Whoever desires to obtain a perfect love of Jesus Christ should go to Jesus Christ by the way of obedience, for this Divine Saviour was obedient unto death.

                        ~~Book of the Foundations.

The soul upon which by the permission of God the eyes of the world are fixed to watch and censure her actions, may prepare herself to be martyred in this life; for if she will not die to the world, the world will slay her.
                               ~Life of St. Teresa, Ch.xxxi

 

 In Valpariso, Chile, at the beginning of the 20th century, Fr. Mateo

Crawley-Boevey SS, CC., well known as the great Apostle of the Sacred Heart

of Jesus, was a young priest. Fr. Mateo told this story wherever he

preached and he found that where people were prepared to earn "three golden

coins" with love, many graces were obtained and many conversions followed.

He relates that one day an 8 year old girl told him that Jesus spoke to her

every time she received Holy Communion. Father was somewhat skeptical and

requested her to ask Jesus to give him proof. The proof Father requested

was the sudden conversion of a certain man who was a big sinner, a fallen

away Catholic, and enemy of the Church ... and also that this man should

come to him for Confession.

About a week later when Fr. Mateo was hearing confessions, the young girl

told him that this sinner was coming up to the church. As the priest was

leaving the confessional, the fallen away Catholic came into the church and

walked over to Fr. Mateo and asked him to help him with his confession. He

said that it was the first one since he was baptized. He did not know what

came over him that morning but he suddenly understood the necessity of

going to confession. Father realized that he had received the proof he

requested.

The young girl told the priest that Our Lord revealed to her that He would

give the graces to repent and mend his ways to this fallen away Catholic,

and also to many other souls. He said, "Always ask Me for souls and I will

give them to you, and tell Father Mateo to ask Me for souls. I will give

them to him, too, but first you must become My missionary."

She thought she was too young to be a missionary. Our Lord assured her that

He would make her His missionary and that she would have to pay a certain

price for souls. "I want you," said Jesus, "to earn three golden coins a

day." Our Lord then explained what He meant by golden coins.

    1) The first golden coin was her prayers to Him for souls.

    2) The second golden coin was her little sacrifices, especially acts

of obedience.

    3) The third golden coin was a promise: "never to miss Mass or Holy

Communion through your own fault and to visit Me often in the Blessed

Sacrament."

The eternal Father is singularly pleased when He sees a soul who humbly takes His Son as mediator, and who bears Him so much affection, that even when He would raise her to higher contemplation, recognizes herself as unworthy of it, saying with St. Peter, "Depart from me for I am a sinful man, O Lord,"

                ~Life of St. Teresa, ch. xxv

"If you are joyful, consider Our Lord in His resurrection. 

If your heart is cast down by labors and sadness,

contemplate Him in the garden of Gethsemane,
and thus you will profit by sadness."
                                  ~Way of Perfection, Ch. xxvi

 




For a long time the parish priest of Moncada in Spain had celebrated

Mass without any scruples of conscience, when suddenly he became the prey

of a violent doubt as to whether he had been rightly ordained.  In his

distress, to allay his doubts he determined to put his case before his

bishop.  He immediately set out on foot and journeyed to Valencia, the seat

of the diocese.  In this place it pleased Almighty God to deliver him from

his trouble, and to give him light and peace by means of a very remarkable

miracle.

The priest had been appointed to say Christmas Mass.  He had reached the

awful moment of Consecration, and with trembling hands took the host and

pronounced the words of transubstantiation with a quivering voice.  As he

raised the Sacred Host aloft, and knelt again in trembling adoration, the

cry of a little five-year-old child rang out from the congregation:  "O

Mama, what a lovely child!  See there, Mama!  He is up on the altar."  A

little lad nearby, apparently forgetful of everything else, stood upon the

chair and clapped his hands with joy.  The boy's mother was embarrassed and

bade him hush, for no one else had seen the vision of beauty; only the

innocent child saw it when the Sacred Host was raised on high.  Again and

again he entreated his mother to look.  "Such a beautiful child, Mama," he

whispered, "just like the little baby over there in the crib."

The mother and child awaited to hear a second Mass which was said by the

same priest at dawn, and again at the Elevation the little boy exclaimed,

"Oh, there he is again, Mama, don't you see?  The priest is holding him up

in his hands and now he has laid him on the altar!"  The mother bade the

child be silent; she could not see anything, the great grace being granted

only to her little son.

The priest completed the Christmas offering by saying the third Mass.  At

the Elevation the boy was all excitement, and the same scene was enacted as

before.  The happy mother repeated this strange occurrence to others, and

through them it reached the ears of the priest himself who, it may be

believed, was greatly comforted thereby.  However, his scruples were not

entirely removed.  He doubted whether the child might not have been

deceived, and therefore he requested that the little boy be cross-examined

by him.  But the answers of the child were so accurate that he found no

reason to doubt the reality of the manifestation.  Full of joy and filled

with gratitude towards God, he invited the little boy and his mother to be

present as often as possible at his Mass, and on each occasion the miracle

was renewed.  As doubts still lingered in his mind, he resolved to receive

a final convincing proof.  Taking three particles with him to the altar, he

placed two upon the corporal and consecrated them, leaving the third one

unconsecrated but within reach.  After Holy Mass was ended he called the

little boy to the altar, and asked him if he saw the divine Infant in

either of the particles, and, if so, in which.  "Oh yes, Father," said the

boy, "there He is!  See, He is stretching out His hands."  The little

fellow seemed quite ravished with delight.  On pointing to the other host

the priest asked:  "And what about it?  Is the Divine Infant also in that

other host?"  The child answered, "No."  "But are you sure?" queried the

priest.  "Oh yes, Father, there is nothing there."  At the last

manifestation the peace of the good priest returned to him.  Unrest and

scruple vanished from his mind forever, and for the remainder of his life

he served God with greater love and piety.

PRAYER: "O Sacrament most holy! O Sacrament divine! All praise and all

thanksgiving be every moment Thine.

