Is there time?

When I am talking to someone, I feel pressured to speak immediately after they have finished. It is like I have an interior timer set to respond quickly. Why do I give myself a small amount of time to respond? I should be taking time to listen. I should orient my response for charitable friendliness. I should speak with clarity and relevance. However, I hardly give myself time to take in what is said. I typically say the first thing that pops in my head. I even say it quickly with a lot of mumbling. Sometimes it does not relate to the main context of what was said.

My self-imposed timer needs some evaluation. I need to reset my beliefs about how long it should take to respond. Do I believe that I should respond quickly, because that is how a perfectly wise man would respond? I mean a wise man understands his fallen nature, so he would carefully pick his words to please God. Maybe, in the mind a fallen wise man, there is no timer. Maybe a fallen wise man sees it as a set of tasks to be done in their proper order.

1.       I should listen.

2.       I should pick a response out of love for God and neighbor.

3.       I should speak it with enough clarity to be understood and in harmony with the man I am speaking to so he remembers.

I need to replace this timer with Charity. In hopes of remembering, I made a list to remind me that I have time. Here is it:

There is time to magnify the Lord. There is time to rejoice in the Lord, our Savior. There is time to uphold His holy name. There is time to thank God for all corporeal and spiritual things. There is time to show the might in His arm. There is time to be humble and to put down mighty passions. There is time to pulverize proud thoughts and desires. There is time to be merciful. There is time to fill the hungry.

There is time to Fear the Lord. There is time to Piously execute our duties to Him. There is time to Know His commands. There is time to be Fortified by the Eucharist. There is time to receive Counsel to be merciful as He is merciful. There is time to Understand pure thoughts and desires. There is time to Wisely sow peace and unity among brothers.

There is time to seek. There is time to discover. There is time to ask. There is time to receive. There is time to knock so the wise may open the door to us. There is time to be convinced of the Lord’s Wisdom. There is time to repeat wise thoughts and words and deeds. There is time to scatter the darkness with the Light. There is time to be sincere. There is time to plan kindness. There is time to prepare gifts from our hearts. There is time to bless, even those who curse us. There is time to imagine virtue. There is time to honor good and correct behavior.

There is time to defend our faith, hope, and charity. There is time to delight in someone else's benefits. There is time to defend our neighbor as ourselves. There is time to be agreeable. There is time to be compliant. There is time to be gentle. There is time to respect their rights. There is time to be polite. There is time to be modest. There is time to speak and act gracefully. There is time to cultivate friendliness. There is time to exalt the Lord by the Excellence given to us. There is time to restrain, chastize, and order strong and inordinate emotions. There is time to ponder pure things. There is time to hate sin and evil. There is time to rejoice in the victory of Truth. There is time to sustain. There is time to believe the Truth. There is time to hope in God.

There is time to destroy rivalry. There is time to dismiss suspicions. There is time to sow trust. There is time to make amends. There is time to encourage charitable choices. There is time to beg God for life. There is time to obtain the help of our guardian angels. There is time to put away vain thinking and empty fantasies. There is time to forgive. There is time to listen to wise counsel.

There is time to prioritize out of love for God and neighbor.