THE GIFT OF WISDOM
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Wisdom is a gift that God readily grants to all who ask in faith and that sustains the Christian in times of trial. It is a kind of knowledge or understanding not accessible to the unbeliever or those who doubt, which gives the recipient an understanding of the real importance of events. In this way a Christian can deal with adversity with great calm and hope (cf. 1 Cor 2:6–12, James 1:5).

The gift of wisdom leads the soul of those who have it to see things from God’s perspective. Wisdom is fullness of knowledge through affinity for the divine, as when a person comes to know Christ’s Passion through suffering. It is also love, which inspires contemplative reflection on what we believe and directs the mind to judge according to its precepts. The gift of wisdom supplements the virtue of faith and shields us against folly.

Wisdom is one of the three main attributes of God: Power, Wisdom and Love, corresponding to the Trinity and to the 3 Theological Virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity.

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE REFERENCES

Jesus is the incarnate Wisdom of God. He is the Word of God made flesh, He is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). Bestowed upon Him is the plenitude of Wisdom, which desires to live in every heart.

One who is full of God is full of Wisdom. With Jesus, we can claim the prophecy of Isaiah 61:1-3: 1* The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; He has sent me to bring good news to the afflicted, to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, release to the prisoners, a 2 To announce a year of favor from the LORD and a day of vindication by our God; To comfort all who mourn; b 3 to place on those who mourn in Zion a diadem instead of ashes, To give them oil of gladness instead of mourning, a glorious mantle instead of a faint spirit.

This was fulfilled as Jesus read it hundreds of years later as it appears in Luke 4:18-21: 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,* because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor.m He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, 19 and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.” 20 Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. 21 He said to them, “Today, this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”*

In John 15:4, Jesus exhorts us all to "Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me."

A definition of Wisdom is found in the book of Job 28:28- "* And to mortals he said: See: the fear of the Lord is wisdom; and avoiding evil is understanding.f"

In Psalms 111:10, King David- the psalmist- wrote, "*The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; c prudent are all who practice it. His praise endures forever."

The Great Evangelizer Paul writes in Romans 11:33, "* Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways!z"

To the Church in Corinth, Paul exhorts in 1 Corinthians 3:19-20, 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God, for it is written:i “He catches the wise in their own ruses,” 20 and again: “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.”j

1 Kings 3:28- (Reading 1 Kings 3:1-27 prior to/along with 1 Kings 3:28 helps one understand the wisdom that is spoken about). "When all Israel heard the judgment the king had given, they were in awe of him, because they saw that the king had in him the wisdom of God for giving right judgment."

The Book of James- which gives us much guidance on taming our tongue- shares in Chapter 1, verses 4-5, "4 And let perseverance be perfect, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, * he should ask God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and he will be given it.c"

David's son, who went onto become King Solomon, beseeches and warns us about the importance of wisdom in many treasures below:

Proverbs 1:7- "Fear of the LORD* is the beginning of knowledge; b fools despise wisdom and discipline."

Proverbs 23:9- "Do not speak in the hearing of fools; they will despise the wisdom of your words.a

Proverbs 23:23- "Buy truth and do not sell: wisdom, instruction, understanding!”

Proverbs 24:3-4- "3 By wisdom a house is built; by understanding, it is established; 4 And by knowledge, its rooms are filled with every precious and pleasing possession."

Proverbs 24:14- "Such, you must know, is wisdom to your soul. If you find it, you will have a future, and your hope will not be cut off.f”

CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

(CCC) REFERENCES

There are 54 references to Wisdom in the CCC- 30, 51, 120, 122, 216, 251, 271, 272, 283, 284, 288, 292, 295, 299, 301, 308, 310, 315, 321, 339, 348, 354, 369, 472, 474, 531, 702, 712, 721, 759, 1299, 1303, 1308, 1640, 1676, 1679, 1783, 1798, 1805, 1831, 1845, 1884, 1950, 1951, 1954, 1978, 2215, 2419, 2500, 2501, 2510, 2588, 2690, 2813.

Those listed below are taken from the CCC Index:

of God

Christ crucified as, 272; creatures reflect a ray of, 339, 369; God created according to, 295, 299; God's truth as wisdom, 216; man participates in God's wisdom, 1954; moral law as the work of, 1950.

of man

as an emanation of God's power, 2500; as a gift from God, 283, 1303, 1831.