Untitled - Saints' Books

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The
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372 Material for Instructions. [PART n.
for in speaking much there is always some defect. In
the multitude of words there shall not want sin, says Solo
mon. 1
By speaking as a priest ought to speak, St.
Anselm says, Thy mouth must be the mouth of Christ:
and thou shouldst not only not open it for calumnies or
lies, but not even for idle discourse." 2 He who loves
God seeks to speak always of God. He who loves a
fellow-man can scarcely speak of anything else than of
him. Forget not," says Gilbert, that thy mouth is
consecrated only to heavenly sayings, and look upon
it as sacrilegious
if
something comes forth from it that
is not divine." 3 It is, according to St. Ambrose, a
violation of modesty to speak in a very loud tone. 4 It
belongs to modesty to abstain, not only from immodest
words, but also from listening to them: Hedge in thy
ears with thorns, hear not a wicked tongue? A priest should
be modest also in his dress. St. Augustine says that
in order to appear well dressed exteriorly, some strip
themselves of interior modesty. 6
Vanity and costliness
of dress in a priest show that there is but little virtue
in the soul. St. Bernard writes: poor cry out to
thee: To us belongs what you waste; from our neces
sities is withdrawn what you bestow upon vanities."
In the i6th Canon of the second Council of Nice we
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In multiloquio non deerit peccatum." Prov. x. 19.
Os tuum, os Christi; non debes, non dico, ad detractiones, ad
mendacia, sed nee ad otiosos sermones os aperire."
Medit. i, 5.
3 "Memento, os tuum coelestibus oraculis consecratum; sacrilegium
puta, si quid non divinum sonet." In Cant. s. 18.
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Vocis sonum libret modestia, ne cujusquam offendat aurem vox
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1. i, c. 18.
fortior." Offic.
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Sepi aures tuas spinis, linguam nequam noli audire." Ecchis.
xxviii. 28.
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Ut foris "
vestiaris, intus exspoliaris." Sertn. 60, E, B.
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Clamant nudi, etdicunt: Nostrum est, quod effunditis; nostris
necessitatibus detrahitur, quidquid accedit vanitatibus vestris." De
Mor. et Off. Ep. c. 2.