In order to arm himself against this trap, Emperor Constantine said that even if he saw the Head of Christianity commit an atrocious act, not only would he not reveal it, but he would cover it with his cloak. Let us do likewise. Let us keep a mutual watch over our reputations and tflee even the shadow of backbiting like the plague, according to the formal exhortation of the great Apostle Saint James, "Brethren, do not speak against one another," (20) for God will treat us as rigorously as we have treated others. The person who refuses to cover the weaknesses of others will see his own crimes come to the light of day. Do you want others to keep silence regarding your miseries? Then keep silence regarding theirs; put a lock over your mouth and a brake on your tongue. Praise everyone as much as you can. If you canno, then abstain from condemning them. If you encounter only enormous vices and no virtues, say not a word. If others mention them, change the subject. If you consider it impolite to sharply interrupt the conversation of people older than you, then keep silence. If they ask you what you think about it, be indulgent and temper any excess in their actions by the mildness of your words. Mildness is never lacking to those who seek it.
(20) Jas 4:11
If someone relates certain things you have witnessed, limit yourself to talking about human weakness, and celebrate the virtues of the man whose vices they expose. Say, "Even the greatest men have done things that need to be forgiven." If they continue condemning your neighbor, see if there is not something praiseworthy in him; and instead of his defects, bring out his virtues, even if he is an enemy. It is surprising how such praise can help to calm hatred and heal wounded friendships. Even those who condemn you for it will secretly approve you and begin loving you for praising their enemy.
Before concluding this treatise on backbiting, which is a vice we can never sufficiently detest let us relate a memorable story:
Two people attached to religion by special bonds were close friends. Unfortunately, one of them had such a venomous tongue that he spared no one in his attacks. When this man was laid low by a serious illness, his friend advised him to think about his salvation and do penance to expiate the sins of his life. But it was as if he were preaching to a deaf man. "Well then," said the friend, "at least let us make a pact, a pact that will endure beyond the grave. If you die before I do, you will appear to me within a month unless God opposes the idea, and you will teach me the mysteries of the other life."
To reward the constancy of his friend, the sick person promised he would do it; and God was not opposed. Some time after his death the backbiter emerged from hell all covered with flames and came to see his friend. Recognizing his deceased friend at once, the man was seized with such trembling that he was unable to speak a word or even look upon the flaming ghost.
But the spirit spoke and said, "it is I, your friend, condemned to eternal hellfire. I was brought to the tribunal of the Sovereign Judge at the very moment of my death, and my accusers were all the people I had dishonored by my tongue. Since I could neither deny nor excuse what they accused me of, the Judge -- alas! thrice alas! --sentenced me to eternal damnation!" (21)
(21) Fr. John Major. S. J., Theologia Specul. exempl, p. 264.
If such torments are reserved for backbiters, Saint Augustine is certainly not wrong in saying, "When the devil cannot devour someone by leading him into evil, he attempts to defile his reputation in order to weigh him down beneath the outrages of men and the backbiting of evil tongues, and thus draw him into his clutches." (22)
(22) Saint Augustine, Epistle 137
"Guard against profitless grumbling, and from calumny withhold your tongues; for a stealthy utterance does not go unpunished." (23)
(23) Wis 1:11
"Which of you desires life, and takes delight in prosperous ways? Keep your tongue from evil," (24) and especially from backbiting. As much as you will have spared the reputation of others, so much will you spare both your own reputation and your own life.
(24) Ps 33:13-14

END OF BOOK

So great was St. Teresa's charity towards her enemies that it was a common saying:  
"To win Teresa's love, it suffices to ill treat and humiliate her."                  
                     ~The Heart of St. Teresa

Lesson III: Withdraw from backbiters' deadly conversations.
Freeze their tongue with a sudden departure, so at least they know that you disapprove of such language. That is Saint Jerome's advice: "If you hear someone speaking ill of another, cast him far from you like a serpent; so that, overcome by shame, he will learn to be silent regarding the actions of others." (13) He learned this from Saint Paul, who says, "I write to you not to associate with one who is called a brother, if he is immoral, or covetous, or an idolater or evil-tongued." (14)
(13) Saint Jerome, In Reg. Mon, Chapter 22
(14) I Cor 5:11
Cassian relates having seen an elder called Machetus who had obtained a very singular grace from God: as long as people were talking about the things of God he would not feel sleepy, even if the conversation lasted night and day; but if, on the contrary, people were speaking useless words or beginning to backbite their neighbor, he would fall asleep at once.
Those who do not want to imitate this elder, who cannot fall asleep or do not want to, should at least show that they are Christians by indicating their displeasure with some sign. They should do this right at the start of the conversation, when a bucket of water will suffice to put the fire out. For you will have a hard time mastering the fire once it has become a conflagration. "The north wind drives away rain, as does a sad countenance a backbiting tongue." (15) And Saint Jerome adds, "if you listen to a backbiter with a happy look you encourage him to continue backbiting; he shakes the coals, and then you add the wood. If, on the contrary, you listen to him with a sad, unhappy look he will learn to spare his words when he sees that you are not listening to him willingly. If you do not do this, you show that you are a false brother of the one who is backbiting, or that you are a cowardly friend."
(15) Prov 25:23
V.
My friends, by acting otherwise -- by showing less care for others' reputation than for our own -- we violate the law of Our Lord, who tells us to love our neighbor as ourself. The person who sets fire to his neighbor's house is sinful, but so is the man who warms himself by the heat of the burning house. If he is not an enemy, then let him carry some water to put out the fire. In the same way, we do harm not only by backbiting others, but also by not stopping those who backbite, encouraging them with praise and applause. A sincere friend not only avoids backbiting, but also does everything he can to bring it to a halt. A devoted brother hides his brother's dishonorable vices from others, revealing them only to those who are able to remedy them.

