Wisdom in Faith
“Motherlike she will meet him, like a young bride she will embrace him, nourish him with the bread of understanding, and give him the water of learning to drink.” (Sirach 15:2-3)
“Motherlike she will meet him, like a young bride she will embrace him, nourish him with the bread of understanding, and give him the water of learning to drink.” (Sirach 15:2-3)
Today we celebrate the Memorial of St. Albert the Great, also known as St. Albert Magnus. He was a scholar and the teacher of St. Thomas Aquinas. Known for his wide breadth of knowledge that encompassed nearly every subject, he spent much of his life expressing the fact that faith and reason are not incompatible sources of knowledge.
Today’s first reading speaks of wisdom. Often in the Bible, wisdom is personified as “Lady Wisdom” and this passage from Sirach is no different. She comes to embrace us, bring us to understanding, and help us to learn. If we seek wisdom, which is one of the highest virtues, we come to better understand God and His will and take action to put that into practice in our lives. After all, that’s what wisdom is: a recognition of God’s will and the correct steps to follow it. Doing so makes us wise Catholics.
Knowledge and wisdom are two things we can always grow in at any point in our lives. We may not all achieve the depth of scientific knowledge that St. Albert the Great did, but we can grow in knowledge of who God is and all that He calls us to. Deepening our understanding of who God is deepens our knowledge of our own identity as well.
How can I strive to be wise in my faith?
Heavenly Father, thank you for the ability to grow in knowledge and love of you. Help me to be wise and follow your will in my life. Amen.
Brittany DeHaan grew up in San Antonio, Texas and attended the University of Louisiana at Lafayette for college. She taught at a Catholic elementary school in Iowa for a year before moving to Florida in 2021. She taught at St. Paul Catholic School in St. Petersburg for two years before joining the pastoral center where she is currently the Communications Coordinator. She is passionate about her faith and loves to be involved in the diocese. She loves music, art, playing sports, and livestreaming Geoguessr in her free time.
