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Thursday, November 13, 2003

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St. Frances Xavier Cabrini
(USA)


Wisdom 7:22—8:1
Psalm 119:89-91, 130, 135, 175
Luke 17:20-25

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more "first-hand" knowledge of god

"Indeed, she reaches from end to end mightily and governs all things well." —Wisdom 8:1

The writer of the Book of Wisdom had such a deep awareness of God's wisdom that he personified wisdom and saw it as being more than a quality of God. He said of wisdom: "She, who is one, can do all things, and renews everything while herself perduring" (Wis 7:27). The writer of Wisdom may have had an intimation of the Trinity.

If the Lord had never told us about the Trinity through the Church and her Scriptures, would you have had any inkling of the Trinity? How deep is your experience of God? Do you know God well enough to write some of the things in the book of Wisdom? Can you speak of God personally and in detail without having to "copy off of someone else's paper"? How much of your experience of God is "second-hand"? Paul said of the gospel: "I did not receive it from any man, nor was I schooled in it. It came by revelation from Jesus Christ" (Gal 1:12). Can you say as much?

Let us make a priority of our relationship with God. Let us:

  • take a significant amount of time daily to listen to God,
  • structure our lives to live in Christian community where the Lord will be the main Point of our conversations,
  • live in the Church and go to the world rather than vice versa, and
  • witness to "the marvels God has accomplished" (Acts 2:11).

Live to know and love God as deeply as possible.

Prayer:  Father, as baptized in You, Jesus, and the Spirit, immerse me in the Trinity. May I come to know You more deeply.

Promise:  "The Son of Man in His day will be like the lightning that flashes from one end of the sky to the other." —Lk 17:24

Praise:  St. Frances Xavier made the Lord her priority by making a vow of virginity at an early age and then spending her life in service to Him.

Rescript:  

The Nihil Obstat ("Permission to Publish") is a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free of doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil Obstat agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed.


Nihil Obstat:  Reverend Giles H. Pater, April 24, 2003


Imprimatur:  †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, April 28, 2003