Wisdom Saints

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Scripture: Lectionary 494

We continue our beautiful readings from the Book of Wisdom and follow her in our own paths of life. Today she makes us think of the various virtues and titles that are part of Mother Wisdom, Sophia. She also reminds us Catholics of the teaching of the Communion of Saints and how all of us are in this journey toward God together. Past, present, and future emerge into one when we look at Lady Wisdom’s advice and instruction.

Those attributes of Wisdom are easily seen in the saints especially in the Virgin Mother of Jesus. They are also present in us in seed form and as we grow in our understanding of our baptism we grow into Wisdom’s virtues and attributes just as Mary did, just ad Francis did, just as Mother Theresa did.

Wisdom produces “friends of God and prophets.” This title is featured in Elizabeth Ann Johnson’s outstanding work on the Communion of Saints. Wisdom helps us to reach from end to end mightily and to govern all things well. She helps us see the bigger picture of our path to life everlasting.

Psalm 119 is certainly congruent with Wisdom and is a Psalm in praise of the Torah and its manifold ways of speaking about God’s commands, laws, precepts, words, etc. It breaks into stanzas using the Hebrew Alphabet to accomplish its wisdom message about the Torah which is equivalent to Wisdom Personified. We call it an alphabetical psalm or an acrostic psalm. It ranges from A to Z or in Hebrew from Aleph to Tau. The Psalmist praises God and the Torah for it is Wisdom expressed in human language. The poet-psalmist is a passionate lover of God and God’s Torah (instruction, revelation, and laws). He wishes us to learn the ways of wisdom through the Torah and its marvelous tenets and paths.

Jesus teaches us his wisdom each day through our Gospel passages read in the liturgy and Eucharist. We hear his living voice and it is a voice of wisdom. The following words from the Gospel for today are encouraging: “The reign of God (the realm or kingdom) is already in your midst.” By our own embracing that kingdom of God within our listening hearts we are wisdom people. Today may we live up to that call. Amen.