The Gift of Wisdom

By Fr. Conor Donnelly

(Proofread)

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

My Lord and my God, I firmly believe that you are here, that you see me, that you hear me. I adore you with profound reverence. I ask your pardon for my sins and grace to make this time of prayer fruitful. My Immaculate Mother, Saint Joseph, my father and lord, my guardian angel, intercede for me.

There's a story told about three men who were hiking through a forest, and then they came upon a large, raging, violent river.

Needing to get to the other side, the first man prayed, “God, please give me the strength to cross this river.”

Suddenly God gave him big arms and strong legs, and he was able to swim across the river in about two hours, having almost drowned twice.

After witnessing this, the second man prayed, “God, please give me strength and the tools to cross the river.”

God gave him a rowing boat, and strong arms and strong legs, and he was able to row across in about an hour, after almost capsizing once.

Seeing what happened to the first two, the third man prayed, “God, please give me the strength, the tools, and the intelligence to cross the river.”

Suddenly he was turned into a woman. She checked the map, hiked 100 yards upstream, and walked across the bridge.

The moral of the story is that if at first you don't succeed, do it the way your wife told you.

This message is about the gift of wisdom, a gift of the Holy Spirit that we get every time that we receive divine grace.

The Book of Proverbs said, “Wisdom is better than jewels, and all that you may desire cannot compare with her” (Prov. 8:11).

Wisdom is “knowledge of things through their ultimate cause” (Aristotle). It's a gift whereby we see only the good and the beautiful in all things, because wisdom sees God's beauty in everything and therefore goes to serve others.

You get knowledge in college, but “wisdom comes from God” (Prov. 2:6). It's usually listed first among the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

“Often our wisdom can also grow in proportion to our awareness of our own ignorance” (cf. Anthony de Mello, One Minute Wisdom).

We can get an awful lot of wisdom from other people. The gift of the Holy Spirit helps us to see this was a very wise statement, a wise piece of knowledge, wise experience.

There's a Chinese proverb that says, “A single conversation across the table with the wise man is worth a month's study of books.”

Fulton Sheen liked to say, “Just as a mouse eating piano keys cannot understand how someone can sit at a piano stool and play Tchaikovsky, so we do not understand the wisdom of God's ways.”

God's ways are not our ways (cf. Isa. 55:8). We can ask Our Lord for an increase in this virtue.

The Book of Proverbs says, “Because the Lord gives wisdom, and out of his mouth come prudence and knowledge” (Prov. 2:6). And in the Book of Wisdom, “…for wisdom will not enter into a malicious soul, nor dwell in a body subject to sins” (Wis. 1:4).

Through the world of nature and grace, the Holy Spirit enables us to perceive and contemplate the infinite wisdom, power, and goodness of God. God's nature is reflected in all things.

Through this gift, we're told in Christ Is Passing By, a Christian perceives and understands that “all creation, the movement of the earth and the other heavenly bodies, the good actions of creatures and all the good that has been achieved in history, in short, everything, comes from God and is directed towards him (Josemaría Escrivá, Christ Is Passing By, Point 130).

Truly, the Christian will be able to say, says the Book of Wisdom, that wisdom “guided him on straight paths. She showed him the kingdom of God and gave him knowledge of the angels (Wis. 10:10).

The Holy Spirit will warn us about what is good and true in itself and is in danger of becoming bad by leading us away from our supernatural end. We need this wisdom in daily events to see things in the right way, make the right decisions, to learn from our mistakes.

Thus, we give the utmost importance to being temples of the Holy Spirit, because, we're told in Friends of God, “If God is dwelling in our soul, everything else, no matter how important it may seem, is accidental and transitory, whereas we, in God, stand permanent and firm” (J. Escrivá, Friends of God, Point 92).

Solomon asks for “wisdom to judge well”, and God was very happy with that request. He didn't ask for riches or power or success. He asked for a special gift so as to be able to dispense his judgments well on other people (1 Kings 3:9-14).

We're told in the Furrow, “It is no use trying to please everyone. There will always be people who disagree, who complain. The way popular wisdom sums it up is: ‘What is good for the sheep is bad for the wolves’” (J. Escrivá, Furrow, Point 38).

