For wisdom is a kindly spirit, yet she
acquits not the blasphemer of his guilty lips; Because God is the witness of
his inmost self and the sure observer of his heart and the listener to his
tongue. For the Spirit of the Lord fills
the world, is all-embracing, and knows what man says. Wisdom
1:6-7
Jesus said to his disciples, “Things that
cause sin will inevitably occur, but woe to the one through whom they occur. It would be better for him if a millstone
were put around his neck and he be thrown into the sea than for him to cause
one of these little ones to sin. Luke 17:1-2
Piety
"Lord, if your
people still need me, I do not refuse the work. Your will be done." St. Martin of Tours.
Study
Jesus is a
realist. Among other things, He knows
that sin exists in the world. To
overcome it will be a struggle. He test
us by proposing something different. But
the choice is not easy. The choice of
sin and self is easy. But to choose to
help others is harder.
The disciple to
choose to help others over helping oneself is a stage of wisdom. We have to find out what we are made of just
like the Lord has to find out how strong we will be against sin and for
justice. As we learn in the Hebrew
Bible, “I, the LORD, explore the mind and test the heart, Giving to all
according to their ways, according to the fruit of their deeds.” (Jeremiah
17:10)
Jesus know what we
are capable of accomplishing…however, we still must undergo the test.
Action
The story of St.
Martin of Tours can inspire us to act even when we might be reluctant. See a summary here
on the Saint of the Day website.
The
commentary is especially enlightening: “Martin's
worry about cooperation with evil reminds us that almost nothing is either all
black or all white. The saints are not creatures of another world: They face
the same perplexing decisions that we do. Any decision of conscience always
involves some risk. If we choose to go north, we may never know what would have
happened had we gone east, west or south. A hypercautious withdrawal from all
perplexing situations is not the virtue of prudence; it is, in fact, a bad
decision, for "not to decide is to decide."
The wisdom referred
to in today’s readings can help us choose the best path. What choices are you making today with the guidance
of a kindly spirit?
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