VATICAN CITY. Be quiet, speak the right thing, “bite your tongue a little, which is good at times, instead of saying nonsense”: this is the wish of Pope Francis, who at the general audience quoted the book of Sirach so much, “in it kills more the tongue than the sword “, as much as Mina,” Words, words, words … and nothing substantial “:” We think – said Bergoglio – at times that we have killed with the tongue: we would be ashamed but it will do us so much good “.
At the end of the audience, the Pope invited the faithful present in the Paul VI hall to pray for Haiti, after the recent explosion of a tanker that killed 59 people; the island had already been hit in recent years by a devastating earthquake and recently plunged into a still unresolved political crisis with the killing of President Jovenel Moise: “In the past few hours, a devastating explosion occurred in Cap-Heitien, in the north of Haiti, in which many people have lost their lives, including many children, ”said Francis. “Poor Haiti, one after the other, is a people in suffering. Let’s pray, let’s pray for Haiti, they are good people, good people, religious people but they are suffering a lot. I am close to the inhabitants of that citỳ and to the families of the victims, as well as to the wounded. I invite you to join in the prayer for these brothers and sisters of ours, so severely tried ».
The Pope centered the catechesis on the figure of Saint Joseph, who never speaks in the Gospels, to indicate him as an example of those who know how to be silent to leave room for God. It is important to think of silence in this age that it does not seem to have much value. “, he has declared. “As the spiritual life grows, words diminish: parroting, talking like parrots continually diminishes a little.” But “Joseph’s silence is not silence; it is a silence full of listening, an industrious silence, a silence that brings out his great interiority ”, Bergoglio explained. Nor, he then said when greeting the French-speaking faithful, silence must be complicit in injustices: “Let us learn to put an end to our complicit silences and words that attack charity, to stay close to those who suffer and have need to be welcomed, recognized, protected and loved ».
“How beautiful it would be – said Jorge Mario Bergoglio – if each of us, following the example of St. Joseph, were able to recover this contemplative dimension of life that is wide open in silence. But we all know from experience that it is not easy: silence – the Pope noted – scares us a little, because it asks us to enter ourselves and to encounter the true part of ourselves. Many people are afraid of silence: they have to talk, talk, or listen: radio, television – but silence cannot bear it because they are afraid. The philosopher Pascal observed that “all the unhappiness of men comes from one thing only: from not knowing how to remain quiet in a room” ». Silence, on the other hand, must make room for the voice of the Holy Spirit: «It is not easy to recognize this Voice, which is very often confused together with the thousand voices of worries, temptations, desires, hopes that inhabit us; but without this training that comes precisely from the practice of silence, our speaking can also get sick. Instead of letting the truth shine, it can become a dangerous weapon. In fact – continued Francis – our words can become flattery, vainglory, lies, slander, slander. It is a fact of experience which, as the Book of Sirach reminds us, “kills the tongue more than the sword”. Jesus said it clearly: whoever speaks badly of his brother and sister, whoever slanders his neighbor, is a murderer. Kills with the tongue. We do not believe this but it is the truth: we think – the Pope said – a little at times that we have killed with the tongue, we would be ashamed! But it will do us so much good, so much good ».
Again: «Many times we are doing a job and when we finish, we immediately look for the cell phone… we always stay like this, and this doesn’t help, it makes us slip into superficiality. The depth of the heart grows with silence, which leaves room for wisdom, reflection and the Holy Spirit. We are not afraid of moments of silence, it will do us so much good. And the benefit of the heart that we will have will also heal our language, our words and above all our choices. In fact, Joseph combined action with silence ». And therefore, “silence, fruitful words when we speak, we have the memory of that song,” Words, words, words “(by Mina, ed), and nothing substantial … silence, speaking the right, biting a little language, which is sometimes good, instead of saying nonsense “, said the Pope, who concluded the catechesis with a prayer on the subject addressed to St. Joseph:” Teach us to fast from empty words, to rediscover the value of the words that build , they encourage, console, support. Get close to those who suffer because of words that hurt, such as slander and slander, and help us always to combine words with facts ».
Before the general audience, the Pope received the promoters, organizers and artists of the Christmas Concert in the Vatican, promoted by the Congregation for Catholic Education, and the proceeds of which will be donated to the Pontifical Scholas Occurrentes Foundation and the Foundation Salesian Missions Don Bosco. “In the Christmas Concert you offer your artistic qualities to support educational projects, aimed above all at children and young people in two countries that are in very precarious conditions: Haiti and Lebanon”, Francis noted in the speech he addressed to them. “The pandemic has unfortunately aggravated the educational gap for millions of children and adolescents excluded from any educational activity. And there are other “pandemics” that prevent the spread of the culture of dialogue and inclusion. The light of Christmas makes us rediscover the sense of brotherhood and pushes us to solidarity with those in need ».