Purifying Our Speech

Divine Appeal Reflection - 269

Today, consider in Divine Appeal 269: "Be sincere with your manner of speech, pure and simple – your word should express what exactly you have in your heart."

Our Adorable Jesus, the Eternal Word made flesh, invites us to remember that our speech is never “just talk” but an extension of who we are before God. In Scripture, words create or destroy: Abraham’s trustful response opened a covenant, while Ananias and Sapphira’s lies shattered communion (cf. Acts 5:1–11). Saints remind us that duplicity weakens the soul—St. Augustine saw every falsehood as an interior wound, and St. Teresa of Ávila declared that holiness begins with facing the truth about oneself (cf. Confessions X; Life, ch. 8). In our time, speech is cheapened—politicians spin, influencers exaggerate, families fracture through gossip. According to our Adorable Jesus, the remedy is straightforward language—a yes that is yes and a no that is no (cf. Mt 5:37). Both the speaker and the listener are freed by this honesty of love, not by severe rigidity.. To speak sincerely is to live as children of the God who is Light, where nothing is hidden or masked.

Living sincerity takes unique forms in every vocation, yet all are bound to the one Truth. Priests have the responsibility to proclaim the truth without hesitation and to nourish the faithful with the true teaching of the church, even if it means being rejected. (cf. CCC 2034) Religious, who have taken vows to become one with the community, show their honesty by protecting what they say and think. Every sincere word helps to keep the community united and removes the harmful whispers that divide people.. When vows are kept, disagreements are settled amicably, and kids witness parents speaking the truth with compassion rather than rage, married couples are demonstrating sincerity. Professionals—teachers, doctors, and lawyers—are put to the test on a regular basis because there is a strong temptation to distort, embellish, or obfuscate the truth in order to benefit from it. However, prophetic faithfulness is demonstrated by a doctor who gives an honest, however unpleasant, explanation, a teacher who refuses to deceive for promotion, or a lawyer who refuses to take on dishonourable contracts. Students and youth, immersed in a culture of digital masks, witness to Christ by daring to be authentic, resisting the lure of fabricated personas online. In every path, sincerity becomes a living Gospel: not an abstract principle, but a choice to echo Christ’s truth in ordinary words.

Yet sincerity is impossible without purification of the heart. Words flow from what lives within (cf. Lk 6:45). A heart filled with envy or resentment cannot produce healing speech. This is why Our Adorable Jesus calls us first to silence before speaking—silence that allows the soul to be cleansed in His presence. In Eucharistic adoration, the believer learns that the truest word is born from listening. Saints like Francis de Sales transformed countless lives by gentle, truthful words, but his power came from hours of silent union with God (cf. Introduction to the Devout Life). As a family, we can also learn this rhythm: a pause in prayer turns words into healing rather than responding to anger. To be sincere for the youth can be summoning the courage to say, “This is who I genuinely am,” regardless of society’s expectation of polished simulations. To be sincere for the leaders is to dismiss propaganda and, instead of praise, to bear the quiet gravitas of truth. Sincere words sometimes wound in the moment but heal in the long term. Like Christ, silent before His accusers yet unshaken in truth, we learn that holy speech is not about eloquence but transparency.

To live sincerity of speech is to share in Christ’s mission, for He revealed the Father without disguise, even when it led Him to rejection and the Cross (cf. Jn 18:37). The Church today must embody this witness across all states of life. Bishops and priests, heirs of the Apostles, must guard the deposit of faith with Tradition-rooted clarity, not cultural ambiguity, lest souls be misled (cf. CCC 2034). True leaders are like St. Athanasius and St. John Paul II in that, as genuine shepherds, they combine pastoral love with the teaching of true doctrine, thus leading the flock to Christ with safety. In order for religious communities' witness to become illuminating simplicity, they must allow prayer to season their words. Lay professionals must ensure contracts, business dealings, and teaching are transparent and just, refusing false euphemisms that conceal evil. Families must sanctify daily life by rejecting lies, gossip, and exaggerated speech, choosing words that heal. Even the elderly and the sick, often silent, preach sincerity by uniting their offering with Christ, whose silence on the Cross spoke more than words. Our Adorable Jesus entrusts each state of life with the mission of sincerity, so that together the Church’s voice may shine in a culture intoxicated with half-truths. In a fractured world, pure speech becomes prophetic: a testimony that Truth is not an idea but a Person. Through sincere words, spoken in love, every vocation becomes Eucharistic—transparent, real, and life-giving.

Prayer

Our Adorable Jesus, Eternal Word of truth, teach us sincerity across every vocation and state of life. Purify our hearts, silence our pride, and let our words flow in simplicity and love. May every “yes” echo Mary’s fiat, and every word we speak reveal Your living presence. Amen.

Sr. Anna Ali of the Most Holy Eucharist, intercede for us.