The following is a transcript of a Raised Catholic podcast episode. To listen to the episode, click here.

Today is episode 195: Grown-Up Catholicism – Communications

Hi friends. A couple of weeks back, I described our new series which is all about learning to own our faith for ourselves. We are discerning with the help of the Holy Spirit just what it is that we believe and how our beliefs and actions line up with the teachings of Jesus. Now, just a reminder here that this series is meant to be descriptive, not prescriptive, as I will model my process of discernment in these practical areas using scripture, contemplation and prayer, but I will never tell you how to live out your grown-up Catholic Christianity as that is between you and God. 

So far in the series, we have covered voting and political engagement, leadership, and this week is all about communications, specifically how we speak and listen and how we consume and use media as people who profess Christian faith. 

The bottom line, of course, is: words matter, and how we use words matters, too. Words have changed the whole course of history, communities, families, relationships, and they have changed individual lives, too. Words like, “Give me liberty or give me death,” “I have a dream,” “We will go to the moon not because it is easy but because it is hard.” And what about words that inspire us like, “What will you do with your one wild and precious life?” not to mention the words “I do,” or “I’m sorry”. A few well-placed or poorly chosen words really can change everything.

Today we’re taking in and speaking more words than ever before. Because of technology, we can easily absorb words that are written or spoken from a half a world away and comment on them in real time. With this increase in accessibility comes both challenge and possibility, but how should we think about communication as grown-up Christians?

As in every topic in this series, we’ll look to the example of Jesus and His friends, along with scripture and the fruit of contemplation, thought and prayer. After all, Jesus is “the Word”, the living Word of God through which every single thing was created. As it says in the very first chapter of the Book of John, 

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

So, Jesus Himself is a Word, and a very powerful one at that, but how did He use His words while He was on earth?

Jesus used His words for healing. When He said someone was healed, they were healed, in that very instant. In fact, it was His words that brought about the healing. Similar to the teaching on our Sacraments, the words of Jesus are efficacious, as in, they do what they say.

Jesus also used His words to direct His disciples, like when He said, “Follow me” and He for sure used them to call out and challenge the religious leaders of the day. He used His words to encourage and teach in places like the Sermon on the Mount, and He used His words to build relationships. And of course, Jesus used His words in prayer, alone and with groups, in both holy and ordinary places. 

And so, how about us, you and me? Are the words we take in and use as grown-up Christians both in person and online – healing, teaching, challenging, encouraging, directive, and prayerful, as Jesus’ words were? As a preschool music teacher, I can’t help but think of the poster you find in most elementary schools which lays out a guideline for language for the school community using the acronym of ‘THINK’. It says, “Before you speak, THINK: is what you’re going to say true, is it helpful, is it inspirational, is it necessary, is it kind?” If we look at the words of Jesus, we can see that they pass every test, but what about our words and what about the words that we take in every day? 

The reality of overwhelming access to information, words and ideas calls us to be much more discriminating and discerning about the language that we use than our grandparents and great parents ever needed to be, especially when discerning whether something we are hearing or speaking out into the world is, in fact, true, helpful, inspirational, necessary and kind.

And it is amazing just how much the Scriptures have to say on the topic of speaking and listening. In just a minute, I’ll read a fraction of the verses that I found on this topic, and as I read them, I would invite us to prayerfully consider the voices that we regularly allow to speak into our lives and the ways in which we use our voices, too. Are you ready? Here goes.

In Luke, Jesus says, “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of,” and He says, “What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.” Hmm. 

In Matthew, Jesus says, “But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken,” (whoo, that one is scary!) And He says “And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.” Hm, I wonder if that’s maybe an encouragement toward shorter homilies there, what do you think?

Several of the letters to early Christian communities had quite a lot to say on how to speak. They were building a whole new church, after all, and when we are building any kind of community, the way we speak matters. Here’s some of what Paul, John, and James had to say:

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”

“Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.”

“Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.”

Just a few more for you here, friends.

“Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.”

And the psalms, proverbs and the prophets have lots to say, too, including:

“The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”

“With their mouths the godless destroy their neighbors, but through knowledge the righteous escape.”

“Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely.”

