Our Venerable Father and Confessor Nicetas, Hegumen of the Monastery of Medicius.
Day 32 of the Great Fast.
Sixth Hour – Isaiah 42:5-16; Vespers – Genesis 18:20-33; Proverbs 16:17-17:17.
Read Proverbs 16:17-17:17
Today’s reading from the Book of Proverbs teaches us to be mindful of our words. We read: “The heart of a wise man shall understand the things from his own mouth, and he shall carry knowledge upon his lips. Good words are a honeycomb, and their sweetness is a healing of the soul. . . . A man without discernment digs up evil things for himself and stores up fire on his own lips. A perverse man spreads evil things, and a torch of deceit kindles evils and separates friends” (Pr. 16:21-22, 25-26). With the words from our lips, we can bring knowledge and healing or we can bring deceit and evil.
Every time we pray Vespers, we pray: “Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth, a door of enclosure about my lips” (Ps. 140:3). As we journey through the Great Fast and often pray the Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian, we ask God to take away from us the spirit of “idle chatter.” The more we speak, the more inclined we are to speak carelessly and sin with our words. We need to be careful and intentional about the words we say. With our words, let us praise God and show our love for Him and our neighbor.