St. James - Bridling of the Tongue

The Beheading of St. James by Fra Filippo Lippi

Picture source

If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue 14 but deceives his heart, his religion is vain.

St. James 1:26.

In honor of the Feast of St. James, I will:

- Not speak unless necessary.

- Not give my opinion unless asked.

- Listen more intently to the person speaking to me.

- Avoid negative words, harmful, critical, hurtful words escaping from my lips.

- Literally bite my tongue if tempted to speak without first pausing and thinking about I am about to say.

- Pray to the Holy Spirit and our Blessed Mother for strength in  taming my tongue.

- I knew I forgot one more thing.  I will not complain especially about little things.

In the same way the tongue is a small member and yet has great pretensions. Consider how small a fire can set a huge forest ablaze.

The tongue is also a fire. It exists among our members as a world of malice, defiling the whole body and setting the entire course of our lives on fire, itself set on fire by Gehenna.

For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species,

but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings who are made in the likeness of God.

From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. This need not be so, my brothers.

James 3:6-10

There is a good article that someone shared on Twitter that should be read. Three Tips for Taming the Tongue.