st blaise: being careful with what we say - friday 4th week

Today also as we celebrate the feast of St. Blaise, we will bless your throat through the intercession of Blaise.  I don’t know if you know this person but he is is the patron of all those with ailments and diseases in the throat.  This is so because it was said that he healed a young boy who was dying because a fish bone got stuck up on his throat.  For this he was invoked whenever a person has some ailments in the throat. 

Today, after the feast of the Candelaria, it has been a practice in the church to bless people who have ailments in the throat with a crossed candle, with two perdon blessed during the feast of the Candelaria.  We will do that after this homily.  So why do we give importance to the blessing of the throats?  Because our vocation is primarily a vocation that makes extensive use of the throat.  We talk, we teach, we proclaim God’s word, we admonish, we reprove, we compliment, we exhort.  Our throats are important in our vocation as future priests. 

Today we will also go to parishes in order to campaign for religious and priestly vocations.  Again this is our way also of putting to the test the power of our words.  Can we convince, can we persuade, can we cajole, can we sway and convince young people like ourselves to try and consider the priesthood?

Call on St Blaise when you speak in public, when you try to persuade young people like yourselves. 

Today in our gospel we are reminded too of the power of words.  One day Herod could not resist bragging.  He was so pleased that in his pleasure he made promises he never really intend to fulfill.  He said things that went out of his mouth without passing his brain.  He said things that were not really thought out well.  And what did that cost him.  It cost him the head of an innocent man and a disturbed conscience for the rest of his life.  We must be careful with what we say and how we say it things.  And so now let us pray.