The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1902-05-17
FIVE MINUTE SERMON.
Short Instructions For Early Masses
by the Paulist Fathers.

by the Paulist Fathers.
Let every man bespeak swift to hear,
but slow to speak k'-Epistle of the
Day.
This is certainly very practical in
struction. And the first part of it, at
any rate, seems to be very easy to car
ry out in practice. We can live fully
up to it, after fashion, with very lit
tie effort. 1t is not hard to be swift to
hear all the news that is going: to fill
our heads with all sorts of information.
which, to say the least, is of no man
ner Of use TO us. And we may per-
haps, be particularly swift to hear any
thing which is to the discredit of any
of our acquaintances. We are all more
or less inclined that way.
But this can hardly be the meaning
OF. st. James precept. For if We are
swift to hear of these matters, we are
by no means slow to speak of them.
Quite the contrary; they circulate very
rapidly. OF course it may be neces-
sary sometimes to speak of the faults
Of others to some prudent person for
advice, or some other good reason: but
even this should not be done hastily or
carelessly. Slow to speak" is the only
part of st. James instruction which
fits this matter
But this really was not quite the
matter which the apostle had in mind.
There are Occasions-plenty of them
on which we are by no means swift to
hear. Good listeners, in really profit
able conversation. are rather rare. We
all think that our ideas are as good as
those Of the next man or woman. and
indeed probably a good deal better. If
any one is telling a story about some
interesting event. we think we could
tell 1T much better, or that we have a
much better one TO tell. If he is Civ
ing the result of his observation or ex-
perience. we think ours is much more
valuable and important While he is
talking, we are thinking much more
about what we are going to say than
about what he is saying And if we
are arguing about something. we pay
little attention to the argument on the
other side. but wait with impatience-
if we wait at alto bring forward our
much superior arguments for our own
And. particularly how hard it is for
us to accept advice in general We
ought not to receive. but to give it.
II is very hard for US to believe that
someone else has more ability or better
judgment than ourselves. About some
things, yes: about many, perhaps: but
not about the particular matter in
hand.
St James. then, would give us a les
son in humility, the hardest of all vir-
tues to acquire thoroughly, and yet the
foundation of all supernatural ones. 1t
viii be well If we can take it to heart.
But there is another and q deeper
meaning in his words. He warns us
elsewhere in his epistle most
strongly. against sins of the tongue.
There is nothing else for the con-
troll of which the grace of God
is more urgently needed. And we
ought to know, on account of our sins,
how little we have of that grace
habitually; and we ought to presume
that others. whose sins we know little
about, have much more of it than we
have. We ought to fear sin in our own
words, especially if they are hastily
spoken; we ought to believe that the
grace of God is in those Of others. un-
less the contrary plainly appears II it
does, then indeed may be the time for