I’m sure your mother told you many times as you were growing up: “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” I have even found myself reminding my own children the very same thing. Yet as an adult I find myself struggling over and over again with keeping my mouth shut. 

I admit it, I am such a groaner! I wish my kids would behave such and such a way, I wish so and so would stop this or that, why does that person have to do that? etc. etc. 

I remember one year I gave up complaining for Lent and let me tell you, I spent a lot of time in silence! 

And although I consider myself a generally happy person, I can always find something wrong with something. 

One thing that I have found that really helps combat this bad habit is an attitude of gratitude. I find that if I am appreciative of people, their thoughts, words and actions, and of things as gifts from God, I have much less to complain about.

In today’s Gospel we hear about the Jews who had seen what Jesus had done and began to believe in Him. We are told that a few of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. They saw his wondrous deeds and heard his insightful teachings and yet they went to complain about him! How sad…

Because of this one act of gossip, Jesus could no longer go about in public and he realized his time was drawing nigh. Surely a great sadness overtook him. 

 What a call to us all to be appreciative of our Lord and all his works in our life, no matter how great or small. His works show us that he is God and show us how much he loves us. 

Lord Jesus, grant me the grace to spend a whole lot more time in silence when I have nothing nice to say, and a whole lot more time talking about how good you are. 

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