Entries

Lent with the Wisdom Literature (Day 7)

March 11, 2025

Fr. John Colacino C.PP.S.

Sirach Ch 7 (First Tuesday of Lent)

Do no evil, and evil will never overtake you.
Stay away from wrong, and it will turn away from you.
Do not sow in the furrows of injustice, and you will not reap a sevenfold crop.

Do not seek from the Lord high office, or the seat of honour from the king.
Do not assert your righteousness before the Lord, or display your wisdom before the king.
Do not seek to become a judge, or you may be unable to root out injustice;
you may be partial to the powerful, and so mar your integrity.
Commit no offence against the public, and do not disgrace yourself among the people.

Do not commit a sin twice; not even for one will you go unpunished.
Do not say, ‘He will consider the great number of my gifts, and when I make an offering to the Most High God, he will accept it.’
Do not grow weary when you pray; do not neglect to give alms.
Do not ridicule a person who is embittered in spirit, for there is One who humbles and exalts.
Do not devise a lie against your brother, or do the same to a friend.
Refuse to utter any lie, for it is a habit that results in no good.
Do not babble in the assembly of the elders, and do not repeat yourself when you pray.

Do not hate hard labour or farm work, which was created by the Most High.
Do not enrol in the ranks of sinners; remember that retribution does not delay.
Humble yourself to the utmost, for the punishment of the ungodly is fire and worms.

Do not exchange a friend for money, or a real brother for the gold of Ophir.
Do not dismiss a wise and good wife, for her charm is worth more than gold.
Do not abuse slaves who work faithfully, or hired labourers who devote themselves to their task.
Let your soul love intelligent slaves; do not withhold from them their freedom.
Do you have cattle? Look after them; if they are profitable to you, keep them.
Do you have children? Discipline them, and make them obedient from their youth.
Do you have daughters? Be concerned for their chastity, and do not show yourself too indulgent with them.
Give a daughter in marriage, and you complete a great task; but give her to a sensible man.
Do you have a wife who pleases you? Do not divorce her; but do not trust yourself to one whom you detest.

With all your heart honour your father, and do not forget the birth pangs of your mother.
Remember that it was of your parents you were born; how can you repay what they have given to you?

With all your soul fear the Lord, and revere his priests.
With all your might love your Maker, and do not neglect his ministers.
Fear the Lord and honour the priest, and give him his portion, as you have been commanded:
the first fruits, the guilt-offering, the gift of the shoulders, the sacrifice of sanctification, and the first fruits of the holy things.

Stretch out your hand to the poor, so that your blessing may be complete.
Give graciously to all the living; do not withhold kindness even from the dead.
Do not avoid those who weep, but mourn with those who mourn.
Do not hesitate to visit the sick, because for such deeds you will be loved.
In all you do, remember the end of your life, and then you will never sin.

Commentary

The fortunes of this world are uncertain and transient; they are tossed from hand to hand, as in a game with pebbles, and are always changing. Not one of this world's blessings belongs to its owner securely enough to prevent time destroying it, or envy transferring it elsewhere. But the rewards of heaven are fixed and abiding; they neither disappear nor change, and can never deceive the hopes of those who trust in them.

Now in my opinion there is a very good reason why people can find nothing reliable or lasting in the good things of this world. The Word, who is the architect of our destiny in this as in all things, and the Wisdom that transcends all mortal thought, have together well contrived it that we should be misled by everything we see in the constantly shifting world around us, where in the midst of this whirling to and fro we are always in pursuit of something that is forever flying from our grasp. Once we have observed the restlessness and disorder of this mortal life, we shall hasten to change our course toward the life to come. Indeed what should we have done if our prosperity here had been secure, when even in all its uncertainty we are so bound to this world, and its pleasures and allurements have so enslaved us, that we cannot imagine anything better or higher that our present life? And this, despite the fact that we are told and believe that we are created in the image of God, that image which is above and draws us to itself.

Who is wise enough to understand these things? Who will abandon the things that pass away, and devote himself to those that last? Who will think of the present as something that is always moving away? Happy indeed is he who has such powers of discernment, and who uses the keen edge of the Word to separate the better from the worse. His heart is set on the journey upward, as holy David was inspired to say in one of the psalms; and so he flies with all speed from this valley of weeping, and seeks the realms above.

Crucified to the world with Christ, he takes his stand beside Christ and ascends in the company of Christ, an heir to a life that henceforth is neither changing nor deceptive, and where he will no longer find a serpent waiting on the road to bite his heel, while he watches out for its head. Therefore without delay let us follow the Word, seek our rest in the world beyond, and throw away the riches of this world. Let us profit by them in the only good way we can, that is, let us gain possession of our souls by giving alms, and share our earthly goods with the poor so as to enrich ourselves with the wealth of heaven. (St. Gregory of Nazianzen)

Musical Selection

The higher that you climb in life

Humble yourself all the more

You will be loved as a giver of gifts

You will find favor with God

What is too sublime, do not seek

Into things beyond you, do not reach

Be faithful in life’s little things

And you will be given the great

Great is the power of God

By the humble the Lord God is glorified

For great is the power of God

Humble yourself all the more

Their own opinion leads many astray

False reasoning, unbalanced judgment

A stubborn man will fare badly in the end

For the sinner heaps sin upon sin

Yet the humble soul will find joy

Collect

Look mercifully, Lord, upon your family,
that, as we discipline our desire for earthly things,
a longing for you may grow in our hearts.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever. Amen.

Archives