this is true religion

Today we read in the One Year Bible from James 1:19-2:17. We read that we need to control our tongues. James is pretty clear on the subject. He says that if we claim to be followers of Jesus, but we don't control our tongues, then our religion is empty and useless. And then he tells us what TRUE religion is all about: taking care of the helpless among us, and keeping ourselves holy.

That's a tough one, isn't it? The idea of controlling our tongues. Not talking bad about the coworker who doesn't do any work, or the manager who is always mean and can't ever seem to say anything nice. About the friend who whines all the time and is always too full of themselves. It's so easy to criticize them when they're not around. But we need to learn from St. Therese of Liseux, and love them. She would love those who she didn't like very much. She loved them so effectively that the other nuns never had any idea which nuns she liked and which ones she didn't like until they read her memoirs years later. They never knew how she suffered, because she didn't complain. They never knew what foods she hated because she ate everything without whining about it. She loved people, and offered up her suffering to Jesus.

May we learn to do the same.

God, thank You for giving us an awesome example in the Little Flower (Therese of Liseux).