In an Encyclical called “Faith and Reason,” John Paul II says, “The wisdom named among the gifts of the Holy Spirit is distinct from the wisdom found among the intellectual virtues. This second wisdom is acquired through study, but the first ‘comes from on high,’ as St. James puts it (James 3:17). This also distinguishes it from faith, since faith accepts divine truth as it is. But the gift of wisdom enables judgment according to divine truth” (John Paul II, Encyclical, Fides et Ratio, Point 44 quoting St. Thomas Aquinas, September 14, 1998).

In that same document, it says, “It is no accident that when the sacred author comes to describe the wise man, he portrays him as one who loves and seeks the truth.”

He quotes from the Book of Sirach: “‘Happy the man who meditates on wisdom and reasons intelligently, who reflects in his heart on her ways and ponders her secrets. He pursues her like a hunter and lies in wait on her paths. He peers through her windows and listens at her doors. He camps near her house and fastens his tent-peg to her walls; he pitches his tent near her and so finds an excellent resting place; he places his children under her protection and lodges under her boughs; by her he is sheltered from the heat and he dwells in the shade of her glory’ (Sir. 14:20-27)” (ibid., Point 16).

We can see from the Old Testament this is a gift that is highly valued, highly to be appreciated.

St. Paul to the Colossians says, “The treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ” (Col. 2:3). Christ is like a book; the crucifix is like a book where we find the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Some people drink at the fountain of knowledge. And somebody said other people just gargle. The Book of Proverbs says, “A fool takes pleasure in doing wrong; the intelligent takes pleasure in cultivating wisdom” (Prov. 10:23).

St. Paul says, “How rich and deep are the wisdom and the knowledge of God! We cannot reach to the root of his decisions or his ways” (Rom. 11:33).

“For Yahweh,” says the Book of Proverbs, “himself is the giver of wisdom. From his mouth issue knowledge and understanding” (Prov. 2:6).

Wisdom is humble because wisdom sees beauty in everything and goes out to serve others. Those who dine at wisdom's table nourish their mind (cf. Prov. 9:1-2).

We need a lot of wisdom in daily life to make the right decisions. “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his own soul?” (Mark 8:36).

We need a lot of wisdom to make the right decisions, to choose rightly. St. Paul says, “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2).

Like the other gifts of the Holy Spirit, wisdom accompanies sanctifying grace, makes a person disposed to receive the inspirations and movements of the Holy Spirit, and “completes and perfects the virtues of those who receive them” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, Point 1831).

“What is specific to wisdom is that it makes the soul responsive to the Holy Spirit in the contemplation of divine things and in the use of God's ideas to judge both created and divine matters” (Gregory D. Gaston, The Gift of Wisdom).

“This discernment is nourished by the light and strength of the Holy Spirit, who evokes everywhere and in all circumstances, obedience to the faith, the joyous courage of following Jesus, and the gift of wisdom, which ‘judges all things and is judged by no one’ (cf. 1 Cor. 2:15). It rests on the fidelity of the Father to his promises.” (John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation, Pastores dabo vobis, Point 10, March, 25, 1992).

“The spiritual person can assess the value of everything, and that person's value cannot be assessed by anybody else” (1 Cor. 2:15).

We ask for the gift of wisdom, not only for special undertakings, but to follow God's will, which is a continuous task for the Christian.

The Book of Wisdom says, “We should never cease to ask the Almighty for this gift of wisdom in the struggles of everyday life” (Wis. 9:10).

With this gift, we constantly seek God's standards and not ours, all the time trying to bring things up. We try to make our standards conform to God's.

Lord, help us to have that great goal for our life; to lift things up as much as possible.

With this gift, the Christian understands the littleness of the value of earthly things if they do not lead to the things of heaven; the shortness of human life on earth; the limited happiness this world can give when compared to that which God has promised to those who love Him; the pointlessness of so much effort if it's not carried out in God's presence.

When the soul recalls its past life, where perhaps God was not given pride of place, you can feel a great sorrow for so much evil, for so many lost opportunities. From that comes the desire to make up for lost time by being more faithful to God.

Everything in the world—which we love and in which we have to sanctify ourselves—appears in the light of this gift as marked with perishability, while in all clarity we see our supernatural end, to which we have to subordinate all things.

We see the importance of not losing our own souls. The vision in faith of the world, of events, of individuals can become darkened, and even totally obscured, by what St. John calls the “concupiscence of the eyes” (1 John 2:16).

The mind then rejects the true light and becomes unable to direct earthly affairs to Him; instead, those earthly affairs become its end.

