November 11, 2021

St. Martin of Tours

Wis 7:22b-8:1 

For wisdom, the fashioner of all things, taught me.
There is in her a spirit that is intelligent, holy,
unique, manifold, subtle,
mobile, clear, unpolluted,
distinct, invulnerable, loving the good, keen,
irresistible, beneficent, humane,
steadfast, sure, free from anxiety,
all-powerful, overseeing all,
and penetrating through all spirits
that are intelligent, pure, and altogether subtle.

For wisdom is more mobile than any motion;
because of her pureness she pervades and penetrates all things.
For she is a breath of the power of God,
and a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty;
therefore nothing defiled gains entrance into her.

For she is a reflection of eternal light,
a spotless mirror of the working of God,
and an image of his goodness.
Although she is but one, she can do all things,
and while remaining in herself, she renews all things;
in every generation she passes into holy souls
and makes them friends of God, and prophets;
for God loves nothing so much as the person who lives with wisdom.

She is more beautiful than the sun,
and excels every constellation of the stars.
Compared with the light she is found to be superior,
for it is succeeded by the night,
but against wisdom evil does not prevail.

She reaches mightily from one end of the earth to the other,
and she orders all things well.

New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.

How do you want to live?

What do you want to be when you grow up? While it’s a fun question in order to glean the daydreams of a child’s heart, today’s first reading reminds us of a more important, and life-long question. How do you want to live? Which words describing Wisdom speak to how you long to be? Holy? Loving the good? Kind? Tranquil?

True wisdom is not the knowledge necessary to pass an exam or win a debate.  True wisdom is more than a means to an end. It has inherent value itself. It shapes our character, aligns our hearts with God, and gives evidence of our faith. How can we grow in this quality? Perhaps a good starting point is to spend more time with God’s “friends and prophets,” grounding ourselves in the stories and scriptures of those who accompanied Jesus and slowly become more the person God calls us to be.

—Sarah Otto is on the pastoral team at Ignatius House Jesuit Retreat Center in Atlanta, GA.

 

Prayer

Lord God,
in your wisdom you created us;
by your providence you rule us;
penetrate our inmost being with your holy light,
so that our way of life may always be one of faithful service to you.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

—From the Liturgy of the Hours (Week 3 Wednesday morning prayer)

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