Glad

Pope Leo XIV in his message for Lent 2026 asked, “I would like to invite you to a very practical and frequently unappreciated form of abstinence: that of refraining from words that offend our neighbour.”

Garden of Eden (Nicole Chan)

It is so easy to gossip.

It does not take any effort at all to speak badly of people.  In fact, it only takes a small invitation to get started on causing all sorts of problems for other people.  I could ruin a person’s reputation through an ill-chosen word.  I could punish someone because I was trying to take revenge through my words.

And it occurs to me today that God is not calling me to be taking the easy road.  He is calling me to be a glad sign of His presence in the world.  And what does that mean?  And how does that look?  Well, simply, it means that God is calling me to be a genuine Christian.

What is a genuine Christian?  And how can I prove that I am genuinely a follower of Christ?  Well, firstly, I can labour in the service of God.  And this is true labour and true service, meaning that I am being asked to attune my life to God’s plan.

And in this I imagine the Blessed Virgin and the Apostles who followed Christ.  I imagine their behaviour and their joys.  I can imagine the gladness in them – even when things were very hard.  I can imagine how they remained glad at heart because they knew that what they were doing was pleasing to God because it was His Holy Will. 

I have been reflecting on this gladness.  After all, gladness is not happiness.  Happiness is fleeting and can change depending on how others around us are behaving or would like to influence us.  However, we can experience great joy and gladness – even if we are simultaneously experiencing great suffering.  And that is the signal that we are following the Holy Will of God!

Perhaps is I could live my life without reflecting so strongly on the faults of others, I might actually have a chance of pleasing my Lord.  Pope Leo XIV in his message for Lent 2026 asked, “I would like to invite you to a very practical and frequently unappreciated form of abstinence: that of refraining from words that offend our neighbour.”

And a true Christian must be genuine and honest.  And genuine and honest people experience great joy by being able to restrain themselves and prevent themselves from causing harm to another…

“We have to walk without fear of life and without fear of death, without shrinking at any cost from pain and sorrow which, for a Christian, are always a means of purification and a chance for showing that we really love our fellow men, through the thousand and one circumstances of ordinary life.” (Friends of God, 141).

And it occurs to me today that there is so much that I could be focusing on – so many kind words to speak to others.  And I have wasted my life speaking ill.  I have wasted it, when instead, I could be Glad and speaking Glad…

For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.