Fr. Adam was feeling super anxious after he received his new assignment to start a new parish in Las Vegas. The devil began to attack him with thoughts like “am I going to be OK. Will people come to support him as he starts this new faith community.”
Then toxic thoughts got into his head, when he discovered that his former dioceses were sending notices that he no longer was a valid minister of the sacraments. He feared: “would he be able to withstand the attacks from his enemies and haters and distractors and naysayers and fear mongers and the religious sectarians who will say that the PNCC is not real and valid and legitimate and not a licit Catholic Church.” Fr. Adam had a bad case of “monkey brain” when we only think the worse.
Fr. Adam prays that it would be nice to be vindicated. But more importantly, he asked, "Now, where do I go to get my name back?" It's a good question. After your name is dragged through the mud, after your reputation is ruined, after hearing the whispers and feeling the stares, where do you go to get your name back? Whoever said sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me didn't know much about gossip, did they?
"Where do I go to get my name back?". Within days of being incarnated into the PNCC, his former religious brothers had him all but condemned. Never mind that Fr. Adam was seizing the opportunity to start a fresh new democratic church in an area steeped in addictions where he would be a shepherd to save hundreds of lives. And yet his life would be ruined, dragged through the mud, through rumors and innuendo and gossip.
That naysayer never gazed into the sad faces of a family whose son has died in a tragic car wreck and heard the unfounded rumors, never heard them ask, "What causes people to feed on half truths and spread them with such ferocity?"
Truth matters because anything less than the truth eventually leads to pain for someone. The people of Israel love to murmur, and they love to complain, especially about Moses. They even complained about God. And all kinds of people love to gossip and murmur against Jesus just like this week’s gospel.
The truth is a powerful thing. In fact, our whole society depends on it. Every relationship you have, business, marriage, friendship depends on truthfulness, doesn't it? And when we don't tell the truth about other people, when we gossip, stick our noses into areas where they don't belong because of a desire to be in the know, when we slander, intentionally set out to hurt somebody with our words, bad things happen, marriages crumble, relationships sour, friendships end, churches are divided and sometimes lives are destroyed.
The tongue is a dangerous weapon. It's a powerful tool, and there are no tongue control laws. Tongue is remarkable. It can destroy thousands of lives without shedding an ounce of blood. Most of us don't think of ourselves as murderers, do we? But we murder people's reputations when we gossip or when we stand by and let somebody else assassinate a person's character. Gossip can never be undone. Some people will never look the same way at that person again. It's evil. Gossip is the invisible sin. And tragically now, gossip is just another name for conversation. Social media has made murmuring normal. In fact, it's made it accepted, encouraged, and not even noticed. In fact, a lot of people have gotten rich off gossip.
But you and I are called to be the people of truth. Honesty is not the best policy. Honesty is a way of life. People of God deal honestly with other people. We live the truth. We shouldn't look like the world.
A Cornell study found that we lie to people most often when we're on the phone and face to face, and least often via email and text, where there's a written record of what we actually say. But you and I are called to be different. Words have power. Words have the power to heal, to give hope, to encourage.
So here's three simple questions to ask yourself before you speak. Number one, is this true? Take this seriously before you say something. Ask yourself is it true. If you don't know that what you say is true, stop. Second, is this necessary? Sometimes there's no denying the facts, but it's just not helpful to broadcast them or to have other people take pleasure in the shame of somebody else. There are times to remain silent, and the best way to prevent gossip is to ask yourself is it really necessary to say this? Does this person really need to know? And if the answer is no, stop. Third, is this charitable? Slander means to intentionally use words to hurt someone. And slander is easily prevented by this question. Will these words bring hope or healing? If it's not charitable, if the words can't bring hope or healing, stop. You and I are called to stand for the truth. We're called to stand out for the truth, to speak the truth, to use words to help, not to hurt. We are called to be a people of truth.
Fr. Adam shared a recent memory going to breakfast with two bishops after he was incarnated to a local restaurant in Scranton, Pennsylvania. To his surprise, the breakfast menu included “a pierogi omelet.” OMG, he said to himself. At that moment he felt that his grandma was with him and he knew instantly that he was going to be OK. He would be just fine.
Why, because
when his “Babcia” shows up, everything is OK, she makes it all well. She always
did and she always will. She taught him to be a person of truth, to be a
minister of hope and healing. In his heart,
Babcia brings Jesus and if Jesus is with us who can be against us?
He prays: “Jesus, I trust in you.” He asks his new parishioners to repeat that prayer everyday with him, and every day he promises to bless you with a big pierogi smile and a big hello. Come to his new church, Divine Mercy and know the truth that in his presence you will OK and experience the healing power of Jesus.
Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends who have suffered from loose lips and narrow minds. With your grace, may we persevere in our quest and pursue our dreams. Put on your “pierogi smile” that drives away toxic thoughts and say to our distractors, we walk in the light and love Our Lord for who can stand against us.