Apelles depicted King Antigone as a person with only one eye. However, he also disposed the king's portrait at an angle whereby his physical defects might be attributed to the painting, showing only that part of his face which could not be seen to disadvantage. (16)
(16) Phil., Hist. Nat. lib, Book 35, Chapter 10

Such are the portraits drawn by a truly Christian hand. It neglects anything vicious in the face of another and shows only whatever is worthy of being seen.
Plato imitated Apelles perfectly, not by hand or brush, but by his care in hiding the vices of others. Someone came to inform him that his disciple Xenocrates had been telling all sorts of malicious stories about him. Plato, careful to avoid believing this badly motivated report, replied, "It is highly improbable." Since the accuser insisted with every appearance of truth, Plato added, "I cannot believe that I am not loved by someone I love so much." It availed nothing for the accuser to swear that what he said was true. Not wanting to test whether the man was lying, Plato simply said, "Xenocrates would not have spoken thus unless he thought he were doing me a favor." (17)
(17) Valer., Book 4, Chapter 1.
That is how we should attenuate and cover the vices of others, instead of exaggerating and proclaiming them everywhere. Solomon advises us, "Do not give heed to every word that is spoken." (18) And Saint Bernard confirms what he wrote on this subject by saying, "Backbiters pour poison into the ears of those who listen to them." (19) Both the backbiter and his complacent listener commit sin. If a man with a perfidious tongue advises someone to swallow poison, that person will die. The backbiter furtively robs you of the virtue of charity, and he makes your fraternal love grow cold without your even being aware of it.
(18) Eccl 7:22
(19) Saint Bernard, De modo bene vivendi, Chapters 17 and 37; Serm. De Tripl.

Lesson II: Change the subject.
If you are being chased by a mad bull, throw a coat over his head; while he is wrestling with the coat, run away as fast as you can. When you hear someone backbiting, the best thing you can do is throw a coat in his face -- that is, confront his language by changing the subject. And it is not always necessary to take great precautions and act with circumspection, either. Sometimes you can put a sudden halt to a conversation.

Thomas More, the glory of England, renowned for his holiness and learning alike, gave the finest example in everything. No matter where he was, as soon as he heard someone speaking rashly about his neighbor and insulting people who were absent, he would strive to change the conversation. "No matter what one may think," he would say, "that house is exceedingly well built. Certainly, the one who constructed it has proven that he knew what he was doing." Thus would he punish or disconcert backbiters.

Plutarch relates that Alcibiades, one of the wisest and greatest men of Ancient Greece, once learned that people were spreading unkind stories about him. He had the idea of replacing them with other stories which, if not better, were at least more innocent. Having recently purchased a magnificent dog, he cut off its tail and let it run rampant through the streets of the city. Some of his friends got upset over this and reproached this great man for doing such a ridiculous thing. "Don't get angry," said Alcibiades in his sweetest voice. "The only reason I did it was so that people could aim their malicious zeal at a petty brute. Let them talk about Alcibiades' dog as much as they like, as long as Alcibiades himself can escape their teeth." If a tiger kidnaps a little dog, just give it a mirror and it will quickly forget all about the dog.

Shrewd enough to realize how hard it is for a man in the public eye to escape evil tongues, Alcibiades offered the people of Athens an insignificant creature on which to exercise their petulance in a more harmless manner.

Men with sober tongues should imitate Alcibiades' example in order to silence hissing backbiters. If you cannot interrupt the conversation, at least try and temper it. Presume the good intentions of those who are absent by saying, "We never really know all the extenuating circumstances. Rumor always swells things way out of proportion." Thus you will dash cold water on an intemperate tongue and moderate the backbiter's passion, and possibly even change the course of the conversation.

"The mysteries of the Passion of Jesus Christ, well pondered are many sparks capable of inflaming us with His Holy love."                                                               ~ Mansion 6th Ch. vii

IV.
Lesson I: Look at yourself and discover your own wretchedness.
Why waste your time with the affairs of others? Take care of your own instead. Who ever named you a reporter of the lives and deeds of others? Curious and absurd man, why do you set foot in other people's gardens? Find out what is going on in your own house instead, and say with La Fontaine:
Happy the man who stays at home,
Occupied with governing his own desires.
You may have heard about the porbeagle, or white shark. When safe inside its nest, it draws its eyes into a sac; when it leaves, they reappear on its forehead. It is blind at home and clear-eyed outside. As Socrates once stated concerning an aged man:
He knows everything from afar,
But he sees nothing nigh.
This occurs with many elderly people: show them an object close up, and they cannot see any details; draw it back and they see it better. Thus are many people shocked by the petty sins of others, whereas they are perfectly indulgent regarding their own serious faults. One might say:
The sovereign Maker
Created us all beggars in the same way,
Those of times past and those of today.
For our own faults He made the pocket in the back,
And the one in the front for others who slack.
So then, move the back pocket round in front And if you examine it well, no doubt you will find the defect you are complaining about. All of life's woes stem from the fact that each person flatters himself, and makes himself as much an enemy of others as a selfish friend of himself. We pluck out the straw from our neighbor's eye, and we do not see the beam in our own. Like the eye, which does not see the defects of the cheek because it is so close, we are perfectly blind regarding our own weaknesses. Very clever in discerning the slightest imperfections in others, we walk right by our own like blind people, although they are so close we could touch them. And the more sensitive we are when someone speaks ill of us, the bolder we are and the more pleasure we take in glutting ourselves on our neighbor's vices. We take delight in plunging our eyes and teeth into others' moral behavior. "They devise a wicked scheme, and conceal the scheme they have devised." (9) The back pocket is for our own defects, and the front pocket for the defects of others. We do not see the pocket that lies behind our back.
(9) Ps 63:6
Solomon speaks well of men of this caliber. "There is a group that is pure in its own eyes, yet is not purged of its filth," (10) he says. If an earthen pot were blackened with soot and looked in the mirror, it would not say to the smoked-up kettle, "Woe to you, you are all black!"
(10) Prov 30:12
Christian law speaks in the same manner. When Jesus Christ said, "Let those who believe they are without sin cast the first stone against this woman accused of adultery," (11) no one dared to be the first. Christians, let us do likewise. If we look at what is going on inside ourself and take care of our own business, we will find no one who better deserves to have stones cast at him than ourself. But the crafty devil catches us one way or the other: either we commit sin ourself, or we accuse those who do. Saint John of the Ladder explains it thus: "The devil tempts us to commit sin; and when he does not succeed, he points scornfully at those who have fallen." We do not understand our task very well when we neglect our own nettle-choked garden and go to pull up weeds in someone else's flower bed. Look my friend, stay in your own garden! There are enough burdocks, tares and nettles to weed out right there. Take a hard look at yourself and you will no longer see defects in others. Saint Bernard says, "If you examine yourself well, you will never backbite others." (12)
(11) Jn 8:7
(12) Saint Bernard, De inter. Dom, Chapter 42

 

If I were to meet a priest and an angel, I should salute the priest before I saluted the angel. The latter is the friend of God; but the priest holds His place.

