Part of this practice will show us the places and the people that stimulate us to communicate. Another part of this practice will show the strength of our desire to communicate and the strength of our own will to resist that desire. We need to become persons who are aware of the power of words. Words shape us and form us. Words direct our attention and our energies.
Words can build up and they can tear down.
Even a word of truth can be destructive when it is not uttered in charity and true love. Saint Benedict is terribly strong in condeming gossip and murmuring in the monastery. We need to be aware that there are two strains of thought about laughter in the Rule. Benedict is never very favorable to laughter or jest, but the Chapter on Lent indicates that he was aware that laughter and jesting were part of normal life. Laughter and jest are realities that also can build up or destroy.