Lenten Fast from Gossip

Death and life are in the power of the tongue

You know how we usually talk about fasting from food during Lent? Maybe skipping that extra coffee? Well in his message for Lent this year Pope Leo goes deeper. He says Lent isn’t just about what we put in our mouths. It’s also about what comes out of them too. He straight-up invites us to “fast from harsh words.” He wants us to disarm our language.

Think about it: how often do we fire off a snarky comment online, snap at someone in traffic, or drop a passive-aggressive remark to a family member? Or worse yet, gossip behind someone’s back? Pope Leo got our number. He calls that out directly. He says to avoid harsh words, rash judgments, slander because those things tear people down instead of building them up. He wants us to make space for kinder words, words of hope and peace.

And he ties it right into listening. When we’re too busy talking (or typing) harsh stuff, we’re not really hearing God or hearing the people around us who are hurting. Fasting from those biting words creates quiet in our hearts and in our conversations. It lets us actually listen to Scripture and to each other.

The world is crazy right now with daily social media fights, family arguments, political shouting matches. This message from Pope Leo comes just at the right moment..

He wraps it up by asking for the grace to make Lent about greater attentiveness to God and to the least among us. And part of that attentiveness is watching our words, because our tongues can do real damage... or real good. As it says in Proverbs, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit” (Proverbs 18:21). Our words aren’t neutral. Our words literally bring life or death, and we reap what we speak.