Saturday, September 13, 2025 - Saturday in the 23th Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Tim 1:15-17 and Luke 6:43-49]
A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its fruit....A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good, but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil; for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks. [Luke]
SEPTEMBER 13 ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, bishop and doctor of the church
I once gave my dad a funny plaque with this prayer: Lord, let my words today be gracious and tender, because tomorrow I may have to eat them!" The plaque is long gone, but I have never forgotten the prayer! The prayer seems to me to be doubly important to a preacher! Words spoken from a pulpit can have a lasting impact and a preacher must be accountable for them.
I think most of us have had experiences of wanting to "take back" something we said in anger or inappropriate humor. What Jesus points to, however, is the integrity of heart that makes such experiences rare. This integrity is gained both from positive as well as negative experiences. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is available for our failures but it is important to learn from them. Another sign I once saw captures some of what Jesus said: "Be sure your brain is in gear before setting your mouth in motion!" But if we develop that "fullness of heart" of which Jesus speaks, we will not have to worry much about what to say. AMEN
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