 St. Teresa kissed the ground where a priest had passed. When you see a priest, you should say, "There is he who made me a child of God, and opened Heaven to me by holy Baptism; he who purified me after I had sinned; who gives nourishment to my soul. " At the sight of a church tower, you may say, "What is there in that place?" "The Body of Our Lord. " "Why is He there?" "Because a priest has been there, and has said holy Mass. " 

St. John Vianney

  A thing very pleasing to our Lord and profitable to the soul is to offer Him our heart with much affection, that He may dwell therein, and then to have a  treasure of good works to present to Him;  for the Jews, after receiving Him with great pomp, let Him leave their city without giving Him to eat."

                                    ~Life of St. Teresa, Ch. xi.

- 

HOLY THURSDAY - The night when we thank Our Lord profusely for the institution of the Holy Eucharist and the Holy Priesthood.  Here are some quotes from our saints about priests - We thank God for our good and holy priests and Bishops - Bishop Giles and Madrigal - Fr. Joseph and Fr. Bernard.  We pray that God keeps them safe and protected from the forces of evil that are trying to destroy the remnant Church:

St. Bernard tells us that everything has come to us through Mary; and we may also say that everything has come to us through the priest; yes, all happiness, all graces, all heavenly gifts. If we had not the Sacrament of Orders, we should not have Our Lord. Who placed Him there, in that tabernacle? It was the priest. Who was it that received your soul, on its entrance into life? The priest. Who nourishes it, to give it strength to make its pilgrimage? The priest. Who will prepare it to appear before God, by washing that soul, for the last time, in the blood of Jesus Christ? The priest -- always the priest. And if that soul comes to the point of death, who will raise it up, who will restore it to calmness and peace? Again the priest. You cannot recall one single blessing from God without finding, side by side with this recollection, the image of the priest.' 

St. Jean Marie Baptiste Vianney, the Cure of Ars

 

What tongue, human or angelic, may ever describe a power so immeasurable as that exercised by the simplest priest in Mass? Who could ever have imagined that the voice of man, which by nature hath not the power even to raise a straw from the ground, should obtain through grace a power so stupendous as to bring from Heaven to earth the Son of God?' 

St. Leonard of Port Maurice

III.
People who listen to backbiting can be classified in two different groups. First there are those who hear it reluctantly, and not without certain pangs of conscience. These people are guilty of nothing; they even deserve a reward from God, especially if they express their disapproval with unmistakable hints.

Others remain silent, however, letting no one see whether they agree or not with what is said. When they are blamed for this not very praiseworthy silence, they usually excuse themselves by saying, "I won't shut anyone's mouth. Let others say what they like, I wash my hands. I'm not responsible for criticizing everything people say."

These pacifists are just cleverly fooling themselves. Do they mean that it does not displease them to hear someone outraging their neighbor's reputation and offending God? Let them know this: they commit a serious sin when they remain silent on hearing such words, especially if they have some authority over the offender. Not resisting error is approving it; not defending the truth when one is able, is oppressing it. If you are content to say nothing when you hear ill spoken of others, people will hardly believe you do not keep bad company yourself.

Other people do not only listen to backbiters, they spur them on to continue their stories by their eagerness in hearing them. They say, "Finish relating the details of what you started saying about that person; I'm anxious to hear the truth. I had already heard something about it, but it was still a bit vague. Tell me everything!"

Still others softly entice and incite backbiters, saying, "People are saying such things about you, and you remain silent? How strange!" This provides a perfect occasion for the backbiter to freely give vent to all the bile that is in his heart. Those people are the guiltiest of all, for they take delight in the evil they hear spoken about others.

Thus, both the backbiter and his listener have got the devil in them, one in his mouth and the other in his ear.
Normally, people who are so credulous as to believe all they hear spoken in this manner will quickly manifest anger and impatience, heaping word upon word, insult upon insult, outrage upon outrage. From this stem unending arguments and enmities: the bonds that hold men together are broken, charity is snuffed out, sincere affection and mutual trust vanish. From this also stems an unbridled desire to do harm, urging us to reveal the weaknesses of others. Hidden beneath a cloak of kindness, we disguise vice with a semblance of honesty and start thinking that it is no longer vice.
Such is not the case, and these words of Saint Bernard will always be true: "Backbiters and their listeners are guilty of the same sin." (8) When you speak ill of others, or even when you listen to someone backbiting, you should get just as angry with yourself as when someone else backbites you. The man who drinks poison counselled by an evil tongue will die. Therefore, let us teach backbiters these three lessons:
(8) Saint Bernard, De inter. Dom, Chapter 42, and Serm. De tripl. Custod.

"Let your glory be to bear your cross, seeking neither sweetness nor consolation.  It belongs to the common solider to expect to be paid by the day; serve gratuitously, as the nobles serve their king.

                                         ~Letters of St. Teresa

II.
"Well, who would ever dare to interrupt someone who is speaking?" you may ask. Listen, and Saint John Chrysostom will answer your question: "I must not limit myself to addressing backbiters, but also implore their listeners to stop their ears and walk in the footsteps of the holy king, who said, 'Whoever slanders his neighbor in secret, his enemy will I become.’ (5) Tell the person who comes to you and speaks about others, 'Are you here to praise someone and raise him in my esteem? Then gladly will I give ear and savor all your sweet conversation. But if you intend to speak ill, let me stop you right now; I cannot stand filth and stench. What have I to gain by knowing that someone is evil? Would I not be losing something instead? Talk to him yourself, and let us mind our own business.' " (6)
(5) Ps 100:5
(6) Saint John Chrysostom, Homily 3, Ad pop. Antioch.

