Of all the minor inconveniences and little pains in life,  I submit to you that losing an argument is the absolute worst. I imagine that some of  you, being far more well-adjusted and less competitive than I am, do not agree with me on this. I           imagine you are much happier for it. But it absolutely gets under my skin every time I am proven wrong about anything, big or small. Therefore, Jesus’ admonition to “not prepare your defense beforehand” and simply trust that Our Lord will give us the words we need in our moments of trial are both very convicting and nearly impossible to follow through on. If I no longer plan out what I am going to say in a disagreement or discussion, what am I supposed to think about on long drives or while brushing my teeth if not vanquishing my enemies in the glorious field of verbal sparring? Am I just supposed to live in the quiet presence of the Lord, like some kind of maniac?  

I’ve been reflecting on this Gospel for some time now, and I believe I’ve stumbled across a key lesson for my own life, and maybe some of you need to hear it as well. If you are one of the aforementioned well-adjusted folks, perhaps   you can just sit this one out. But for those of us who are going about our business, stressing about how we can prove ourselves right, justify our actions, or best of all, prove someone else wrong, now is a great time to step away from  this mentality and go deeper into the way of life that Jesus wants for us. When Jesus tells us not   to worry about what to say, first of all, he is talking about in moments of real trial and persecution. Maybe the first step is to not see every conversation in life as a new battleground, but rather as a mutual search for truth that  can benefit all of us. But even more importantly, Jesus isn’t telling   us to goof off and then waltz into a serious  situation where He will magically throw amazing words into our brain so that we can win arguments and look cool. He is inviting us  to transform our way of life so that conflict,  especially conflict over following Jesus, does        not disturb the peace in our hearts.  

Pope St. John Paul II says that there are three kinds of marriage prep: remote, proximate, and immediate. Immediate marriage prep is   the meetings and obligations we tend to think  of once we are engaged. Proximate is the work    we do on ourselves and our own hearts while dating and discerning. But the most important  is remote marriage preparation, which is the formation of the heart and our idea of true      sacrificial love that is formed in the home, primarily by our parents and family. This is  the foundation on which everything else rests.  In much the same way, Jesus is telling us that  we shouldn’t worry so much about immediate preparation for conflict or disagreement, but instead focus on the broader reality of what helps us in times of conflict. If we enter into a discussion, friendly or not, with a great peace, trust, and confidence in the Lord born of a healthy and robust prayer life, then there is no need to prepare what we are to say. We are rooted in Jesus, we know Him as the vine, and we are the branches, and this shapes the very words that we say. At least in part, what Jesus    is telling us this week is that if we abide in Him, He will abide in us, and He will transform every aspect of our lives.  
 
Prayers always, 
Fr. McC