Becoming Wise

I wonder what it would be like if we had a spiritual-weather webpage? It could tell us that with the current state of events, there is a 75% chance of God pouring out fire and brimstone on us. It could tell us that the trend is selfishness, so we have a high probability of people not caring about each other. We could get a report that informs us if we show love to someone whom we do not want to love it will lead to spiritual and physical peace.

Sadly, there is no such thing. Also sadly, the second best thing is actually already available, but most people ignore it. It is called the wisdom literature of the Old Testament. No joking. If we would spend more time reading the Psalms, Proverbs, Wisdom of Solomon and Sirach (Ecclesiasticus), then we would have that spiritual prediction in our heart and mind.

Often when people come to me to ask for spiritual counsel, what I am giving them is what is found in those very same wisdom literature books. Having read them over and over for years now, I can say that the combined insight into life and behavior that is contained in them is amazing.

Few people read them, except in tiny excerpts. What would St. George parish be like if every member read a section of the wisdom books in the Bible every day for the rest of their lives? Parishioners would know what kind of behaviors lead to blessings, and what kind lead to misery. They would also have less "psychological" hang-ups. By and large their lives would change for the better. It might even have an impact of the society around us. I wonder...