If you follow Saint John Chrysostom's advice and shut the backbiter's mouth in this manner, he will either keep silence or praise the person he came to denigrate. If, on the contrary, you pretend not to notice, and if you do not have the courage to reproach him, you are acting with modesty, I admit; but this is inopportune, and both you and your neighbor will suffer as a consequence.

Saint Augustine, an exemplary bishop, detested backbiters so strongly that he posted the following words on the wall of his dining room as a warning to his guests:
Quisquis amat dictis absentum rodere famam,
Hanc mensam vetitam noverit esse sibi
That is, "People who take pleasure in defaming the reputation of absentees are not welcome at this table." An excellent maxim for your dining room! This bishop castigated the perverse habit which prevails in meetings, circles and banquets, of gathering information about those who are absent. How often have you heard people say, "He's got his weak points, you know!... He's certainly a remarkable person, but his behavior is anything but moral... That preacher speaks divinely; too bad he doesn't practice what he preaches... That man had every opportunity, but he never learned how to take advantage of them... That person is a veritable paragon of justice, but all he ever thinks about is his pocketbook -- money is his only god." Unfortunately...
Those who have the most laughable behavior
Are always the first to backbite others.
Thus they amuse themselves by making a sport out of detraction and biting their neighbor. That is why, wishing to banish it from his house, Saint Augustine always had someone read at his table, thereby feeding the soul while feeding the body.

One day, however, relates Possadius in an eyewitness account, Saint Augustine had at his table several illustrious guests who forgot the holy bishop's maxim. Since they were talking too freely about their neighbor, he told them outright "My lords and brothers, stop your conversation or leave this table. Otherwise, I shall have to retire to my room."

Saint John the Almsgiver, Patriarch of Alexandria, so remarkable for his charity, provides us with a similar example. As soon as he heard anyone backbiting, he would warn him or artfully turn the conversation in another direction. If the backbiter carried on, the patriarch would fall silent and jot down his name. After the person had left, he would give his chamberlain orders to deny that man entry in the future. Saint Jerome rightly observes, "Where there are no listeners, there are no backbiters: the combat will close for want of combatants." (7)
(7) Saint Jerome, Ad Celant.

King Edmund of England held Bishop Dunstan in high esteem, admiring his virtue and learning alike, and he habitually consulted him in important matters. The king loved the vigor with which he defended justice.
The devil waxed exceedingly jealous over this state of affairs. Hoping to sunder the harmony of these two souls, he conspired with certain men who despised Dunstan, although they feigned friendship and deference. First they assailed the ears of the king, striving to blacken the bishop's reputation by crafty insinuation. Soon they began backbiting Dunstan openly and moving the king to hatred with sweet flattery, then denigrating the bishop without mercy. They succeeded so well with the credulous king that Dunstan's entry was forbidden in the royal court.
Several days later, the king went hunting in the forest. The wildwood was situated on a mountain rimmed with dreadful bluffs. From the very start of the hunt, the first sizeable prey was a handsome stag, worthy of the king's skill. As the king and his sons pursued it, the animal fled towards the cliff and leaped off, followed by the baying hounds. The king and his mount came upon the fatal precipice at full tilt.
Faced with sudden death, Edmund thought of Saint Dunstan and implored God to save his life in consideration of the holy bishop's innocence. Imminent danger often wakens lightning inspirations, and frequently the Lord answers with equally blinding speed. At that very moment, the king's horse was brought to an astonishing halt. The king returned to his castle at once. Speaking to the royal household with mingled joy and dread, he related the wonder that had just been wrought in his favor. "I am twice beholden for my life," he declared. "I owe it both to God and to His friend Dunstan."
King Edmund called for the bishop immediately and received him with great honor, asking his forgiveness for having believed the backbiters' words, and swearing faithful friendship to the end of his days.
This illustrious example shows us how those who lend an ear to backbiting must repair the reputation of others. You can find thousands and hundreds of thousands of backbiters, but where can you find a single person who will restore a reputation unjustly stolen?

4. Listening to backbiters is a great sin.

Certain experiments prove that magnets possess a mysterious and wonderful power. According to Jerome Cardan, if you rub a dagger with a magnet, those it pierces afterwards will not feel it: "In the home of Dr. Lawrence Guascus I saw a needle or a metal point rubbed with a magnet; one could then stick the needle or point into any part of the body without causing any pain. This seemed incredible to me, and I wanted to make sure it was true. So I took a needle, rubbed it with a magnet and stuck it into my arm. I felt the needle's presence when it had penetrated completely, but I felt no pain whatsoever. In order to be really sure I turned the needle, still stuck in my arm, in every direction. But I felt nothing and shed not a drop of blood. Afterwards, only the point where the needle had entered could be seen." Cardan adds that Alexander of Verona was the first to perform this experiment, in Milan: he rubbed a sword with oil in order to be able to wound and heal whoever he wished without any pain.
Backbiting resembles that dagger perfectly. You thrust it in, it enters and causes a wound to three people at once: the backbiter, his listener and the person he backbites. The most seriously wounded one of all, the backbiter, feels absolutely nothing.
But we have already talked about him in the preceding chapter. Let us now take a look at his listener.
We will show what an enormous sin is committed, not only by backbiters, but by those who listen to them willingly, and we will enlighten the backbiter and his listeners at the same time.

