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Lent with the Wisdom Literature (Day 16)

March 20, 2025

Fr. John Colacino C.PP.S.

Sirach 27:1-30; 28:1-11 (Second Thursday of Lent)

Many have committed sin for gain, and those who seek to get rich will avert their eyes.
As a stake is driven firmly into a fissure between stones, so sin is wedged in between selling and buying.
If a person is not steadfast in the fear of the Lord, his house will be quickly overthrown.

When a sieve is shaken, the refuse appears; so do a person’s faults when he speaks.
The kiln tests the potter’s vessels; so the test of a person is in his conversation.
Its fruit discloses the cultivation of a tree; so a person’s speech discloses the cultivation of his mind.
Do not praise anyone before he speaks, for this is the way people are tested.

If you pursue justice, you will attain it and wear it like a glorious robe.
Birds roost with their own kind, so honesty comes home to those who practise it.
A lion lies in wait for prey; so does sin for evildoers.

The conversation of the godly is always wise, but the fool changes like the moon.
Among stupid people limit your time, but among thoughtful people linger on.
The talk of fools is offensive, and their laughter is wantonly sinful.
Their cursing and swearing make one’s hair stand on end, and their quarrels make others stop their ears.
The strife of the proud leads to bloodshed, and their abuse is grievous to hear.

Whoever betrays secrets destroys confidence, and will never find a congenial friend.
Love your friend and keep faith with him; but if you betray his secrets, do not follow after him.
For as a person destroys his enemy, so you have destroyed the friendship of your neighbour.
And as you allow a bird to escape from your hand, so you have let your neighbour go, and will not catch him again.
Do not go after him, for he is too far off, and has escaped like a gazelle from a snare.
For a wound may be bandaged, and there is reconciliation after abuse, but whoever has betrayed secrets is without hope.

Whoever winks the eye plots mischief, and those who know him will keep their distance.
In your presence his mouth is all sweetness, and he admires your words;
but later he will twist his speech and with your own words he will trip you up.
I have hated many things, but him above all; even the Lord hates him.
Whoever throws a stone straight up throws it on his own head, and a treacherous blow opens up many wounds.
Whoever digs a pit will fall into it and whoever sets a snare will be caught in it.
If a person does evil, it will roll back upon him, and he will not know where it came from.
Mockery and abuse issue from the proud, but vengeance lies in wait for them like a lion.
Those who rejoice in the fall of the godly will be caught in a snare, and pain will consume them before their death.

Anger and wrath, these also are abominations, yet a sinner holds on to them.

The vengeful will face the Lord’s vengeance, for he keeps a strict account of their sins.
Forgive your neighbour the wrong he has done, and then your sins will be pardoned when you pray.
Does anyone harbour anger against another, and expect healing from the Lord?
If someone has no mercy towards another like himself, can he then seek pardon for his own sins?
If a mere mortal harbours wrath, who will make an atoning sacrifice for his sins?
Remember the end of your life, and set enmity aside; remember corruption and death, and be true to the commandments.
Remember the commandments, and do not be angry with your neighbour; remember the covenant of the Most High, and overlook faults.

Refrain from strife, and your sins will be fewer; for the hot-tempered kindle strife,
and the sinner disrupts friendships and sows discord among those who are at peace.
In proportion to the fuel, so will the fire burn, and in proportion to the obstinacy, so will strife increase;
in proportion to a person’s strength will be his anger, and in proportion to his wealth he will increase his wrath.
A hasty quarrel kindles a fire, and a hasty dispute sheds blood.

Commentary

Two things are required of us, here and now: to acknowledge our sins and to forgive others; the first, so that the second may become easier. For someone properly aware of his own behaviour and its shortcomings will be the more forgiving to his fellow humans. And that does not mean, forgiveness in words merely, but from the heart, lest in our resentment we turn the sword on ourselves. For is the harm done to you comparable to that which you do yourself when you renew your anger and draw down on yourself God’s condemnation? If you are vigilant and wise the misdeed will fall to his account and he will suffer for it; but if you persevere in your resentment and anger it will be you who gets hurt – and not from him but from yourself. Do not say: He has insulted me and slandered me, he has done me great wrong; for the more you protest, the more you put him in the right. For he has given you an opportunity for casting off your sinful character. So the more he has injured you, the greater the forgiveness of your own sin, in consequence. Let us take care that we hate no one, so that God may still love us; so that even though we may be owing him a thousand talents he may yet be generous and merciful to us. Has someone offended you? Be merciful to him, then; do not hate him. Weep and lament for him, but do not show aversion. For it is not you who have offended God, but he; you will do well to put up with it. Recall how Christ was content to be crucified – and yet shed tears over those who did it. That must be your disposition also: the more you are wronged, the more you must lament for the wrongdoers. For it is we who profit from this – and greatly – but not they. Or is it that you have received injury from those you treated kindly? For that very reason you should wail and lament over them, being content that therein you resemble the Lord himself, who makes the sun to rise on the unjust as also on the just. If it seems beyond you so to imitate God, be assured otherwise: it is not a difficult task to a man of vigilance. But if it still seems a greater burden than you can bear, think of others we could mention: Joseph, who endured so much from his brethren and was kind to them nevertheless; Moses, praying for those who had vexed him so much; the blessed Paul, whose sufferings were beyond his reckoning, and yet he would still have been anathema on account of those who had caused them; or Stephen, praying for the forgiveness of his very malefactors, even as they stoned him. With all that in mind, cast off your anger so that God may forgive you all your transgressions, by the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom with the Father and the Holy Spirit be glory, power, honour,

now and always, forever and ever. Amen. (St. John Chrysostom)

Musical Selection (Kathleen Deignan)

Peace between neighbors, peace between kindred,

Peace between lovers: the peace of Christ.

Peace between persons, peace between spouses,

Peace between families: the peace of the love of Christ.

Pax amor Christi, pax amor Christi,

Pax amor Christi, pax amor Christi.

Peace between brothers, peace between sisters,

Peace between friends: the peace of Christ.

Peace between nations, peace between creatures,

Peace between foes: the peace of the love of Christ.

Peace in the north lands, peace in the south lands,

Peace in our world: the peace of Christ.

Peace in the east lands, peace in the south lands,

Peace upon earth: the peace of the love of Christ.

Peace be before us, peace be behind us,

Peace be between us: the peace of Christ

Peace be within us, peace be about us,

Peace all around us: the peace of the love of Christ.

Collect

Lord God,
you love innocence
and you restore it in those who have sinned.
Turn back our wayward hearts to you
and inflame them with your Holy Spirit,
that we may be steadfast in faith
and effective in the works of love.
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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