3/20/2023 0 Comments The gossip junkie![]() “Yes and you do the same thing all the time.” I’d been hit by a fiery dart (or a terrorist bomb) and my brain exploded: I imagined aunts, uncles and cousins using me as fodder to fill lulls in conversation as they passed potato salad - and it hurt. While this good intentioned relative thought she was the bearer of encouragement, I couldn’t erase the picture she’s unintentionally painted for me: Distant relatives gabbing negatively about my super-sized family, specifically the perceived worthiness/unworthiness of the precious, innocent child I presently carried. Her report of the affair: “ No one wants you to have another baby,” she smiled, as my sixth unborn child thumped against the walls of my womb, “but I do. Here’s what happened: A relative visited after a family reunion I couldn’t attend. Someone - or a group of someones - gossiped about me. Recently, though, something happened that finally encouraged me to make a change - to try harder, to love better and to stop gossiping. Or better yet, I want to be able to change the subject to something simple like the weather or a topic that’s actually “talk-worthy,” like a current event or a great book or even an act of human heroism (i.e.: use my words to celebrate the accomplishments of my fellow man rather than his failings). I want to stare blankly into the face of a gossip-disher and return their hot, steamy offerings with silence. It’s one of the sins he speaks about most frequently (he says gossip is like dropping a terrorist bomb on somebody’s reputation) and in a 2013 homily, he acknowledged that it’s a temptation we all struggle with, even the pope: “When one prefers gossiping – gossiping about another, it’s like clobbering another … it happens to everyone, including me – it is a temptation of the evil one who does not want the Spirit to come and bring about peace and meekness in the Christian community.” Read more: Pope condemns prejudice and gossip, says we all need Christ’s lightĮven though I’ve become rather an expert at this sin, every once in a while I come across someone who won’t take my bait, and I always end up liking the individual a little more. ![]() There’s no way I’m a gossip.”īut I am, and I know I’m not alone in the struggle.Įven Pope Francis can relate to the temptation to gossip. “My irritation was justified my tone humorous. I know I’m gossiping, but I walk away away from the conversation with my pride intact. Now my phone buddy and I know I’m simply gossiping about Sally - when I should be praying for her and offering to help this friend who is so frazzled that she consistently brings her kids out sick. Maybe they’re all anemic … maybe I should fill her mailbox with Flintstones Vitamins …” I feel so bad for her dealing with sickness so often. Like the way I can dress a dagger in a white cloak, a tone of concern: “Sally brought her kids to the playdate sick again. While I’m not proud of being a (hopefully recovering) gossip junkie, my Olympian abilities in this area are worthy of study.
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