Oblates of St. Francis de Sales

New DeSales World Newsletter - Summer Edition

4TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (January 28, 2007)

Suggested Emphasis

"Love rejoices in the truth…"

Salesian Perspective

Jeremiah wanted no part of being a prophet. This avocation seemed to be nothing but trouble, and with good reason: prophets of the past had a nasty habit of getting hassled, being rejected, getting beat up, sometimes, ending up dead. Nevertheless, God was adamant that Jeremiah live a prophetic life - that is, being willing to speak the truth, being able to tell it 'like it is' - and that He would sustain Jeremiah in the face of whatever opposition or dangers he might encounter.

No surprise that Jesus, too, experienced his share of opposition, hostility and rejection. As today's Gospel illustrates, speaking the truth - living the truth - sometimes stirs up its own share of hornets' nests.

By virtue of our Baptism and Confirmation we, too, are called to live life in a prophetic manner. In the words of St. Paul, we "do not rejoice in what is false; we rejoice in the truth." As we all know, however, this is easier said than done. There are many occasions on any given day when we hesitate to tell the truth for any number of reasons: we don't want to cause trouble, we don't want to upset others, we don't want others to be angry with us, we don't want to be rejected and we want to be liked. And so, we measure our words: we speak in convoluted ways, we don't say what we mean and we don't mean what we say.

We lie.

Francis de Sales wrote: "Your language should be restrained, frank, sincere, candid, unaffected and honest. Be on guard against equivocation, ambiguity, or dissimulation." This does not give us the license to use blunt force when telling the truth: remember, Francis de Sales also tells us that we are more likely to win over other people with a teaspoon of honey rather than a gallon of vinegar. Wherever possible, we should speak the truth in a gentle, mild, simple and straightforward manner, avoiding the two extremes of being either mush-mouthed or vesuvial. In addition, telling it "like it is" is not the same as "letting it all hang out." Francis continued: "While it is not always advisable to say all that is true, it is never permissible to speak against the truth."

Regardless of how much or little of the truth that we speak in a manner that is as calm, humble, gentle and respectful as humanly possible, the bottom line is that we cannot always predict - and certainly cannot control - how that truth will be heard or received by others. Perhaps it is no coincidence, then, that love not only "rejoices in the truth" but it also requires patience, it also requires forbearance, it is not prone to anger, it does not brood over injuries; it ultimately requires "trust, hope and the power to endure."

Jesus promised us that the truth will set us free. Jesus never promised us that it would always be easy.

Rev. Michael S. Murray, OSFS, is the Executive Director of the De Sales Spirituality Center.