From: Sirach 4:11-19
Love of Wisdom
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Commentary:
4:11-19. This passage, as do others in the wisdom books, proclaims the advan-
tages that wisdom brings to those who seek her. Read in a Christian context,
where we can see Jesus Christ as being the Wisdom of God become man, eve-
rything it says becomes very plain. The quest for wisdom is indeed the quest for
“the Holy One” (v. 14), that is, God himself. The path described here (vv. 17-21)
with all its twists and turns, is the path to intimate knowledge of God.
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.
From: Mark 9:38-40
Being the Servant of All
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Commentary:
38-40. Our Lord warns the Apostles, and through them all Christians, against ex-
clusivism in the apostolate—the notion that “good is not good unless I am the one
who does it.” We must assimilate this teaching of Christ’s: good is good, even if
it is not I who do it. Cf. note on Luke 9:49-50.
[The note on Luke 9:49-50 states:
49-50. Our Lord corrects the exclusivist and intolerant attitude of the Apostles. St
Paul later learned this lesson, as we can see from what he wrote during his impri-
sonment in Rome: “Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others
from good will [...]. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in
truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in that I rejoice” (Philippians 1:15, 18). “Rejoice,
when you see others working in good apostolic activities. And ask God to grant
them abundant grace and that they may respond to that grace. Then, you, on
your way: convince yourself that it’s the only way for you” (St. J. Escriva, “The
Way”, 965).]
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.