a brother for the purpose of hurting him, since merely
to be angry with one’s brother makes one liable to the judgment of God.
So when an offence is committed against you, a thing hard to
avoid at times…, do not immediately rush, as a worldly person may do, to
retaliate dishonorably against your brother; nor, under the guise of
administering correction, should you dare to pierce with sharp and searing
words one for whom Christ was pleased to be crucified; nor make grunting,
resentful noises at him, nor mutter and murmur complaints, nor adopt a sneering
air, nor indulge the loud laugh of contempt, nor knit the brow in menacing
anger. Let your passion die within, where it was born; a carrier of death, it
must be allowed no exit or it will cause destruction, and then you can say with
the Prophet: ‘I was troubled and I spoke not.’”
-- On the Song of Songs by St Bernard of Clairvaux
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1 comment:
Thank you Sister for this reminder. This is something I especially need to read whenever I am to deal with my teenage daughter ... who so often tries my patience!
God bless you!
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