Read: Humble and calm, with an ear toward wisdom. 1 Peter 3:4
Reflect: Gentleness is a gift of the Holy Spirit when we have a heart of forgiveness and grace. What exactly is gentleness? Gentleness is sensitivity for another person. It is concerned with another’s welfare, safety, and security. It is grounded in humility. The approach is careful, tender, considerate, affectionate, and mild-mannered, free of all pushiness, roughness, or abrasiveness. This fruit of the spirit is also known as mildness. To be mild in behavior means having a heart of forgiveness and grace. It means not being easily provoked and choosing a response of meekness and peace rather than one that leads to revenge. Gentleness is the fruit of the Spirit that demands the most from us. It means adopting a position where we effectively place ourselves third on the list – putting God and other people before ourselves. This is a hard position to sustain in our humanness. It requires humility and sacrifice, patience, and compassion – qualities that we might feel that we lack, even on our best days. But the good news is that God shows us the way.
He who can preserve gentleness amid pains, and peace amid worry multitude of affairs, is almost perfect.
St. Francis de Sales
Respond: Lord, give me a gentle spirit of fortitude, a mild, loving patient heart. Kind looks, pleasant speech and manners in my daily life so I offend no one but live in your love.
Smitten With Goodness 