Lent or Not, Followers of Jesus Can Give Up Gossip
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Photo from cnbc.com Every spring, Catholics celebrate Lent, a six week religious observance meant to prepare followers for Easter. More often than not, Lent is recognized by most people as a time to give up something. Fasting from something specific, whether it be cake, alcohol, or carbs, is symbolic of Jesus’ own 40 fast and is meant to help followers focus on Christ and his teachings. Speaking to followers in St. Peter’s Square on Ash Wednesday, Pope Francis urged Catholics to give up something a little different this year: “Lent is a time to give up useless words, gossip, rumors, [and] tittle-tattle.” Surrounded by the centuries-old architecture of the Vatican, the Pope reminded listeners of a very modern problem. “We live in an atmosphere polluted by too much verbal violence, too many offensive and harmful words, which are amplified by the internet,” he said. “Today, people insult each other as if they were saying, ‘Good Day.’” Whether we observe Lent or not, Pope Francis has a point. The internet has become an increasingly hostile and polarizing platform. Even Christians can fall prey to the temptation of anonymously bullying others. It’s become all-too-common for harsh words to be shared in comment sections, tweets, and chats. But Jesus’s mandate to “love your neighbor” doesn’t just apply to face-to-face interactions. And no matter what belief system we subscribe to, we can all agree that the world would be better off without all the mean rhetoric. So in this especially combative season of elections in America, followers of Jesus can choose to give up harsh words and gossip, both online and in person.