The disordered desire for material goods, the determination to reduce the search for happiness to affairs here below—all this impedes or frustrates the action of this gift.

The soul then falls into a type of blindness in which it is unable to recognize and to taste the true goods, those which do not perish, and its supernatural hope is replaced by an ever-greater desire for material well-being.

You could say that “true wisdom is a participation in the mind of God” (John Paul II, General Audience, January 29, 2003), guides our life and our decision, gives us a loving knowledge of God and of people and of created things insofar as they refer to Him.

It's connected with the virtue of charity, because it bestows a special knowledge of God and others, and prepares the soul for “a certain experience of the sweetness of God” (cf. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae), both in himself and in created things, insofar as they refer to Him.

With this gift, united with charity, we are better able to live in harmony with others. Every day we see opportunities to help people, to serve them.

Through the gift of wisdom, the Holy Spirit places this knowledge within the reach of simple souls who love God.

“I thank you, Lord of heaven and earth, for you have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to mere babes” (Matt. 11:25).

This gift that we speak about is a knowledge that's not learned from books but given by God who enlightens us, fills our mind, heart, will, and understanding with love. By means of the light of this love, the Christian has a more intimate and joyful knowledge of God and of His mysteries.

“We appreciate the flavor of some fruit much more when we taste it than when we read the description of it in a botany book” (Luis M. Martinez, True Devotion to the Holy Spirit). This knowledge is given especially by the gift of wisdom.

“The heavens are telling the glory of God and the firmament proclaims his handiwork” (Ps. 19:1). There are many great things we have to learn, in and through this great gift.

Cardinal Văn Thuận says, “The cross is the book that teaches true wisdom” (Francis Xavier Nguyễn Văn Thuận, The Road of Hope: A Gospel from Prison).

St. Paul says, “The word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Cor. 1:18).

We are told, “God will scatter the proud in the imagination of their hearts and put down the mighty from their thrones” (Luke 1:51-52).

“Who will restore order to a world of confused and erroneous thinking? Who will bring peace to the people of our time so that they will be able to travel the Road of Hope freely? There is only one answer: the Wisdom that God bestowed on us through Our Mother Mary, the Seat of Wisdom” (Văn Thuận, ibid., Point 545).

“Scientific geniuses,” says Văn Thuận, “have contributed much to the advancement of civilization. Yet they possess only a small portion of the light and truth. A world which possesses such splendid order as ours does requires, however, an overriding supreme wisdom. This wisdom is the Word and ‘through him, all things were made’, we’re told in the Nicene Creed.”

Văn Thuận says, “Do not lose confidence when you see that the Road of Hope eludes some people whom the world regards as wise. Our Lord has warned us about that already (Matt. 11:25). The world is often afraid of wisdom because it upsets the old life, rebukes the world, and overturns set values; so human nature finds it hard to accept.

“The humble souls of goodwill and those little ones fired with youthful enthusiasm have, throughout every period of history, followed this wisdom successfully to the end. The wisdom given by the Holy Spirit will illumine your thoughts, guide your plans, transform your actions by giving them an eternal value. It will transform you into an immortal child of the Spirit” (Văn Thuận, ibid., Points 549, 551-553).

St. Paul says, “When I came to you, I did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God in lofty words or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:1-2).

“The crucifixion of Our Lord is the wisdom that comes down from heaven. As the experience of the last twenty centuries has clearly shown, it accomplished a brilliant revolution that could neither be concealed nor held back. Many courageous souls have volunteered and continue to do so in the service of [this] wisdom” (Văn Thuận, ibid., Points 555).

We can try to appreciate during these days this great gift that the Holy Spirit gives to us, with a certain frequency.

Like Solomon, we can ask for that gift. “Give your servant therefore an understanding heart to judge your people and to distinguish right from wrong” (1 Kings 3:9).

“Give me wisdom,” we’re told. “Send her forth from your holy heavens and from your glorious throne” (Wis. 9:4,10).

Without this gift, we lack a guide, as if we were without a polar star to direct us in the moral choices of life.

The liturgy often makes us pray with the words of the Book of Wisdom at the beginning of the day, so that God may be close to us with His wisdom, and assist us and support us in our daily toil, revealing to us the good and evil, the just and the unjust.

We need to take the hand of divine wisdom and go forward confidently in the world. We cling to her, loving her with a spousal love after the example of Solomon.

