Monday, February 2, 2009

Eternal Wisdom

Today we celebrate the Presentation of the Lord
" Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have see your salvation..."
Gilbert of Hoyland, a 12th century abbot of the Cistercian monastery of Swineshead, Lincolnshire, England wrote on the Graces of the Presentation: When you have found Christ, when you have found wisdom, when you have found justice, holiness and redemption,(for Christ became all of these for us) when you have found all of theses, hold them by affection and by attention"
St. Louis Marie de Montfort wrote "To know Jesus Christ, the Eternal Wisdom is to know enough" From the Book of Sirach 1: 1-10 " All wisdom comes from the Lord and with him it remains forever, and is before all time. The sand 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 theses? Before all things else wisdom was created; and prudent understanding from eternity. The word of God on high is the fountain of wisdom and her ways are everlasting. To whom has wisdom's root been revealed? Who knows her subtleties? To whom has the discipline of wisdom been revealed? And who has the multiplicity of her ways? There is but one, wise and truly awe-inspiring, seated upon his throne: There is but one, Most High all powerful creator-king and truly awe-inspiring one, seated upon his throne and he is the God of dominion. It is the Lord; he created her through the Holy Spirit, has seen her and taken note of her. He has poured forth upon all his works, upon every living thins according to his bounty; he has lavished her upon his friends."
It is important to recognize what has been written here. Not in the notion that wisdom is this vault that God holds and dispenses when he feels like it. Thus, he is large and we are puny. The important thing is to recognize the relationship between everything that we learn and the source of it, God, the Eternal Wisdom. All new scientific and medical discoveries were first and always known by God. Many modern thinkers will associate ancient man and historical man with their lack of science and medicine They will point to practices that they would call superstitious. The logic then extends to all knowledge and wisdom. Belief in God becomes silly, superstition, old, and outdated. In the realm of scientific knowledge though, one must recognize this: all mankind has through the ages given their contributions, sometimes in the tiny pieces to the puzzle of knowledge. Every succeeding generation benefited from previous generations. Modern thinkers have this kind of arrogance to think that, take for example an MRI is something that differentiates us from the idiots of the 15th century. The idiots of the 15th century have as much to do with an MRI existing as the current manufacturer of it. Each building block of knowledge was in essence revealed to each generation. The author of Sirach, who it has been estimated wrote his writings some 170-190 BC had been revealed this understanding of wisdom. And each succeeding generation has contributed to this knowledge. That is what the Church does and has for over 2000 years. Anyone who believes that truth and wisdom comes from man, and man alone, is being arrogant and is ignoring the wisdom all ready revealed to us. Knowledge removed from God, the Eternal Wisdom, and left to man's demise is a very dangerous thing. Science has already begun to wander into areas that all mankind will regret. The race to build this superman, cloned, devoid of any imperfections, devoid of a mother or father, equipped without a moral compass, is on. Arrogant thinkers will argue their case and many will stand by and watch it happen.

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