What if you had to choose one of the symbols of the Four Evangelists and adopt it as your own? Which of those four icons—a majestic lion, a formidable ox, a fearsome winged creature, a splendid eagle—would best represent your own evangelization efforts?
If you’re like me, you couldn’t choose because you’d be laughing too hard. It would be ridiculous to think that one of those bold images could somehow express the mission of You the Evangelist.
No, you’d have to find a completely different symbol to accurately represent your efforts. Like the image of a timid puppy, maybe. Or a skittish ostrich. Or maybe a clumsy sloth.
But, you know what? Evangelists don’t have to be formidable or fearsome. They don’t have to be glib or gifted, brave or brainy. Evangelizing doesn’t always call for remarkable acts of courage or virtue.
Sometimes, in fact, evangelizing is all about keeping your mouth shut.
St. James tells us: “So the tongue is a little member and boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is an unrighteous world among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the cycle of nature, and set on fire by hell.” (James 3:5-6)
Strong words, those, and ones which the Benedictine monks live by. The monks practice something called “custody of the tongue,” which requires that they always be fully conscious of the words they say. Unless what they have to say is uplifting, edifying, or just plain necessary, they do not speak.
This is far more easily said (no pun intended) than done. Yet it’s not only monks who are called to practice custody of the tongue; it is a task for all who strive to imitate Christ, who Himself kept silent when He was unjustly accused.
There are unlimited opportunities in our everyday lives to evangelize by practicing custody of the tongue. Each time we keep quiet instead of saying words that are hurtful, rash, or sinful, we are preaching the Gospel in silence.
The first step in observing custody of the tongue is recognizing which words are best left unsaid. Who hasn’t caught himself doing one or more of the following:
- Criticizing a member of the clergy;
- Interrupting someone in conversation;
- Failing to think before he speaks;
- Gossiping about a neighbor;
- Allowing himself to be provoked;
- Railing against the government;
- Letting irritability creep into his speech;
- Continuing to talk after he has said enough.
St. Josemaría Escrivá understood the power of words to harm, and of silence to heal. The organization he founded, Opus Dei, was often misunderstood, and St. Escrivá himself maligned. But the saint bore his sufferings with patience, and counseled his supporters with these words: “Keep silent, and you will never regret it. Speak, and you often will.”
Copyright © 2013, Celeste Behe
Celeste Behe
Celeste Behe is a storyteller and sometime humorist who, according to one book author, "writes like Garrison Keillor would, if he were Catholic and had nine kids." She is also a contributor to Faith & Family magazine, the National Catholic Register, and the Integrated Catholic Life, and she blogs at A Perpetual Jubilee. As a designated Toastmaster, Celeste entertains audiences with both nostalgic tales of her childhood in the Bronx, and modern-day tales of adventure that could only be told by the mother of nine. Celeste's memoir--cum-cookbook, Nine Kids, No Dishwasher: A Celebration of Life, Love, and Table, is a work in progress.
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