“Lord, grant that my words may be rooted in love, so that in speaking I may never wound, but always heal; in silence, may I listen for Your voice, and in all communication, may I bear witness to Your truth.”
–Maximus the Confessor (c. 580 – 682)
Source: Maximus the Confessor, Four Hundred Chapters on Charity, in The Philokalia: The Complete Text, vol. 2, trans. G.E.H. Palmer, Philip Sherrard, and Kallistos Ware (London: Faber and Faber, 1981), 91–92.
Reflective Question: How might I allow my words—whether spoken, written, or silent—to become vessels of healing and truth, rather than instruments of division?