Excerpt 4 Heart of Jesus, In Whom Are All the Treasures of Wisdom and Knowledge |
WISDOM is the ability to choose the best means for the attainment of a given end. The most important and all-decisive end of life is God, the blessed vision of Whom is eternal beatitude. Therefore the highest type of wisdom is to make all earthly things serve for the attainment of this end. Knowledge is the possession of truth. The most important truth for us to know is that we are on earth to know, love, and serve God and thus to save our souls. Hence the author of the Imitation of Christ can say, "This is the highest wisdom: through contempt of the world to strive after the kingdom of Heaven" (Im. Ch., I, 1). Such wisdom and knowledge are treasures of inestimable value and they are found in all their fullness and perfection in the Sacred Heart of Jesus." And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him; the Spirit of wisdom; . . . the Spirit of knowledge and godliness" (Isa. 11:2).
Wisdom at Work
Wisdom seeks God in all things and rejoices in doing the things that please Him. The very first act of Jesus' soul was an act of wisdom, an expression of His readiness to do His Father's will: "Sacrifice and oblation Thou wouldst not, but a body Thou hast fitted to Me. . . . Behold, I come . . . to do Thy will: O God" (Hebr. 10:5 ff.). When He was born at Bethlehem Angels announced the program of His life: "Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth among men of good will" (Lk. 2:14). As a boy of twelve He remained in the Temple, even without the knowledge of Mary and Joseph, because He must be about His Father's business. When in holy indignation He drove out of the Temple buyers and sellers, the Apostles remembered that it had been written of Him, "The zeal for Thy house has eaten Me up" (Jn. 2:17). Jesus assured His hearers that in His teaching as well as in His miracles He did not seek His Own glory but the glory of the Father. In His high priestly prayer He summed up His life's work by saying that He had glorified the Father. To glorify the Father He became obedient unto death, even death on a Cross. And as the priest and victim of the Eucharistic sacrifice He will glorify the Father to the end of the world. The clean oblation is offered from the rising of the sun to the going down thereof, and the name of God is great among the Gentiles. There could be no more perfect subordination of a whole life to one leading idea than what we behold in the life of Jesus. Everything from the beginning to the end is subordinated to the glory of the Father, and that is wisdom. All the treasures of wisdom are found in His Sacred Heart.
Knowledge Assisting Wisdom
True knowledge makes us see in all created things means to glorify God and to save our souls. Thus knowledge stands in the service of wisdom. The value of created things lies in the help which they offer toward the attainment of this end; for the rest they are worthless. They may even become a danger and obstacle to salvation. Such true knowledge fills the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Nature Speaks of God
For Jesus all the things of nature are souvenirs of His Father. He sees the lilies of the fields clothed by the Father more beautifully than Solomon arrayed in all his glory. The birds of the air are fed by the Father and not one of them falls to the ground without His will. It is the Father Who lets the sun shine upon the good and the evil and gives rain to all in due season. If God thus takes care of irrational creatures, how much more will He take care of men who are His children. Let them cast all their cares upon their Father in Heaven. One thing only they must attend to and that is to seek God and His justice and all things needful for their lives shall be added unto them.
A Necessity
But to us in our fallen state, the good things of this earth can become a danger to salvation. In enjoying these things we are liable to forget the Giver and the purpose for which the things were given. A very determined attitude, therefore, is demanded by our Lord in such circumstances. Even an eye must be plucked out, a hand or a foot cut off, if they are an obstacle to salvation. For what does it profit a man if he gain the whole world but suffer the loss of his soul?
Example of Jesus
Jesus illustrates His teaching by His example and thus proves Himself in the possession of perfect knowledge. Though divinely rich He became poor; though all honor is due to Him He humbled Himself taking the form of a servant. Though all power is given to Him in Heaven and on earth, He becomes a helpless babe, and for the years of His hidden life He is subject to Mary and Joseph. In His public life He prefers hardships and privations to the comforts of wealth and shows no regard for the opinion of men. Having set joy before Him He chose the sorrows and disgrace of the Cross, because they served the glory of His Father more effectively. Thus Jesus exemplifies the work of knowledge. He loves and uses earthly things where they direct the mind to God and are helpful in giving honor to the Father; for the rest they are worthless to Him.
Wisdom and knowledge are of incalculable value and all their treasures are found in the Sacred Heart of Jesus. We can and must make them our own through prayer and reflection on the words and the example of our Blessed Saviour. They will be for us a source of fervor, contentment, and strength in adversities. Holy Church puts a beautiful prayer for such wisdom and knowledge on our lips in the Postcommunion of the feast of the Sacred Heart: "May Thy sacred mysteries, O Lord Jesus, give us a holy fervor, so that perceiving the sweetness of Thy most loving Heart, we may learn to despise earthly things and to love those of Heaven."
TAKEN FROM THE LITANY OF THE SACRED HEART, Bruce Publishing
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