Our Venerable Father Alexius, Man of God
Great Fast Day 23. According to liturgical prescriptions, the Divine Liturgy is not celebrated today.
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Proverbs 12:8-22
Just a few days ago, I was having a conversation with another priest about how stressful the fluidity of the coronavirus situation is; how a decision one day can quickly be rendered moot by the evolving situation the next day. In the course of the conversation, I said something that was personally hurtful. I did not realize this until the next day when, during a follow-up conversation, he mentioned how the words of the previous day hurt and affected him.
In today’s reading, verse 20 reminds all of us about how our words can hurt or heal: “There are those who wound with a sword as they speak, but the tongues of the wise heal.”
Brothers and sisters, all of us have had moments of regret after saying something during moments of strong emotion. We feel remorse and wish we could take back whatever it is we said. Just as we take precautions to minimize the spread of viruses, we must be even more cautious with our words to ensure that they do not hurt but rather heal.