Tuesday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time
Where is wisdom to be found? What is wisdom? The dictionary defines it as accumulated philosophic or scientific learning or knowledge; insight; good sense; sound judgment. It is something acquired over time. It is the good judgment that flows from reflection.
The wisdom we seek leads us closer to God. It is an insight on spiritual matters that contributes to our growth in holiness. We believe that reflection on God’s word in Scripture is a source of this wisdom; it teaches us God’s ways. And the Lord’s way is such that it can direct our entire lives. The Scriptures contain a certain wisdom that leads to God and the life of the Kingdom.
The reading from Proverbs, though short and simple, says much. It describes the attitude which we must possess in order to acquire the wisdom of God. First of all, we must be receptive, open, and even docile in God’s hands “like a stream is the king’s heart in the hand of the Lord, wherever it pleases him he directs it.” We need to allow Jesus to reach into our hearts and direct them, which means that we are receptive, docile to the hand of the Lord which directs us. For the Lord’s wisdom sees further than we do, and that is the way that really matters.
How do we discover the ways of the Lord? One way of course is in prayer, by meditating on the word of God, and also by the assistance of others, along with the gradual growth in wisdom that comes with time. It is over our span of years, as we try as best we can to do what Jesus urges in the Gospel, that we listen to God’s word and act upon it and let it direct us.
Reflection by Fr. Peter Ullrich, OSB
Posted in Articles for Lent, Daily Reflections, Lenten Resources