Monday,9/11/16
Our Lord’s references to the Bible in today’s Gospel has me recalling
what Isaiah said about the future Messiah in his Chapter Eleven. He said the
Spirit would rest on him, and it would be a spirit of Wisdom, Understanding,
Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, and Fear of the Lord. To be Christ-like we must
practice those six qualities.
Wisdom. We practice wisdom in two ways. First, we look
forward, waiting till we see the wise solution rather than jumping to the foolish.
Secondly, we embrace the right measures that come to us in prayer.
Understanding. We practice understanding by finding the
honest motive that stands-under the seemingly wrong behavior of those with whom
you differ.
Counsel is practiced by staying open to the advice from knowing
people.
Fortitude is practiced by staying with the right course till
you have finished it.
Knowledge requires us to have a grasp of the facts, since all
of our choices are based on the facts as we know them. At election time we tend
to make bad decisions flowing from our wrong grasp of the facts.
Fear of the Lord is doing the right thing because God is
watching. (Once when I was teaching at Bishop Kenny, I was called to the
Principal’s office, and I asked a girl named Cleo to watch the class. When I returned
all hell had broken open, so I asked why the kids hadn’t honored my appointee.
The kids said, “Cleo just isn’t you.”)
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