Word to the Wise
Monday, February 23, 2009 - St. Polycarp, bishop and martyr
[Sirach 1:1-10 and Mark 9:14-29]All wisdom comes from the Lord and with him it remains forever, and is before all time. The san of the seashore, the drops of rain, the days of eternity: who can number these? Heaven's height, earth's breadth, the depths of the abyss: who can explore these? Before all things else ; and prudent understanding, from eternity. The word of God on high is the fountain of wisdom and her ways are everlasting.
Occasionally we Dominicans hold sessions in which we "surface" the qualities we would like to see present in an individual whom we would want in a position of leadership. If I had to mention one quality - probably for me the most important quality - it would be WISDOM. It is very difficult to bear the burdens of leadership, or for parents in raising children, or making decisions about one's health, etc. because of the tremendous options that seem to flood in every time a decision arises. Only with wisdom can one truly have any confidence! Originality and spontaneity ("thinking outside the box") definitely have their place, but I find that the results are sometimes less than hoped and one hears, "Well, it seemed like a great idea at the time!" Where were the "wiser heads?" We live in a time that is often called the Age of Information! But I rarely if ever hear anything about how we are to use all this information. The prevailing ethic in many scientific areas, particularly health and life sciences, appears to be, "If it's possible, then we should do it!" There is no question about whether or not it is WISE to do this or that. The absence of wisdom in human affairs attests to the absence of faith! For, as Sirach tells us, all wisdom is from God. It is wisdom that enables us to put present crises in perspective and to see where God has worked in the past. It is wisdom that enables us to look at a vast amount or scale of reality and find some rhyme or reason to give meaning to it. It is wisdom that gives enthusiasm a productive and sane direction. In my own life I have served as a pastor, superior, formation director, board member and counselor. In all of these, I have found no quality more important than wisdom, no matter what other qualities are demanded by all those roles. I pray for it every day. AMEN
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