The first reading from Sirach for today’s liturgy is short (Sir 27:4-7), short but with a pithy message, a message we should never forget, a message that should quickly cause us to pause and observe before uttering a word to my neighbor! “The fruit of a tree shows the care it has had; so too does one’s speech disclose the bent of one’s mind” (Sir 27: 5). And we could add that one’s speech reveals the bent of one’s heart as well as one’s thoughts. The fruit of a tree shows the care it has had, should we not then show care for the state of our inner life? One’s speech is revelatory of our inner state. Do we ever ask ourselves: Is there a correspondence between the words we utter and the heart? This union of heart and speech is pivotal for relationship. And when this union is not there, what do we do? Perhaps first is awareness: do we hear in the words we express irritation, or negative energy, or pushiness, or control of the conversation, or a know-it-all attitude, or defensiveness? I am sure you can add to this list. As monastics an essential antidote is contemplative awareness. Listening within the silence of the heart will bring awareness to our inner state and to the words that we speak.
The gospel (Lk 6:39-45) has three pericopes. They are very relevant for today and challenge our quickness to judge another. In the one pericope that I will focus on, Jesus brilliantly points out the projective dynamic that we all get caught in: “Why do you notice the splinter in your brother or sister’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?” Here is the conversion point: we are to return to ourselves and look at the state of our own heart. Just this movement to look within my heart creates a difference, our judgmental murmuring towards my sister begins to diminish because we are open to the truth of ourselves. Michael Casey writes: “Bernard of Clairvaux clearly affirms that humility is grounded on truth: within oneself, in one’s relations with others, and with regard to God” (Living in the Truth, p.17). Truth, he continues “was seen as a quality of being, taken as a whole, and not merely a state of intellect. It signified the conformity of the created reality with the intention of its Maker. In this context truth touched not only the mind but also the heart and the emotions” (p.17). The ‘splinter and beam’ parable that Jesus challenges us with calls us back to ourselves and to look at the truth of our lives at any given moment. Fr. Michael adds this profound statement: “Truth filled living is the soul of humility” (p.18). Truth filled living helps us to see our beams, makes us more tender towards the sliver we see in our sister or brother. Truth filled living brings a correspondence between our words and heart.
We are called as disciples to see with the heart and mind of Christ. In the prayer encounter with Christ there we are received with mercy and compassion. The care we receive in the Divine encounter, of being met with compassion, becomes the ground for meeting my sister and brother with new eyes and a new converted heart, a heart of compassion.
Sr.Kathy DeVico, Abbess
Chapter Talk – Eighth Sunday of the Year – March 2, 2025, cycle-C
