Holy Insight

“Yet we do speak a wisdom to those who are mature, but not a wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age who are passing away. Rather, we speak God’s wisdom, mysterious, hidden, which God predetermined before the ages for our glory…” (1 Corinthians 2: 6-7)

In the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation we receive an outpouring of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. These are the same gifts mentioned at the beginning of the book of Isaiah and they are given by the same Spirit and with the same power as the first Apostles received them on that first Pentecost 2,000 years ago. The question is: do we use them in our lives or do they sit on some kind of spiritual “shelf” in our soul gather dust?

Each of the seven gifts of the Spirit is given to help us grow in holiness in some area of our lives. The first is Wisdom. I like to call this gift “Holy Insight”. Scripture clearly points out that there are two different kinds of wisdom: the wisdom of the world and the wisdom of God. Which are we following today?

The wisdom of the world is flashy and loud and often preys on our feelings and emotions. Advertisers use it all the time to get us to buy things. And we listen to it every time we do something we want, even though it might not be what we need or what is best for us or someone else. It often tempts us to “go for it” without thinking through any of the consequences.

On the other hand, the wisdom of God is more subtle, yet more powerful. Kind of like a giant river. It might not look like much is happening, but try throwing a tractor trailer or a house into it and see what happens. We have to really LISTEN to hear the wisdom of God amidst the noise of the culture. We need to spend time in quiet to hear God’s wisdom in our hearts.

The wisdom of God is telling us to live for something more than just ourselves. To make decisions based on more than just what “feels good” at the moment. To put God and His righteousness first in our lives, rather than push God aside until we decide we really need Him. Wisdom helps us to have a holy insight into the mind of God. To think the way He thinks so we can act the way He acts; especially in right versus right decisions. These are times when we need to decide between two things and neither thing is morally wrong—like our vocation, or where to go to college; things that require discernment to know God’s will and direction in our lives.

If everyone listened to the wisdom of the world, there would be no one like Bl. Mother Teresa or St. Max Kolbe or Dorothy Day. All we would see in our world is people living for themselves and the moment and what a sad place this world would be then.

Dear Jesus, help me to hear Your wisdom in my heart. Help me to seek You in quiet each day so that I can follow Your direction and not the voices of the world. Amen.