WISDOM FROM ABOVE
February 7, 2010
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the queen of Sheba witnessed Solomon’s great wisdom…. – 1 Kings 10:4
So you think you are wise? Take this test I received from the email and see how you fare.
Several children play on two railway tracks. One child is on the inoperative track while the rest of the kids are
on the operational track. The train is coming and you are just beside the track interchange. You can make
the train change its course by diverting it to the inoperative track or let the train go its way. What will your
decision be?
If you are like most people, you may choose to divert the train and sacrifice only one child. But have you ever
thought why that track is inoperative? It is probably not safe to use. Diverting the train to that track endangers
not only the life of that child but also the hundreds of people on board that train.
There are times in our lives that we have to make tough decisions. Remember, hasty decisions may not
always be the right one. In situations like this, we can ask God for wisdom to help us make the right choices.
God gives freely to those who ask Him. Judith Concepcion (svp_jmc@yahoo.com)
REFLECTION:
“But if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and he
will be given it.” (James 1:5)
Lord God, grant me wisdom that I may judge rightly.
1st READING
The glory of Solomon is unsurpassed in all the world during his time. Even the foreign kings and queens
come to pay tribute to him. However, it will not be long before the destructive seeds of sin will take root and
bring disaster on Israel . In fact, they are already there in the many alliances and marriages of convenience
that Solomon has made. Let us learn that faithfulness to God is more important than wealth and the world’s
glory. How difficult it is for someone caught up in the business of the world to enter heaven.
1 Kings 10:1-10
1 The queen of Sheba , having heard of Solomon’s fame, came to test him with subtle questions. 2 She
arrived in Jerusalem with a very numerous retinue, and with camels bearing spices, a large amount of gold,
and precious stones. She came to Solomon and questioned him on every subject in which she was
interested. 3 King Solomon explained everything she asked about, and there remained nothing hidden from
him that he could not explain to her. 4 When the queen of Sheba witnessed Solomon’s great wisdom, the
palace he had built, 5 the food at his table, the seating of his ministers, the attendance and garb of his
waiters, his banquet service, and the holocausts he offered in the temple of the LORD, she was breathless.
6 “The report I heard in my country about your deeds and your wisdom is true,” she told the king. 7 “Though I
did not believe the report until I came and saw with my own eyes, I have discovered that they were not telling
me the half. Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report I heard. 8 Blessed are your men, blessed these
servants of yours, who stand before you always and listen to your wisdom. 9 Blessed be the LORD, your
God, whom it has pleased to place you on the throne of Israel . In his enduring love for Israel , the LORD has
made you king to carry out judgment and justice.” 10 Then she gave the king one hundred and twenty gold
talents, a very large quantity of spices, and precious stones. Never again did anyone bring such an
abundance of spices as the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
P S A L M
Psalm 37:5-6, 30-31, 39-40
R: The mouth of the just murmurs wisdom.
5 Commit to the LORD your way; trust in him, and he will act. 6 He will make justice dawn for you like the
light; bright as the noonday shall be your vindication. (R) 30 The mouth of the just man tells of wisdom and
his tongue utters what is right. 31 The law of his God is in his heart, and his steps do not falter. (R) 39 The
salvation of the just is from the LORD; he is their refuge in time of distress. 40 And the LORD helps them
and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him. (R)
G O S P E L
Today is the Feast of St. Scholastica, the sister of St. Benedict. There are not too many families that have
attained the state of grace, that they have multiple canonizations of their members. As we reflect upon today’
s Gospel, let us realize that it is what we do with our lives that will make us saints; it is our heart’s motivation
that is all-important.
Mark 7:14-23
14 Jesus summoned the crowd again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand. 15 Nothing
that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile.”
16 17 When he got home away from the crowd his disciples questioned him about the parable. 18 He said
to them, “Are even you likewise without understanding? Do you not realize that everything that goes into a
person from outside cannot defile, 19 since it enters not the heart but the stomach and passes out into the
latrine?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) 20 “But what comes out of a person, that is what defiles. 21
From within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed,
malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly. 23 All these evils come from within and
they defile.”
Once more , Love versus Rules
Yesterday we said that laws and rules are necessary but they should never paralyze love and charity. Today’
s saint, St. Scholastica, provides a good illustration of this.
Scholastica was the twin sister of St. Benedict and became abbess in a convent near her brother’s
monastery. Following the strict monastic rules, they kept away from each other but met one day a year
somewhere between their monasteries to praise God together and talk about spiritual matters. One year
(not knowing it was three days before Scholastica’s death) they met as usual. When dusk fell, Scholastica
begged her brother to extend their meeting and “talk until morning about the joys of life in heaven,” as St.
Gregory the Great writes in his Life of St. Benedict. Her brother refused because this was against the rules of
his monastery. Gregory tells that Scholastica simply bowed her head and prayed in silence. Immediately
there was thunder and heavy rain that it was impossible to leave the house. Rule loving Benedict was
horrified, “May almighty God spare you, sister. What have you done?” Her answer was simple, “I asked you
but you were unwilling to listen to me. I asked my Lord and He listened to me.”
St. Gregory writes, “They spent the whole night awake and had their fill of talk about spiritual matters. As
John says, ‘God is love,’ and she justly overcame him by the greater strength of her love.”
It is a beautiful story about love of neighbor versus love of rigid rules. Love of neighbor won. In today’s
Gospel passage, Jesus points out that nothing that enters the body can make us unclean before God.
Persons become corrupted through their actions which are products of their hearts. Taking a bath five times
a day does not make me clean before God but the struggle against evil thoughts, attitudes, inclinations and
habits help me, climaxed by the supreme means of spiritual cleansing: the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Fr.
Rudy Horst, SVD
Reflection Question:
Do I focus only on physical hygiene and cleanliness and neglect spiritual hygiene?
Thank You, Lord, for opening my eyes to some very important areas in my spiritual life that I have to address.
May my love for neighbor and my fight against what is evil in me free me from selfishness and bring me a
giant step closer to my goal: heaven.
St. Aponius, pray for us.
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