When the Book of Wisdom confessed, “I loved and sought after her from my youth; I sought to take her for my bride and was enamored of her beauty” (Wis. 8:2).

The Fathers of the Church identified Christ as the wisdom of God and defined Christ as “the power and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:24).

St. Ambrose says, “Teach me words rich in wisdom for you are Wisdom! Open my heart, you who have opened the Book. Open the door that is [in] Heaven, for you are the Door! If we are introduced through you, we will possess the eternal Kingdom. Whoever enters through you will not be deceived, for he cannot err who enters the dwelling place of Truth” (St. Ambrose, Comment, as quoted by John Paul II, General Audience, January 29, 2003).

Our Lord invites us to be rich in this virtue, rich in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

“Teach us, O God, wisdom of heart” when we grow in this virtue.

When we grow in this virtue, we get an “interior conformation to Christ, the Wisdom of the Father. … A gift first passes through him, ‘the door of the sheep’ (John 10:7), We have to imitate him, the ‘Good Shepherd’ (John 10:11,14), so that in listening to us, the faithful will listen to him, and in following us they can follow him, the one Savior, yesterday, today, and forever. God gives us wisdom of heart through his Word, living, effective, and capable of laying bare the depths of man” (cf. John Paul II, Homily, October 8, 2000).

Every time we read our Gospel each day and we look at the words of the Mass, the different scriptural texts, or listen to the Gospel there, we get exposed to profound wisdom. Greater than that doesn't exist.

“The divine Word,” we are told in the Book of Hebrews, “after being spoken of old in many and various ways to our fathers through the prophets, has been sent in these last days to men and women in the very person of the Son (cf. Heb. 1:1-2).

We are also called to be qualified teachers of this Word. “He who hears you hears me” (Luke 10:16). An enormous task, but also a great responsibility.

We have been entrusted with the living Word. We have to proclaim it by our lives, even before we do so with our lips.

It is the Word that coincides with the person of Christ Himself, “the Word made flesh” (John 1:14). It is the face of Christ that we have to show others. We have to proclaim His Cross.

“I decided,” said St. Paul, “to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2). Christ alone is enough.

“Lo, we have left everything and followed you” (Matt. 19:27). Peter's statement expresses the radical nature of the choice professed by the apostle.

Our Lord the teacher indicated and demanded the observance of the commandments as a condition for eternal life. To the rich young man, He said, “Go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come follow me” (Matt. 19:21).

The sadness of refusal fell on those words of Christ, like a sudden darkening of the sky. Jesus spoke one of His severest sayings: “How hard it would be for those who are of riches to enter the kingdom of God” (Matt. 19:24).

But then Our Lord calms the apostles down by telling them “all things are possible with God” (Matt. 19:26).

Peter's statement became an expression of the grace by which God transforms man and makes him capable of a total gift. “We have left everything and followed you” (Matt. 19:27).

That's how we become apostles, and that's how we experience fulfillment of Our Lord's promise about “the hundredfold” (Mark 10:30).

The apostle who has left everything to follow Christ already lives a fulfilled and joyful life on this earth, despite the inevitable trials.

Thank you, Lord, for all the great gifts you’ve given me in the past years and decades. Help me to cast a contemplative gaze back over my life and see the ways in which you have shown me your love and mercy. “I will sing forever of your mercy, O Lord” (Ps. 89:1).

Through this gift of wisdom, we share in Christ’s love for the people we're in contact with. We see in our dealings with them a chance to be merciful, to bring them closer to God, to understand better the great need that people have for help on their way to Christ. Others are seen as persons in need of God, and that's the way Jesus sees them.

As we prepare for the great feast of Pentecost, we can ask Our Lady to facilitate this great gift.

We’re told in Friends of God, “May the Mother of God and Our Mother protect us, so that each one of us may serve the Church in the fullness of faith, with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and with our contemplative life. May each one of us joyfully honor the Lord by carrying out his own duties, those which are properly his; each one of us in his job or profession and fulfilling the obligations of his state in life” (J. Escrivá, Friends of God, Point 316).

Queen of Apostles, pray for us and with us, so that the Holy Spirit will descend in abundance upon the Church, that she will shine throughout the world, ever more united, holy, Catholic, and apostolic.

I thank you, my God, for the good resolutions, affections, and inspirations that you have communicated to me during this meditation. I ask your help to put them into practice. My Immaculate Mother, Saint Joseph, my father and lord, my guardian angel, intercede for me.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

EW