Swift to Hear and Slow to Speak

Fr. Scott A. Haynes

“You know, my dearest brethren. And let every man be swift to hear, but slow to speak and slow to anger. For the anger of man worketh not the justice of God. Wherefore casting away all uncleanness and abundance of naughtiness, with meekness receive the ingrafted word, which is able to save your souls.”—James 1:19–21

These verses from the Epistle of St. James strike at the very heart of Christian virtue. In a world driven by noise, rash speech, and constant indignation, the Apostle calls us to silence, reflection, and the receptive docility of a humble soul. The inspired counsel is not merely moral instruction—it is a path toward sanctity.

Swift to Hear, Slow to Speak

To be swift to hear is to imitate Mary, who “kept all these words, pondering them in her heart” (Luke 2:19). Listening is the first act of humility. St. Jerome teaches, “Silence is the garment of the soul, the protection of virtue, the foundation of prayer.”¹ The person who listens before speaking is one who allows the divine Word to penetrate the heart rather than be repelled by pride.

St. Gregory the Great warned, “In the midst of speaking, the tongue easily slips; in silence, the heart is prepared for God.”² Thus, slowness in speech is not sluggishness, but wisdom—like the deliberate counsel of a saint who weighs every word as a steward of divine truth.

St. Leo the Great echoed this need for restraint, saying, “Let your tongue learn to fast as your belly does; let it not run ahead of your heart.”³ In other words, interior discipline must govern not only actions but words. This discipline cultivates the readiness to listen—to God in prayer, to others in charity, and to our own conscience in stillness.

Slow to Anger

“The anger of man worketh not the justice of God.” This powerful truth reflects the great distinction between human passion and divine righteousness. Anger, even when seemingly justified, often clouds the soul. St. John Chrysostom wrote that anger “is a kind of madness,” which “shuts the door to the grace of God.”⁴

There is a holy indignation, as seen in the lives of the prophets and in Christ driving out the moneychangers. But such anger is born not from wounded pride or frustration, but from love of God’s justice and a sorrow for sin. The anger St. James condemns is that which brews in the unpurified heart—self-serving, rash, and retaliatory.

A story from the life of St. Francis de Sales beautifully illustrates this virtue. Known for his natural temper, which he struggled to tame, Francis once confessed that controlling his anger was the single greatest spiritual challenge he faced. Yet he became one of the gentlest saints in Christian history, earning the title “the gentleman saint.” Once, when falsely accused by a fellow bishop, he remained silent and prayerful, later writing, “The worst anger is that which feeds on reason to justify itself.” His victory over anger was not achieved through natural disposition, but supernatural grace.⁵

Casting Away Uncleanness

The Apostle then commands: “Casting away all uncleanness and abundance of naughtiness...” The phrase speaks of a radical interior purification. St. Bede the Venerable interpreted this verse to mean, “We must not only avoid gross sin but also the excesses that pollute the soul, the stains that dull the clarity of conscience.”⁶ It is not enough to avoid murder or theft; the “abundance of naughtiness” may take the subtler form of sarcasm, impatience, or inward judgment of others.

St. Gregory the Great taught that uncleanness in the soul—especially pride, envy, and wrath—renders it “unfit for divine indwelling.”⁷ The spiritual life is a continual casting off of the old man, so that Christ may grow more fully within.

With Meekness Receive the Ingrafted Word

Here we find the most beautiful image of the passage: “With meekness receive the ingrafted word, which is able to save your souls.” The Word of God, which is Christ Himself, must not merely be heard—it must be ingrafted, like a branch joined to the tree, or a seed embedded in fertile soil.

St. Augustine wrote: “The Word of God is like a seed: it seeks the soil of a humble heart. Where pride reigns, it cannot take root.”⁸ Meekness is not weakness—it is the soil of sanctity. Only in the tender, receptive heart does the Word produce fruit: repentance, peace, and ultimately salvation.

Conclusion: The Silent Triumph of the Saints

This brief exhortation from St. James offers the structure of a Christian life: listening, self-restraint, meekness, and continual purification. These are not traits of the world, but of the saints.

One need only consider St. Thérèse of Lisieux, the Little Flower, who modeled this very path. She endured humiliations, criticisms, and illness with silence and a smile. She listened more than she spoke and was careful never to correct others in haste. Her holiness was hidden in meekness—and yet it was in this hidden soil that the Word of God bore the fragrant roses of sanctity.

Let us then, like her and so many others, become swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger, casting off impurity, and humbly welcoming the divine Word.

Footnotes

1. Jerome, Letter 125 to Rusticus, in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, vol. 6, ed. Philip Schaff and Henry Wace (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1994), 247.

2. Gregory the Great, Pastoral Rule, II.4, in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, vol. 12, ed. Philip Schaff and Henry Wace (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1994), 45.

3. Leo the Great, Sermon 92, in The Letters and Sermons of Leo the Great, trans. Charles Lett Feltoe (New York: E.P. Dutton, 1895), 206.

4. John Chrysostom, Homilies on Ephesians, Homily 9, in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, vol. 13, ed. Philip Schaff (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1994), 104.

5. Jean-Pierre Camus, The Spirit of St. Francis de Sales, trans. Ella McMahon (London: R. & T. Washbourne, 1910), 58–61.

6. Bede the Venerable, Commentary on the Catholic Epistles, trans. David Hurst (Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian Publications, 1985), 25.

7. Gregory the Great, Moralia on Job, Book IX, in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, vol. 13, ed. Philip Schaff and Henry Wace, 125.

8. Augustine, Sermon 101, in The Works of Saint Augustine: Sermons (94–147), trans. Edmund Hill, O.P. (Hyde Park, NY: New City Press, 1992), 152.