“One sentence from today’s Gospel deserves our special attention. Jesus tells His disciples: “Be wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (Mt 10:16).

At first, this sounds strange. Why would Jesus use a serpent as an example? Isn’t the serpent a symbol of evil?

Jesus is not praising the serpent’s evil. He is praising its prudence. A serpent knows how to avoid danger. It is alert. It does not act carelessly.

At the same time, Jesus tells us to be “innocent as doves.” A dove does not attack. It does not seek revenge. It symbolizes purity, gentleness, and peace.

In other words, Jesus is saying: Use your head, but never lose your heart. Be intelligent, but remain good.

That message is very relevant today.

We live in a world where information travels faster than truth. Every day our phones are filled with videos, posts, and messages. Some are true. Many are misleading. Some are intentionally created to divide people.

A wise Christian does not believe everything he reads. He checks the facts before sharing them. He asks, “Is this true? Will this help others? Will this bring people closer to God?” Wisdom means thinking before clicking the “Share” button.

The same is true in our relationships.

Being innocent does not mean allowing people to abuse us. Being wise does not mean becoming suspicious of everyone.

Suppose someone has betrayed your trust. Jesus is not telling you to pretend nothing happened. Wisdom may mean setting healthy boundaries or being more careful. But innocence means refusing to let bitterness take over your heart. You learn from the experience without becoming a hateful person.

Many people become wise after being hurt, but sadly they also become hard. They stop trusting. They stop loving. They become cynical.

Jesus wants something better. He wants us to become wiser without becoming colder. He wants us to become more discerning without becoming more judgmental. He wants us to protect ourselves without losing our kindness. That is difficult, but it is the way of Christ.

In our country today, we need more Christians who combine wisdom with goodness.

We need leaders who are intelligent enough to solve problems and honest enough not to abuse their power.

We need parents who wisely guide their children but never stop loving them.

We need young people who know how to navigate social media without allowing it to shape their values.

We need Catholics who know the truth of their faith but speak that truth with humility and charity.

Wisdom without goodness becomes manipulation. Goodness without wisdom becomes gullibility. Jesus calls us to have both.

Hiss but not bite

There is an old story about a snake that lived near a village. It often frightened the people. One day a holy man told the snake, “Do not bite people anymore.”

The snake obeyed. But after some time, the village children discovered that it no longer fought back. They threw stones at it, hit it with sticks, and nearly killed it.

When the holy man returned, he found the snake badly wounded.

“What happened to you?” he asked.

“You told me not to bite anyone,” the snake replied.

The holy man smiled and said, “I told you not to bite. I never told you not to hiss.”

Final Words

The lesson is simple. Jesus never asks us to become cruel. But neither does He ask us to be foolish. We can be firm without being violent. We can protect ourselves without seeking revenge. We can stand for the truth without losing our compassion.

So today let us ask the Lord for both gifts: the wisdom to know what is right and the goodness to do what is right. For when wisdom and innocence walk together, we truly become disciples who reflect the mind and the heart of Christ.”