Daily Retreat 07/19/06
2006 Jul 19 Wed: Ordinary Weekday
Is 10: 5-7. 13b-16/ Ps 94: 5-6. 7-8. 9-10. 14-15/ Mt 11: 25-27
From today’s readings: “Thus says the LORD: Woe to Assyria!... The Lord will not abandon His people.... No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal Him.”
Why Wise?
Often enough, Holy Scripture affirms that God’s revelation is the light of wisdom to guide human lives. And yet, Jesus praised the Father for hiding things from the wise and the learned, and revealing them instead to the childlike. So, the question arises, why strive for wisdom if God hides things from the wise?
We must distinguish between worldly wisdom and divine wisdom. Some who have set out to advance in human knowledge and wisdom have thought it necessary to deliberately ignore divine revelation in their musings, in order to abide by a strictly secular standard. Now, the light of human reason alone would lead such people to great truths, such as an appreciation for the principles of natural law. But still, much would remain hidden to such people.
When we discern God’s revelation and embrace it, we are following divine wisdom. That doesn’t mean that we can’t or shouldn’t still use human reason - on the contrary, that’s part of what it means to love God with all our mind, and that’s a point that Jesus Himself added when He taught about the Great Commandment (cf. Matthew 22:37). But, just as a child instinctively turns to its parents for answers, aware that they know more, so Jesus reminds us that the Heavenly Father gladly shares answers with those who humbly remember that He always knows best!
Is 10: 5-7. 13b-16/ Ps 94: 5-6. 7-8. 9-10. 14-15/ Mt 11: 25-27
From today’s readings: “Thus says the LORD: Woe to Assyria!... The Lord will not abandon His people.... No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal Him.”
Why Wise?
Often enough, Holy Scripture affirms that God’s revelation is the light of wisdom to guide human lives. And yet, Jesus praised the Father for hiding things from the wise and the learned, and revealing them instead to the childlike. So, the question arises, why strive for wisdom if God hides things from the wise?
We must distinguish between worldly wisdom and divine wisdom. Some who have set out to advance in human knowledge and wisdom have thought it necessary to deliberately ignore divine revelation in their musings, in order to abide by a strictly secular standard. Now, the light of human reason alone would lead such people to great truths, such as an appreciation for the principles of natural law. But still, much would remain hidden to such people.
When we discern God’s revelation and embrace it, we are following divine wisdom. That doesn’t mean that we can’t or shouldn’t still use human reason - on the contrary, that’s part of what it means to love God with all our mind, and that’s a point that Jesus Himself added when He taught about the Great Commandment (cf. Matthew 22:37). But, just as a child instinctively turns to its parents for answers, aware that they know more, so Jesus reminds us that the Heavenly Father gladly shares answers with those who humbly remember that He always knows best!
posted by FrPitstick | 7/18/2006
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