”If a blind person leads a blind person, both will fall into a pit.”….For those who have ears - Let them hear…But in the meantime…Do we wish to “see”?

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the first readings from the Book of Wisdom….”I prayed, and prudence was given me; I pleaded, and the spirit of wisdom came to me. I preferred her to scepter and throne”…There is an implication made in that sentence…That wisdom is better than material wealth…Would you agree?…….People say these days…...Common sense is not that common any more…There is a big difference between raw analytical intelligence and wisdom…There are many highly intelligent people, who do not possess any wisdom what so ever and it shows by the outcome of their decisions in real time…Remember, you judge a tree by the fruit it bears…..Wisdom is a gift of the Holy Spirit, which allows us to see as God sees…Ultimately, it is only when we can “see” properly will our decisions lead to positive outcomes…But when we lack wisdom, no matter “how smart we are”….Our lack of clarity when viewing what stares us directly in the face results in us “missing the mark”…So how do we receive this gift of wisdom?…And is this “gift” more valuable than gold?…..Because if we “can’t see”…We will not end up where we want to be

“Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart. Return, O LORD! How long? Have pity on your servants!”

People see what they want to see in order to “fit” what they see into their life choices…Very few people are objective because very few people “see” clearly…We possess sight when we open our hearts to the Lord…When we prepare our soul to receive him at Mass when we consume the Blessed Sacrament….In order to prepare ourself for this encounter…We must consistently make good confessions with a priest with a firm purpose of amendment to change our life…This frequent practice in many Catholic circles has been abandoned to a certain extent…I can remember when I was a boy confession was available before every Mass…Now confession in far too many Catholic parishes is open for only 30 minutes on Saturday afternoon and few people take advantage of the opportunity…….In order to open ourselves up to the gifts of the Holy Spirit, we must “clear a path” for the grace of God to enter. I have heard it said….God’s grace is constantly pouring down upon us like rain, however we choose to put up an umbrella, which keeps that grace off our head…By going to a Sacramental confession, say once a month…We in essence “put down that umbrella”, and allow the grace of the Blessed Sacrament to penetrate our soul…..This is how we “see” and in turn receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit, one of which is wisdom

“When you look at the inner workings of electrical things, you see wires. Until the current passes through them, there will be no light. That wire is you and me. The current is God. We have the power to let the current pass through us, use us, to produce the light of the world, Jesus, in us. Or we can refuse to be used and allow darkness to spread”

Americans by nature are self-reliant…And that is a good thing…However, that can also be a “bad thing” when it comes to the spiritual life…All spiritual gifts come from God…These gifts can not be self-manufactured and sadly far too many people think they can be…..Our intellectual gifts are very different from the grace given to us from God….Again, wisdom is very different from raw intelligence because wisdom is a gift of the Holy Spirit and wisdom helps us to see reality with clarity…..Today in the gospel from Mass a rich man approaches Jesus and asks him…”Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”…..We all live in the world and know that people who make a lot of money do not make it by accident. There is a certain level of intelligence required to be successful in this life…So how can this very capable man who approaches Jesus not know what is necessary to inherit eternal life?…He is smart, yet he does not know…..Only the Holy Spirit can illuminate the darkness of our hearts and minds…And that only happens when we “clear a path” for the Holy Spirit to penetrate us deeply…This requires first a Sacramental Confession and then once the “path” is made clear, we then receive the source and summit of all grace in the Blessed Sacrament, which is Jesus himself………..Only then we will we “see”…….St Matthew tells us…”If a blind person leads a blind person, both will fall into a pit.”….For those who have ears……Let them hear…But in the meantime…Do we wish to “see”?