St. John Chrysostom

He was a bishop of the Eastern Church, a bishop of Constantinople. The name Chrysostom means golden mouth, because he had a gift for speech, or as we would say the “Gift of Gab.” He could spend hours and hours speaking about God, and expound on Sacred Scriptures. He would use that gift to help draw people to God, and away from the life of sin, and his words didn't exclude religious and political leaders. He also spoke about taking practical steps to help the poor and needy. Today, we honor St. John Chrysostom, and we pray for unity within the Church, that together for Christ, we build the kingdom that Jesus proclaimed, and we cannot do it on our own, but we can accomplish it together. And like St. Paul who said to put away our old selves and put on a new self, and do everything in the name of Jesus Christ.

In the Gospel passage, the Lord talked about removing the wooden beam in our eye before we remove the splinter in our brother's eye. These words are pertinent especially whenever we have a temptation to pass judgment upon others. How often we can see someone doing something that is not to our liking, and we have already judged them in our hearts. When we are tempted to do so, let us remember the words of the Lord, and tell ourselves, “Today, is not judgment day. Today is not the day to pass judgment.” Rather, today, is a day of salvation. And we ask God for the grace to hold our tongue and not to pass judgment too quickly upon others. Does it mean that we don't say anything if we see a brother or sister in Christ going down a wrong path? Of course not, because we have charity in the heart, beginning by praying for that person, and helping them by sharing God's word with them, and helping them to see the outcome.

St. Paul, in the letter to Timothy, spoke in reference to his former life, as one of the first enemies of the church, persecuting the followers of Christ. He demonstrates a wonderful way of looking at our life. He doesn't beat himself up over the sins from years ago. Instead, he looks back at how God has changed his life. He said: “I was once a blasphemer, and an arrogant man. But I have been mercifully treated. The grace of our Lord has been abundant.” Rather than being embarassed over the man he once was, Paul chose to focus on the power of God's grace to transform his life.

God's grace has also been abundant in our life. All of us can say that we are much different today, than we have been many years ago. And it's because of God's divine grace. Sometimes we may not see it happening, and we may wonder why the progress is slow, but the grace of God is always working and effective. And it happens in God's Kairos Time. Today, like St. John Chrysostom, let us use our gift of tongue and mouth, not to pass judgment upon others, but to praise God for the graces. The grace of our Lord has been abundant.