“Resplendent and unfading is wisdom…” WIS 6:12-16
I started at St. Austin’s a few years ago. It was not long after that the Priest scandal arose, and I remember that the Book of Wisdom was one of the first readings we had for that particular Sunday after it all broke. Since then, I have developed a love for the Book of Wisdom, and this weekend's first reading only enhances that love.
While I do love just reading to read, I always want to know the background. Who wrote this section of the Bible? What is happening in this section of the Bible? What are the historical facts that have been found from archaeological sources? What have historians and Biblical scholars learned? I geek out on knowledge and then I love sharing it with you all!
So, research I did, haha! First, I just love the flow of the Book of Wisdom. It is poetic and just beautiful imagery for us as the reader. Maybe it’s because it refers to Wisdom as a female portrayal of God, or that it is considered religious literature, but there is just something about it that captures my attention. In diving deeper into the Book of Wisdom, I discovered that Solomon might be the writer of the Book, and that he was living in Egypt, most likely Alexandria, during the time and he wanted to take a different spin, a more positive one, on how the Jewish faith was being looked at during this time of the first century B.C. He writes to give us a different image of the plagues, and to show us, the readers, where the loving God is in the Old Testament.
In this particular section of Wisdom, Chapter 6 and on, Solomon shares how he called upon Lady Wisdom and all the good she brought him and the land. She meets us halfway when we bring our sorrows to her, and she wants us to learn from her. Essentially, like our Mothers and like God, Lady Wisdom is there for us. She hears our cries and she tries to make it better. She sees the positive while we may only see the negative. She is the love that we all need, especially now.
Here at St. Austin’s, we are gearing up for Advent and Christmas and how it will all look different this year. Christmas Eve and Christmas Masses will be different, celebrations will be different with families, everything will be different, but here is Lady Wisdom who calls us to look at wisdom and find the foresight in our futures. What will be great about Advent and Christmas this year for you and your families? What are you looking forward to doing differently? Maybe it is finally having Christmas in your home and not traveling, visiting everyone. Or maybe it is hosting everyone at your house this year instead of traveling? Maybe it is watching the midnight Mass because you can never stay up to actually get there? Maybe it is keeping the celebration going well past the actual dates of December 24 and 25? Maybe it is finding friends here in Austin and having them over? Whatever it maybe, as Fr. Chuck says, Christmas is not a day or two days, but it is a season. Just as we get ready for four weeks, the Christmas season continues until Epiphany. So no matter what you are thinking, know that Lady Wisdom is there to help you make the prudent decisions best for you and your family, and no matter what, God is there too and so are we, here at St. Austin’s. Lady Wisdom, pray and be with us during the Advent and Christmas seasons.
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Prayer for a Spiritual Communion
My Jesus, I believe that You are present in the Most Holy Sacrament of the altar. I love You above all things, and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart … I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You.