Words from pastor Bob Beeman
I have spoken a lot about gossip throughout the years. I have been the recipient of it more times than I care to painfully remember. I have also been guilty of it myself. It is a cancerous temptation.
I saw a movie yesterday called “Doubt.” Pretty good movie. Intense. In the movie, a priest tells this story to his congregation – who is guilty of gossip against him:
A group of ladies got together for tea. As they sipped their sassafras, they talked about the neighborhood, and shared their “concerns” about its inhabitants. Later, one of the ladies realized that she might be guilty of gossip. So, the next day when she went to confession, she asked the priest if what she had done would be considered gossip. And, if so, should she confess it?
The priest assured her that it was in fact gossip. Instead of the traditional “Hail Mary’s” and “Our Father’s,” he told her to go home and find her favorite sleeping pillow. Then, go to the kitchen, grab the butcher knife, and proceed to the roof of the building. When she got there, she was to take the butcher knife and stab the pillow until if was ripped apart. She was instructed to leave it there and return to confession the next day.
As instructed, the next day she returned to the confessional. “Did you follow my instructions?” She had. “What happened to the pillow?” “Well,” she said, “it made a horrible mess. There were feathers blowing all over the neighborhood. It looked like it was snowing!”
“Now, I’d like you to go back to your neighborhood and pick up all of the feathers,” the priest instructed. The woman was horrified. “I can’t do that! They have spread throughout the neighborhood. I could never find all of them!” “Exactly,” said the priest. “And so it is with gossip.”