I.
Homer, the prince of poets, relates how Ulysses acted with his seafaring companions. That prudent fellow knew that the sweet, languorous siren's song usually softened men and then lured them into the depths of the sea. To safeguard himself and his friends on their way through this hazardous zone, he had them stop their ears with wax and bind him to the ship's mast until the moment of danger had passed. Thus there are dangers for the ears as well as for the eyes, and one must make sure that they are hermetically sealed.
It is nothing new to encircle fields and gardens with hedges, but it may seem strange to do so for our ears. Yet the Holy Spirit judges it necessary. "Hedge in your ears with thorns," He says, "listen not to the wicked tongue, and make doors and bars to thy mouth." (1) The Holy Spirit does not want this hedge protecting our ears to be a flower hedge, but a spiny thorn hedge, to keep the backbiter away.
(1) Sir 28:28
Hedges protect fields against animals and gardens against thieves. So must we have thorns to guard our ears against backbiters. When they come near, they run into brambles when you show absolute disapproval of what they say. Take heed not to lend an ear and listen willingly to them. On the contrary, let them see that you do not care for this sort of conversation. For if you listen willingly to everything others whisper in your ear, what sort of people will you be compared to?
Two dogs gnawing on the same bone is a rare sight, practically a phenomenon. Now, if you see a backbiter and his listener in perfect agreement, the one to speak and the other to give ear, would you not say that they look exactly like two dogs gnawing on the same bone? Two evil people who analyze the behavior of a good man weigh him, sift him and grind him with their words. This is truly the equivalent of chewing bones and cracking them between one's teeth.
Saint Bernard discusses the gravity of the sin that both the backbiter and his listener commit. "I would have difficulty deciding which of them is more damnable," he says, "he who backbites or he who listens to the backbiter. Even if we excuse it as wit or banter, every jesting word must be banished not only from our mouth, but also from our ears." (2) Another man has cleverly remarked, "The devil dances in the backbiter's mouth and in his listener's ear." If you lend a favorable ear to a gossiper and spur him on to speak, you incite him to proceed with still greater freedom, boldness and excess. "The burglar who holds the bag and the thief who slips in the spoils are equally guilty," says the proverb. The perpetrator and the consenter are both deserving of the same punishment; the same is true of the backbiter and his listener. Saint Thomas Aquinas teaches, "He who hears someone backbiting and does not oppose him appears to approve the author, thus participating in his sin." (3) Saint Jerome speaks in the same vein: "Beware that your restless ears and tongue do not listen to or engage in backbiting." (4)

(2) Saint Bernard, De consideratione, Book 2, Chapter 13
(3) Saint Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part II, Section II, Question 83, Article 2.
(4) Saint Jerome, Epistolora ad Nepotium, ad Rustic

"I don't backbite," you may say, "but how can I stop others from talking?" Look at what sort of pretexts we invent to excuse our sins! Tell me then: If you were passing in front of someone's house, and his dog came running after you barking and ready to bite you, would you be pleased if his master's servant did not prevent him? And if he even encouraged the dog to press on after you, would you be able to contain your indignation? Now let's change the circumstances: When you listen quietly to a backbiter, you are not only letting this dog attack passers-by and bite them, but you are urging him on, for you lend credence to what he says.

"All that is of this world is nothingness or vanity, which quickly pass away and disappear forever."

                                                               ~Life of  St. Teresa, Ch.xx

III.
"God is all feet all hands, all eyes," says Saint Augustine. And I would add that He is also all ears; for nothing escapes Him, and "detractors are hateful to God". Do not attempt to excuse yourself by hedging, "That's what people are saying, and they are convinced. I'm just telling you what I heard." My friend, it is illegal to resell adulterated or stolen merchandise. You heard something? Well, act as though you had not. This is advice of the son of Sirach: "Let anything you hear die within you; rest assured, it will not make you burst." (22)
(22) Sir 19:10

IV.
Do not excuse yourself by saying, "But these are only petty sins," for a little spark is often enough to produce a conflagration. This is always true with the backbiting tongue. You say they are petty sins. So if you knew more serious things, wouldn't you say them? No, wounding your neighbor's reputation, even lightly, is no little thing. Killing someone with the pen is no less a homicide than killing him with the sword.

Cassian was killed by the hand of a child and pierced with little wounds, but he was no less dead than if he had fallen beneath the hand of Hector or Achilles. The weaker the hand that strikes, the slower the death and the more painful the torment. The smaller the pinpricks of backbiting may seem, the more dangerous the wounds they make. God never lets them go unpunished. Scripture tells us, "He who speaks against his brother, or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law." (23)
(23) Jas 4:11

Thomas of Cantimpre, the coadjutor of the Bishop of Cambrai, declares that with his own eyes he saw how horrible and surprising was the vengeance reserved for this vice: "I once knew a religious man (sacerdotem), more religious in name than in deed, whose tongue reached such a point of shamelessness that his only pleasure lay in covering others with infamy and in relating every lie one can imagine. Finding himself at death's door, he was whipped into such a frenzy that he began beating himself and tearing his tongue with his teeth, thus showing everyone that his tongue was the real cause of his torment." the pit of fire. Do you want to save your soul? Then hold your tongue and swear off the passion of backbiting. The Book of Ecclesiastes says, "Be not hasty in your utterance. God is in heaven and you are on earth; therefore let your words be few." (24) You have not yet gone to that land beyond the blue. Nor shall you enter it if you do not amend your vicious ways; you will fall into
(24) Eccl 5:1
There was another religious in England, a monk more by his habit than by his habits, rather like the one we just mentioned. His backbiting tongue had such a hard bite that he slashed everyone he met. He was about to die, and his brothers implored him to think seriously about the journey he was about to make, since it was a matter of eternity. "Spare your exhortations," he said, "they are totally useless!" They spoke to him of divine mercy, trying to get him to trust in God, using every possible means to lift his thoughts to the things of heaven. The dying man stuck his tongue out and tapped it with his hand, saying, "This evil tongue is what has damned me!" Scarcely had he spoken these words when his tongue suddenly swelled so greatly that it was impossible for him to return it into his mouth. Thus, while breathing his last, this unfortunate man taught us with his dreadful example to learn from others' mistakes and watch what we say. (25)
(25) Fr. John Major, S. J., Theologia Specul exempl. P. 265
"He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from trouble." (26)
(26) Prov 21:23

"The reason you are troubled and afflicted  when you labor through obedience is because you would rather do your own will than that of God."
                                         ~Book of Foundations. Ch. v.