But it’s this word from Isaiah that sticks with me the most today. He says,

“So is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

Because the Word of God is still making things happen, right? It’s still at work changing and creating things as He makes all things new. But the same is true, of course, of our words. They will not return to us empty either, but they will accomplish something. The question is, what will our words accomplish? It may be something very different from what we intend. 

When we are fearful about the state of the world or the Church as many of us are today, we can try to make a change with our words, but end up insulting a sister or brother or even a whole group of people, and this is not the will of God for our words. History teaches us that dehumanizing language about groups of people causes real harm, as we see even today. Author and former government teacher Sharon McMahon reminds us that we will one day be judged by our digital footprint – our grandchildren and great grandchildren will read the words that we post, our comments and, yes, our DMs too, things that might not reflect just who it is that we saywe are, and probably all of us are guilty of this to some degree. But it’s worth taking a look at our own discourse because as Jesus said, “What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.” Everything we do in the dark will one day be revealed in the light, as we see in so many scandals in our politics and in our church, too, so as Paul says, “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone”.

As a preschool music teacher, whenever I prepare to enter a school or classroom, I always pray the same prayer: “Lord, let it be you in me that they hear and see,” because I want to make sure that nothing gets in the way of them experiencing the love of God that lives in me as I do my work. I pray the same prayer before I sing at church or write and record this podcast for you, or even meet up with a group of people socially, because as best I can as a Catholic Christian, I want the best of me to shine through and the best of me is, course God living in me. As a person who professes Christ, I want to do the same when it comes to how I’m communicating about what I believe and why I believe it. I want it to be seasoned with salt, full of grace, and I want to take in the voices that are graceful, seasoned, informational and helpful, too. And I’m so far from perfect, but I can discern those voices with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in me, and check them against that preschool code, making sure the best I can that what I hear, see, read and speak is true, is helpful, is inspirational, is necessary and kind. 

And so, in this very challenging season, I’m wondering, friend, how are we doing?

Thanks so much for being with me today. If you need me, you can find me on Instagram @kerrycampbellwrites, at Substack at kerrycampbellwrites.substack.com, or on my website at kerrycampbell.org. Thanks so much for rating, reviewing, subscribing and most importantly, sharing this podcast with a friend.  That makes a real difference in growing our community, so thanks. If you would like to support this podcast financially, there are a couple of ways for you to do that in the show notes, along with some resources related to today’s episode, so do check all of that out, but before we go, let’s pray together.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, amen.

As it says in the letter to the Colossians:

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

Oh God, we thank you for the gift of language. Help us to use it well as we discern the voices we listen to and the words we choose, too. For us and for our dear ones, too, we pray in the name of Jesus and wrapped in the mantle of our Mother Mary, amen.

Well thanks so much for listening today, friend. I hope to see you over on Substack, but until then, I’ll see you next time. 

Show Notes

The Grown-Up Catholicism series continues with an episode on communication. As in each episode in the series, this one is descriptive not prescriptive in that I’ll model my own discernment on these issues with scripture, contemplation and prayer but I’ll never direct your grown-up Catholic choice as that’s between you and the Lord! I hope this episode is a blessing to you, thanks for giving it a listen.

If you’d like to connect with me, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠find me on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠at my website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. If you’d like to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠help support this podcast financially⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, there’s a way to do just that ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on my page at buymeacoffee.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Thanks for sharing, subscribing, rating, and reviewing, as this helps our community to grow.

Thanks as always to my friend, Peter Vaughan-Vail, for providing the beautiful harp music you hear in this and every episode.

Here are some resources I hope will help you to engage with this week’s topic in a deeper way for yourself:

1. Book: ⁠⁠How to Human: Three Ways to Share Life Beyond What Distracts, Divides, and Disconnects Us⁠⁠, by Carlos Whitaker

2. Song: ⁠I Shall Not Want⁠, by Audrey Assad

3. Song: ⁠Common Ground⁠, by Matt Maher feat. Dee Wilson

4. Song: ⁠Magnified (acoustic)⁠, by Ginny Owens

5. Instagram follow: ⁠Sharon McMahon⁠, America’s government teacher 

6. Instagram reel: ⁠On the appropriate placement of our politics when it comes to our faith, with Michael Wear⁠ and Women of Welcome

7. Instagram post: ⁠If you have holy scripture in your bio and your feed is full of…. ⁠by Sharon McMahon