Notes from a Sojourn
May 30, 2020
“Come, Holy Spirit, wisdom and truth:
strengthen us in the risk of faith”
The last petition of Liturgy 16 asks for strength, but not just strength for anything or all things, but strength to overcome the assaults to our faith. Wisdom and truth are the gifts necessary for this power. They provide the basis of our faith as they offer knowledge and understanding of living a divine life in this chaotic culture and world in which we live. Wisdom and truth demand that we draw nearer to God that we might discern God’s will for our lives and our service. They force us to find God’s spirit living deep within us and to cultivate this relationship that me might live a more faithful life following the footsteps of his Son our Lord Jesus.
The Most Reverend Leonard P. Blair, the Seventh Bishop of Toledo, says this:
The gift of Wisdom is nothing less than loving, contemplative union with God which makes it possible for us to see all things from a divine perspective. When it is understood in its full breadth, wisdom can rightly be called “communion,” since it is a share in divine life, a union made perfect in the truth of love. Embodying all the other gifts, as charity embraces all the other virtues, Wisdom is the most perfect of the gifts. It strengthens our faith, fortifies hope, perfects charity, and promotes the practice of virtue in the highest degree. May the Holy Spirit raise up our hearts and minds to rest in God alone,…
May we all seek wisdom and truth, that our faith may be increased in the knowledge and love of God, and our service may reflect the love of our Lord Jesus Christ by the power of the life giving Holy Spirit.
Come, Holy Spirit, come.
Mark Lewis
Parish of South Dundas