"He  who thinks he has merited spiritual consolations for having applied himself for several years to the exercise of prayer will never attain perfection." 

                                                                                ~ Life of St. Teresa 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XppXi_jZKWk

II.
Finally -- and this is the most appropriate name, more appropriate than any other -- the backbiter is a serpent.
The Book of Ecclesiastes says, "If a serpent bites in silence, the hidden backbiter is no less loathsome." (17) This expression, "bites in silence", illustrates the genius of backbiting perfectly. Theologians recognize a difference between backbiting and insult: an insult wounds and outrages one who is present; backbiting attacks those who are absent and seeks to weaken their reputation.
(17) Eccl 10:11
Of all the animals, the serpent is the only one the Lord cursed. And among the great multitude of men, if there be any that God especially loathes and detests, it is the backbiter. There are serpents that kill their own mother in order to live; before harming others, the backbiter is of serious detriment to himself and his loved ones. And just as a single snakebite is so infectious that it poisons the entire body, the backbiter uses few words to rob others of their reputation and sometimes their life. The backbiter makes himself the equal of the devil, who justly received the name of serpent. The backbiter poses as a denunciator of his brothers; and when he cannot accuse them, he slanders them. Here is how the poet of Venusia depicts the varicolored skin of the backbiter, similar to the serpents:
"To tear apart an absent friend; to not defend him when he is attacked; to work at inciting indiscreet laughter and to build your reputation on an attitude of mockery; to invent happenings; to betray confidential secrets: such is the behavior of a despicable person. Romans, beware of such a man!" (18)
(18) Horace, Satires, Book 1, Satire 4
Saint Bernard says, "Run from a backbiter as you would run from a serpent." (19) Serpents do not store venom in their tail. They reserve it in a little sac beneath the tongue or in the hollow of their teeth. Most snakes inject their venom with their bite. Others eject it by spitting; for this reason, Avicenna refers to them as spitting serpents. Like these serpents, backbiters conceal deadly venom beneath their tongues, spitting it out as they speak. Although the deceptively small mouth of this species of viper leaves barely a trace of its bite, it deals out death.
(19) Saint Bernard, De modo bene vivendi, Sermon 17
Cleopatra had a horror of swords and wounds. When she requested a quick and easy death, she was killed by a snakebite. The backbiter often delivers great blows while making little noise. The wounds he leaves are scarcely visible, but he inflicts mortal damage to the reputation of others.
Beware of him! Run from him! The backbiter is deadlier than a snake in the grass, and there is practically no remedy for his venom. Such was the chastisement with which the Lord once threatened the Hebrews. "For behold, I will send among you serpents against which there is no charm: and they shall bite you." (20) According to the Roman philosopher Seneca, a snake is easier to handle when it is very cold. (21) Its poison is still potent, no doubt, but the snake is too numb. If we lend credence to Elianus and Pliny, serpents at the mouth of the Euphrates River are very dangerous to foreigners but not to natives of the region; the serpents of Syria, especially those by the Euphrates, will not harm Syrians in their sleep. Syrians, the Psyllae in Africa, the Ophites of Cyprus and Hellespont, and the Marsi in Italy are all anguigenous, and they have no fear of any serpent. The Egyptians even tame asps.
(20) Jer 8:17
(21) Seneca, Epistle 42
It is not so with the backbiter's tongue. Nothing can temper it and everyone fears it, natives and foreigners alike. It attacks, bites and kills everyone, friend or foe, good or evil, asleep or awake. Saint John Chrysostom states, "A person who backbites performs the devil's work. Backbiting is an unruly demon."

"Virtuous men are sometimes more disturbed, and their spiritual progress more retarded by straws and trifles,

than others are harmed by things of great importance."

~Life of St. Teresa, Ch. xxii

2. The sea urchin, armed with points which it uses as feet, is the terror of every fish. Likewise, the backbiter is armed with thorny spines inside and out. No matter where you touch him, beware! Beware of his traps, or you will get caught by his hook! There's the sea urchin: the backbiter is coming! If you ask him "What's new?" he will answer you at once, "So-and-so got drunk yesterday. Someone else was gambling with infernal passion. I saw this man entering a house of ill-repute; that one is always fighting; and that other one cheated a salesman out of twenty dollars." These are the barbs of that sea urchin, these are his words. Therefore, he is the terror of every man. For the Holy Spirit says, "A man full of tongue is terrible in his city, and he that is rash in his word shall be hateful." (9)
(9) Sir 9:25
3. The backbiter is a beetle and a leech. Saint John Chrysostom remarks, "Everyone flees a backbiter like unhealthy mud, like a leech that feeds on blood, a beetle that feeds in the mire -- that is, on others' defects." As for you, act like bees: gather flowers from thorns and use them to make your honey.
Guillaume Perald says, "The mouth of the backbiter and slanderer is the basin the devil uses to wash his hands." That basin contains not holy water, but the impure water of detraction. The devil pours this filthy water onto many; not on their face, true, but on their back. For the backbiter harms people who are absent, not present, just as the leech draws blood from behind. Now, let all who are in the habit of backbiting others learn that oftentimes those who reveal the crimes of others are more sinful than those who commit them.
4. The backbiter resembles a hog. When it enters a garden, a hog does not run into the flowers, but into the manure. The backbiter does not seek to edify, but scandalize; he feeds off forbidden objects.
When Balaam refused to curse Israel, King Balac told him angrily, "Come with me to another place from which you can see only some and not all of Israel, and from there curse it for me." (10) The king thought the great throng of people was preventing Balaam from cursing it. It is characteristic of backbiters to criticize only a part of what others have done. If they said what their neighbor did before or afterwards, they would be giving their listeners a very different opinion of him.
(10) Num 23:13
Besides, is anything in this world free from all imperfection, safe from all criticism?
The moon is a magnificent heavenly body, but it does have its craters. The sun is far nobler and brighter than the moon, yet it is not perfect in every point. (11) In order to be mistaken as little as possible, look at something on the whole, and its collective symmetry will justify its less perfect parts.
(11) Christopher Scheiner, De macul sol
5. The backbiter resembles the lion and the hyena. Someone once asked Theocritus, "What is the most ferocious animal of all?" and he replied, "In the mountains and forests, I think it is lions and bears. In the cities and towns, it is money-lenders and backbiters." (12) And since they do not spare even the dead, it is only fitting to compare them to the hyena. Like the wolf, the hyena is so avid for human flesh that it digs into graves and unburies corpses in order to eat their flesh.
(12) Aristotle, De animal, Book 7, Chapter 4
The discreet and prudent man must take great care to safeguard his reputation from the tongues of others. If he knows something blameworthy about others, he should bury it in silence as in good ground. But the backbiter drags the nauseating, rotten flesh of corpses out of their tombs, bringing hidden vices to light and reminding us of crimes that should be forgotten. He resembles the lion and the hyena.
6. The backbiter is a counterfeiter and a thief. He wears down coins so that no one wants them any more. "Lets get rid of this coin," people say. "It is eaten away, it is no longer any good." This is how backbiting tongues, with the traps they set, prevent so many from emerging from their tombs; or if they do come out they force them back into their former darkness as soon as they spy an occasion to attack their reputation or fortune.
Many who would behave like honest men and Christians have been bitten so hard by backbiters and so blackened by wicked words that people always find something wrong with them. Emperor Vespasian ordered backbiters and gossipers flogged with rods and then sent into exile. Augustus wanted them burned alive. Antoninus wanted them put to death. For, according to Solomon, it is backbiting "that men find abominable." (13)
(13) Prov 24:9
True, it is not the worst of evils to be loathed by all, since Christ told His Apostles they would be hated by all men, adding that it would be for His name's sake." (14) The backbiter, however, is hated not only by all men, but by God Himself. Saint Paul says, "Detractors are hateful to God." (15) Follow the advice of Solomon: "Have nothing to do with backbiters, for their destruction arises suddenly, and who can measure their ruin?" (16)
(14) Mt 10:22
(15) Rom 1:30
(16) Prov 24:21-

