Last Sunday’s readings speak to us of Divine Wisdom. We should value this above any other good.

In the first reading we listen to the prayer of King Solomon: 

I prayed, and understanding was given me; I entreated, and the spirit of wisdom came to me. I esteemed her more than sceptres and thrones; compared to her, I held riches as nothing. 

Nothing can compare with the knowledge of God, that gives meaning to our lives. 

In her company, all good things came to me. 

Jesus, the word made flesh is Divine Wisdom. Next to Jesus, silver ranks as mud and gold as a pinch of sand. Nothing is worth more than our Master.

In the second reading, the Word of God is described as a sharp double-edged sword, that cuts through pretentions or illusions about ourselves and others. It shows up secret emotions and thoughts and everything is uncovered before the Word of God. Reflecting on God’s Word each day is like taking a spiritual vitamin. Our Lady is the model for this because she reflected constantly on the word of God in her heart. The Church encourages us to practice Lectio Divina, the regular and prayerful reading of Scripture: Read, Reflect and Respond. 

In Last Sunday’s Gospel we have the story of the rich young man who preferred worldly goods to Christ Himself. This is the only time in the Gospels when someone went away from Jesus, sad. He was a good young man who had tried to keep the Ten Commandments, but he knew there was more. He had knelt before Jesus and asked: 

Good Master what must I do to inherit eternal life?

Jesus asked the young man if he kept the Commandments? Then the Lord listed five of the seven Commandments concerning love of neighbour and added: 

You shall not defraud. 

The young man had been living these from his youth. However,  he had difficulty with the first three Commandments about love of God, which must be above everything, including riches. That was the difference between St Peter, the other Apostles and the rich young man. They joyfully left everything: homes, boats, careers and family in order to follow Jesus. But the young man was unable to do so because he was attached to his wealth and possessions. We see the difference in state of mind between the young man and St Peter. The latter left everything to happily follow Jesus, but the young man went away sad. We see in this, that putting worldly goods first will only lead to unhappiness and a lack of peace within. Jesus had offered the young man treasure in Heaven and a great vocation, but he went away sad because he preferred the plastic things of this world to Real Treasure.

There is another kind of wealth which many people become attached to. This includes excessive television or the internet, facebook, Instagram, other social media and anything else through which we become enslaved. Sadly, one of the common forms of enslavement today, is impurity such as pornography. This causes great wounds in the soul and only leads to disillusion and great unhappiness. Other people chase the wind in various ways looking for happiness in the wrong places instead of true and lasting happiness that can only be found in Jesus and by keeping His word. We must be very careful to avoid occasions of sin and keep our hearts focussed on God with a strong desire to live in His Holy Will.

This reminds me of the story of St Anthony of the Desert. Unlike the rich young man, He heard the Word of God, reflected on it and responded fully and promptly. St Anthony was born in Egypt on Jan. 12, 251 into a wealthy farming family. He has lost both parents when he was only around nineteen years of age and was now left with just one young sister. Anthonly had been pondering about his life and once when he went to Sunday Mass, as he always did, last Sunday’s Gospel was being proclaimed. He believed the story of the rich young man was really God speaking to his heart. He was captivated by the words of Jesus: 

“If you want to be perfect, go and sell all that you have and give to the poor and you will have treasure in Heaven.

After Mass he decided to respond fully to the Gospel. He went and sold the large estate he had inherited, gave the money to the poor and just kept back enough for he and his sister to live on. Then the following Sunday he went to Mass again and this time the Gospel being proclaimed was John 6:24-34 which is call about divine providence.  Jesus said in the Gospel:

..Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 

Once again he knew in his heart, that this message was especially for him. He went and sold his remaining goods, put his young sister in the care of some holy nuns to be educated and brought up, then he then went out into the desert to live a life of solitude, prayer and penance. Eventually monasteries developed and he became the father of monasticism, a wonderful and new spiritual movement which would invigorate the whole Church and eventually move to the West through St Benedict. St Anthony lived until he was over one hundred years of age and knew the Bible so well, that when his eyes failed, he could recite much of it by heart. St Anthony’s response to the words of Jesus transformed not only his life, making his a saint, but also the Church and western civilization through the great movement of monasticism.

Let’s read, reflect and respond fully and generously to the word of God, so we can grow in wisdom and become holy.

Praise be Jesus Christ, now and forever!