Wisdom! How much we should strive and pray for this gift of the Holy Ghost! We need it so much in our everyday lives….living with our spouse, raising children, dealing with elderly parents..and in our own personal lives.
This week is the Octave of Pentecost and a good time to beg the Holy Ghost for wisdom.
So many choices have to be made each day and if we do not have wisdom we can make some pretty big mistakes along the way!
The qualities of wisdom – sound judgement, right values, wise priorities, common sense are very important in being a balanced, prayerful, Catholic woman.
We need wisdom to “light the way”…to have discernment, insight and keen judgement.
How do we gain wisdom?
1. Within Ourselves
Our Lord tells us that the Kingdom of God is within us. We do not have to look “out there” to find it.
“Never shall we have peace until we are interior men and united with God. Repose of mind, joy, solid contentment, are found only in the interior world, in the kingdom of God which we possess within ourselves. The more deeply we enter therein, the more happy shall we be. Without this we shall always be in trouble and difficulty, always discontented and murmuring; and if any temptation, any rude trial, come upon us, we shall not overcome it.” – St. Francis de Sales
2. Gaining Wisdom from Others
If we seek wisdom from others, we gain a great deal. We must learn to listen…and in this day and age, there are so many opportunities to “listen”.
In present times men and women gain wisdom and share it with us in the form of books, lectures, statements and even personal conversations. We have, at our fingertips, online sermons and podcasts, good books…many written by saints, support groups, etc.
Wise men through the ages have given us a rich heritage of wisdom. Philosophers, through careful meditation, have discovered wisdom and handed it down to us in books. Moved upon by the Holy Spirit, the apostles and prophets received wisdom which they recorded in the scriptures.
Sometimes a person whom we would not suspect of having any profound thoughts will come up with a statement of wisdom.
Even a small child is capable of wise thought. If we seek wisdom from others, if we read a great deal and are alert to gems of wisdom spoken, we can gain a great deal of wisdom from others.
3. Experience
….Ah yes, that most important attribute of experience that is not given to us easily. The wisdom of experience comes through our own lessons learned. If we learn from our mistakes, and allow ourselves to grow, a wide variety of experiences will gain us wisdom.
4. Reasoning
We can also gain wisdom through reasoning and logic. Through careful thought we can find answers to problems, helpful ideas to guide us to better living.
This can be hazardous, however.
Our reasoning can also lead us into error. This can be avoided if we develop the skill to check our reasoning with what the Church teaches, what the Fathers have taught, what the saints say, good spiritual directors, etc.
When it is in harmony with these things, we can come to know that our thinking is true.
I like this prayer and use it often in this regard:
Holy Ghost, inspire me, love of God, consume me, to the right path lead me, Mary, my mother, look down upon me. With Jesus bless me. From all evil, all illusion, all danger, preserve me. –St. Mariam of Jesus Crucified
5. Inspiration from God
This is something that we should be seeking at all times. It is true, we can gain knowledge from good books, great websites, podcasts, etc. But wisdom is a gift of God and we must ask for it. “But if any of you want wisdom, let him ask of God who giveth to all men abundantly and upbraideth not. And it shall be given him.” –James1:5, Douay Rheims
6. A Life of Integrity
What is in our heart overflows into our actions. We must live a life of pure and noble thoughts…this is a journey but it is something to strive for each day. Our inner life, one of purity and integrity, will help us to gain wisdom as we will be an open channel to receive grace.
7. Health
We have all experienced it. When we are being temperate in our food and drink, when we mortify our senses, we gain more spiritually. It is easier to make our spiritual life a priority, we are more in tune to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and we have the strength and energy to do God’s will instead of just being in survival mode.
All efforts toward health, both physical and mental, will increase our ability to gain wisdom.
So let us pray for this most important gift of wisdom, that in all of our undertakings we can be assured of the guidance of the Holy Spirit!
Every day you need to lift your husband up in prayer. Ask St. Joseph to help him to be a good husband and father. He needs you, who are his closest companion, to lift him up each day to our Heavenly Father. Ask Our Lord to protect him and to protect your marriage. What a wonderful gift a praying wife is! -Finer Femininity
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It seems that if we ask the Holy Spirit to guide us as soon as our eyes open in the morning, say our morning offering, we should be off to a good start. Maybe then we’d be less likely to have to rely on our own experiences to get us through our day. Those lessons, although they seem to stick with us the longest, are the hardest to learn. Kind of like when you get in the car and drive w/o looking at the tires first, and find when you are a few miles away from home that you’ve been driving on a flat the whole time. 🤷🏼♀️😓
The little prayer of St Míriam is very strong, though short, thank you! 🙏
I wrote that prayer down, and will be putting it on the fridge. Maybe the 4 fellas here at home will look at it and pray it too. I don’t know of a place they frequent more. Hoping.
Haha Good idea!