13 June 2020
Memorial of Saint Anthony of Padua, Priest and Doctor of the Church
I have several family members who are lawyers, one of whom defends doctors accused of malpractice. One thing a defense attorney will tell you when answering an accuser is to keep your answers as simple as possible. When asked “do you know what time it is?” you answer “yes” or “no,” and wait for the follow-up. The accuser, of course, wants you to say more rather than less. The less you say, the less your accuser can attack you.
Satan is our accuser, and he is the one Jesus is warning us against when He says “Let your ‘yes’ mean ‘yes and your ‘no’ mean ‘no.’ Anything more is from the Evil One” (Mt. 5:37). Complicated lives can be tempting: it can be fun to brag about how much we are juggling, or how many sides we are playing, and we may feel smart, for a while. But every temptation has a price. Whether it is in our speech or our actions, the more complicated we make things, the more of an opening our Accuser has to trip us up. Strive for simplicity, and stay safe from every attack.