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Lent with the Wisdom Literature (Day 8)

March 12, 2025

Fr. John Colacino C.PP.S.

Sirach Ch 8:8-9; 9:10-12; 10:1-31 (First Wednesday of Lent)

Do not slight the discourse of the sages, but busy yourself with their maxims;

because from them you will learn discipline and how to serve princes.

Do not ignore the discourse of the aged, for they themselves learned from their parents;

from them you learn how to understand and to give an answer when the need arises.

Do not abandon old friends, for new ones cannot equal them.
A new friend is like new wine; when it has aged, you can drink it with pleasure.

Do not envy the success of sinners, for you do not know what their end will be like.
Do not delight in what pleases the ungodly; remember that they will not be held guiltless all their lives.

A wise magistrate educates his people, and the rule of an intelligent person is well ordered.
As the people’s judge is, so are his officials; as the ruler of the city is, so are all its inhabitants.
An undisciplined king ruins his people, but a city becomes fit to live in through the understanding of its rulers.
The government of the earth is in the hand of the Lord, and over it he will raise up the right leader for the time.
Human success is in the hand of the Lord, and it is he who confers honour upon the lawgiver.^*

Do not get angry with your neighbour for every injury, and do not resort to acts of insolence.
Arrogance is hateful to the Lord and to mortals, and injustice is outrageous to both.
Sovereignty passes from nation to nation on account of injustice and insolence and wealth.^*
How can dust and ashes be proud? Even in life the human body decays.^*
A long illness baffles the physician;^*the king of today will die tomorrow.
For when one is dead he inherits maggots and vermin^* and worms.
The beginning of human pride is to forsake the Lord; the heart has withdrawn from its Maker.
For the beginning of pride is sin, and the one who clings to it pours out abominations.
Therefore the Lord brings upon them unheard-of calamities, and destroys them completely.
The Lord overthrows the thrones of rulers, and enthrones the lowly in their place.
The Lord plucks up the roots of the nations,^*and plants the humble in their place.
The Lord lays waste the lands of the nations, and destroys them to the foundations of the earth.
He removes some of them and destroys them, and erases the memory of them from the earth.
Pride was not created for human beings, or violent anger for those born of women.

Whose offspring are worthy of honour? Human offspring.
Whose offspring are worthy of honour? Those who fear the Lord.
Whose offspring are unworthy of honour? Human offspring.
Whose offspring are unworthy of honour? Those who break the commandments.
Among family members their leader is worthy of honour, but those who fear the Lord are worthy of honour in his eyes.^*
The rich, and the eminent, and the poor— their glory is the fear of the Lord.
It is not right to despise one who is intelligent but poor, and it is not proper to honour one who is sinful.
The prince and the judge and the ruler are honoured, but none of them is greater than one who fears the Lord.
Free citizens will serve a wise servant and an intelligent person will not complain.

Do not make a display of your wisdom when you do your work, and do not boast when you are in need.
Better is the worker who has goods in plenty than the boaster who lacks bread.

My child, honour yourself with humility, and give yourself the esteem you deserve.
Who will acquit those who condemn^* themselves? And who will honour those who dishonour themselves?^*
The poor are honoured for their knowledge, while the rich are honoured for their wealth.
One who is honoured in poverty, how much more in wealth! And one dishonoured in wealth, how much more in poverty!

Commentary

If a man refuses to love God with his whole heart and his whole mind, how can he honestly and faithfully care about loving his brethren, since he withholds love from him for whose sake he is concerned to love them? A man in this state, who has neither given his whole soul to God nor has any fellowship in the love of God, is defenceless in the face of the expert in evil, who easily trips him up and subdues him with his dangerous arguments. At one moment he makes the commandments of Scripture seem harsh and service of the brethren a grievous burden, at another he incites a man to arrogance and pride on account of that very service to his fellow servants, persuading him that he has fulfilled the Lord’s commands and will be great in heaven.

There is no small offence here. For the good and zealous servant must leave it to his master to judge his service, and not take his master’s place in judging and applauding his own behaviour. For if he usurps the office of the true judge, he will get no reward from his own self-satisfied praise with which he presumes to replace his master’s judgement. For it is necessary, according to the saying of Paul, for the Spirit of Good to unite with our spirit in bearing witness, but we ourselves must not judge our actions to be good. For Paul says: It is not the one who commends himself that is accepted, but the one whom the Lord commends. He who cannot wait for the Lord’s praise, but anticipates his judgement, is forced to take refuge in the glory of his fellow men.

In thus seeking to win honour from his brethren by his own labours he behaves like an unbeliever, for it is only an unbeliever who would rather pursue the honours of this world than those of heaven. As the Lord himself says: How can you have faith, who take praise from one another but do not seek the praise which comes from God alone?

Such people seem to me like those who clean the outside of the cup and the dish, while inside they are full of every kind of evil. Take care then not to be like that yourselves. Offer your souls to God, with the one thought of pleasing the Lord, and never lose your awareness of heavenly things. Do not accept the honours of this life; run in such a way as to hide, but keep silent about your struggles for virtue, so as to give no opportunities to the one who tempts you with earthly honours and who, having distracted your minds from thinking of what is real, might lead into vanity and error. But if he finds no such chance, or opportunity, and his way securely barred to the enticement of those whose souls are devoted to the things of heaven, he is destroyed and lies dead; for it is death to the devil when his efforts to use his evil power are unsuccessful. So with the love of God present among you, all other good is bound to follow: brotherly love, gentleness, guilelessness, zeal, and perseverance in prayer, and indeed every virtue. (St. Gregory of Nyssa)

Musical Selection

Collect

Gracious Lord,
look with favour on a people committed to your service,
and make us rich in good works,
that we who practice bodily penance
may also be renewed in spirit.
We ask 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.

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