Sister Agnes TOSF is kindly sharing these quotes from the Life of St. Teresa for our edification daily. We hope you enjoy them and meditate on them.

" We cannot have a more faithful friend at our side than our Lord Jesus Christ, who does not forsake us in affliction like the people of the world."

                                                      ~Life of St. Teresa, Ch. xxii.

3. Appropriate names for backbiters. Usual chastisements to which they expose themselves.

Plutarch says that nature has thought of everything: it has given man two ears and only one tongue, since he should listen more than speak. Such was the opinion of a sage formed in the school of Christ: Saint James says, "Let every man be swift to hear and slow to speak." (1) The tongue is a member hard to govern; it rarely moves without harming itself or others. Anarcharsis the philosopher states, "It is better to trespass with your feet than with your tongue." We are rarely sorry for keeping silence and often sorry for speaking. The poet Ausonius declares, "You harm no one by your silence, but by your words."
(1) Jas 1:19
Xenocrates confirmed this truth by his example. As he listened without a word to a conversation in which his neighbor incurred detraction, someone asked him why he alone maintained a stubborn silence. He answered, "I have often regretted speaking in public, but never not speaking." This quiet reply closed the mouth over those evil tongues.
We have treated the vice of backbiting, its various species and its gravity. We have demonstrated how difficult it is, though necessary, to restore our neighbor's reputation. Let us now draw the true portrait of a backbiter.
I.
We do no one harm in saying that a spade is a spade, and a cat is a cat. We should call all things by their name.
Now, backbiters have as many names as species. They attack first this person and then that one, putting on a fox skin today and a lion skin tomorrow. Among all the splendid names that apply to flatterers, only one applies to backbiters:
1. Backbiters are dogs. Scripture tells us, "Like an arrow lodged in a dog's thigh is gossip in the heart of a fool." (2) A dog will have no rest till he is rid of something lodged in his flank. So it is with a backbiter: as soon as he sees anything with his curious eyes or hears anything with his long ears, he broadcasts it everywhere.
(2) Sir 19:12
The food most suited to dogs is dry bread and bones. But dogs with faces of men eat not only bones; like famished wolves, they need flesh... human flesh. When Job was struck down he said, "Why do you hound me as though you were God, and insatiably prey upon me?" (3) I see you gnashing your teeth like dogs. You insult me; and you bite, devour and swallow my reputation and good name.
(3) Job 19:22
Saint Gregory declares, "There is no doubt that those who indulge in backbiting others, feed on their flesh." (4) Making himself equal to God, the backbiter pretends to examine hearts and discern the most secret things in man, even his intentions. He would wrest God's sword from His hand if he could. The backbiter is so fond of human flesh he often spares not even his own relatives.
(4) Saint Gregory, Moral, Book 14, Chapter 14.
After Actaeon had been turned into a deer by the goddess Artemis, his dogs attacked him. He fought like a madman and cried out in vain:
My name is Actaeon, recognize your master! (5)
(5) Ovid, Metamorphosis, Book 3.
But none of the dogs would recognize him as Actaeon. Such are backbiters. They know neither father nor mother; they tear into everyone. Their main activity consists in biting the first comer. The prophet Ezechiel predicted, "Fathers shall eat their sons in the midst of thee, and sons shall eat their fathers." (6) And Jeremias adds, "Everyone shall eat the flesh of his friend." (7) With a single bite, the backbiter tears into bishop, archbishop or pope, king or emperor. Though he should be satisfied with beef or mutton on fast days, he must absolutely have human flesh. With his bloody mouth, the backbiter streaks through the public square like a dog. Beware of the dog! Run from him when he barks, "Come along with us! Let us lie in wait for the honest man; let us, unprovoked, set a trap for the innocent; let us swallow them up like hell, alive and in the prime of life, like those who go down into the pit!" (8)
(6) Ez 5:10
(7) Jer 19:9
(8) Prov 1:11-12