Scripture:
Sirach 4:11-19
Mark 9:38-40
Reflection:
"Wisdom breathes life into her children and admonishes those who seek her. He who loves her loves life; those who seek her will be embraced by the Lord. He who holds her fast inherits glory; wherever he dwells, the Lord bestows blessings." Sirach 4:11-13
Last Sunday at mass when we were celebrating Pentecost, the priest said that the Holy Spirit is better than Google! I love that! The Holy Spirit was sent to teach us all things, to remind us of all that Jesus said, and to help us. It seems to me that we can all benefit from asking the Holy Spirit to help us as we seek God’s wisdom. The more time we put into pursuing it, certainly the more we will learn and grow in wisdom.
When we start listening to the Holy Spirit, it’s amazing all the ways He can direct us. I was driving to an address I was unfamiliar with one day, and I prayed for the Holy Spirit to tell me when to turn (this was before GPS!) I came to an intersection and sensed in my spirit, "Turn now", but I thought "No, it’s the next one." I went one more and turned and couldn’t find the street. I went back to where the Holy Spirit nudged me to turn, and it was the right one!
We have to get our brains out of the way if we want the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us! There is so much information out there which purports to be the "truth" or the "right way" to do something. We also have our own ideas about how to do things, but if we seek the Holy Spirit for truth, we will find the real thing!!!
I think the place to start is in acknowledging that we don’t know it all and that God does! "Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." (Prov. 1:7) I think we need to humble ourselves, and ask God to teach us and then be open to learning from many venues: the Bible, homilies at mass, reading the Catechism, reading good spiritual books, etc.
We see too in the reading for today that seeking wisdom has many benefits: life and blessings, correction, being embraced by the Lord and inheriting glory! So let’s all continue to seek after wisdom and keep our hearts and minds open to the working of the Holy Spirit.
Janice Carleton and her husband Jim live in Portland, OR and partner with Passionist Fr. Cedric Pisegna in Fr. Cedric Ministries. Janice also leads women’s retreats. She is the mother of 4 grown children and grandmother of 6. Visit Janice’s website at http://www.jcarleton.com/ or email her at [email protected]