for companionship with her has no bitterness,
and life with her has no pain, but gladness and joy.
When I considered these things inwardly,
and pondered in my heart
that in kinship with wisdom there is immortality,
and in friendship with her, pure delight,
and in the labours of her hands, unfailing wealth,
and in the experience of her company, understanding,
and renown in sharing her words,
I went about seeking how to get her for myself.
As a child I was naturally gifted,
and a good soul fell to my lot;
or rather, being good, I entered an undefiled body.
But I perceived that I would not possess wisdom unless God gave her to me—
and it was a mark of insight to know whose gift she was. (Wisdom 8:16-21)
Like the sand of the seashore or the drops of the rain
Or the days of eternity
Who can number these, who can explore
Heaven’s height or the depths of the sea
Before all things were created
Wisdom came to be
The beginning of Wisdom is the awesome fear of God
Which is formed in the faithful in their mother’s womb
With devotion from of old
She inebriates with her finest fruit
And fills our house with food
Her garland is the fear of God
Her blossoms peace and good
nor will the last one fathom her.
For her thoughts are more abundant than the sea,
and her counsel deeper than the great abyss.
As for me, I was like a canal from a river,
like a water channel into a garden.
I said, ‘I will water my garden
and drench my flower-beds.’
And lo, my canal became a river,
and my river a sea.
I will again make instruction shine forth like the dawn,
and I will make it clear from far away.
I will again pour out teaching like prophecy,
and leave it to all future generations.
Observe that I have not laboured for myself alone,
but for all who seek wisdom. (Ecclesiasticus 24:28-34)
The notion of the common good also extends to future generations. The global economic crises have made painfully obvious the detrimental effects of disregarding our common destiny, which cannot exclude those who come after us. We can no longer speak of sustainable development apart from intergenerational solidarity. Once we start to think about the kind of world we are leaving to future generations, we look at things differently; we realize that the world is a gift which we have freely received and must share with others. Since the world has been given to us, we can no longer view reality in a purely utilitarian way, in which efficiency and productivity are entirely geared to our individual benefit. Intergenerational solidarity is not optional, but rather a basic question of justice, since the world we have received also belongs to those who will follow us. The Portuguese bishops have called upon us to acknowledge this obligation of justice: “The environment is part of a logic of receptivity. It is on loan to each generation, which must then hand it on to the next”. An integral ecology is marked by this broader vision.
What kind of world do we want to leave to those who come after us, to children who are now growing up? This question not only concerns the environment in isolation; the issue cannot be approached piecemeal. When we ask ourselves what kind of world we want to leave behind, we think in the first place of its general direction, its meaning and its values. Unless we struggle with these deeper issues, I do not believe that our concern for ecology will produce significant results. But if these issues are courageously faced, we are led inexorably to ask other pointed questions: What is the purpose of our life in this world? Why are we here? What is the goal of our work and all our efforts? What need does the earth have of us? It is no longer enough, then, simply to state that we should be concerned for future generations. We need to see that what is at stake is our own dignity. Leaving an inhabitable planet to future generations is, first and foremost, up to us. The issue is one which dramatically affects us, for it has to do with the ultimate meaning of our earthly sojourn. (LS 4:159-160)
A Prayer to the Creator (Pope Francis)
Lord, Father of our human family,
you created all human beings equal in dignity:
pour forth into our hearts a fraternal spirit
and inspire in us a dream of renewed encounter,
dialogue, justice and peace.
Move us to create healthier societies
and a more dignified world,
a world without hunger, poverty, violence and war.
May our hearts be open
to all the peoples and nations of the earth.
May we recognize the goodness and beauty
that you have sown in each of us,
and thus forge bonds of unity, common projects,
and shared dreams. Amen.
September 27
[Christ] the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation;for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him.He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together.He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything.For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross. (Colossians 1:15-19)
Meditation
the Image and the Son from God the Father.
According to this approach, the object giving pleasure is perceived as beautiful, pleasing and wholesome, which implies that in this first object is original beauty, pleasure and wholesomeness, in which there is supreme proportionality and equality to its source, in which there appears an uncorrupting power, not through illusion but through the truth of apprehension. In this there is a salvific impression which expels both substitutes and everything that may be lacking in apprehension. If, therefore, "delight is a conjunction of the pleasurable to the pleasurable", and if only the appearance of God accounts for the highest of beauty, pleasure and wholesomeness, and if that is united according to the truth and to the interiority and to the fullness which fills its capacity, then it can clearly be seen that in God alone is the source and true delight and that we are led by the hand to seek that same thing in all which delights us. (Journey 2:7-8)
in every way the primacy is his.
Let us give thanks to the Father
for having made you worthy
to share the lot of the saints in light.
and brought us into the kingdom of his beloved Son.
Through him we have redemption,
the forgiveness of our sins.
the first-born of all creatures.
things visible and invisible.
He is before all else that is.
In him everything continues in being.
He who is the beginning, the first-born of the dead,
so that primacy may be his in everything.
and, by means of him, to reconcile everything in his person,
both on earth and in the heavens,
making peace through the blood of his cross.
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.