A monastery is not free of cold calling despite our having taken steps to block such calls. A particularly insistent caller yesterday (Sunday) and the difficulty we had shaking him off politely made me think about today's section of the Rule. Benedict is not talking here about the right and wrong uses of speech as such but the actual quantity of words that fall from our lips and the way in which we should ensure they are worthwhile. We all tend to babble on because we do not take words seriously enough, and that is how we allow anger or pride or mockery of others to creep in. Speech is a gift which, by and large, we take for granted. Some of us, of course, cannot take it for granted: we struggle with lisps or stammers, a stroke makes it difficult to articulate clearly enough to be understood, or the need for an oxygen mask makes every word an effort. It would be a pity if only a speech impediment or illness made us stop and think about the way we use words.