This Sunday is the 7th Sunday after Pentecost. We are in search of the gift of Wisdom. We are freed from the hooves of the evil one in Baptism. Now, it is up to us to not fall once again into the pit. We need to put as much effort into learning our Faith, as we did when putting our efforts into our sins. St. Paul says this in today's Epistle. He that possesses justice shall lay hold on wisdom: he shall find delights in that divine wisdom, which surpasses all that earth could procure. Ecclus. xv. 1-8
St. Augustine lays it out there for us:
'Jacob gave his twice seven years of service for the sake of Rachel, whose name, signifies vision of the Beginning, that is, of the Word, that is, of the Wisdom which shows us God. Every virtuous man on earth loves this Wisdom; it is for her he works and suffers, by serving justice. What he, like Jacob, aims at by his own sake, but the possession of that which the fatigue is to bring him, namely, the fair Rachel, that is to say, rest in the Word, in Whom we have the vision of the Beginning. Is there any true servant of God who can have any other thought, when he is under the influence of grace? Once converted, what is it that man wishes? What is in his thoughts? What has he in his heart? What is it that he thus passionately loves and desires? It is the knowledge of Wisdom. Of course, man would, if he could, avoid all fatigue and suffering, and come straight to the delights which he knows are in the exquisitely beautiful and perfect WISDOM; but that cannot be in the land of the dying. "If thou desire Wisdom, keep justice; and God will give her unto thee." Ecclus. i. 33 Justice here means the commandments; and the commandments prescribe works of justice, of that justice which comes of Faith; and Faith lives amidst the uncertainty of temptations; that by piously believing what it does not as yet understand, it may merit the happiness of understanding.
We are not, therefore, to find fault with the ardor of those who are desirous of possessing Truth in its unveiled loveliness; what we must do, is to put order in their love, by telling them to begin with Faith, and strive, by the exercise of good deeds, to arrive at the bliss they long for. Do thou love and desire, at the very outset, and above all things, this object which is so worthy of thy possession; but, let the ardor which burns within thee show itself, first of all, by its leading thee cheerfully to endure the fatigues of the road which leads to the prize, towards which thy love is all directed. Yea, and when thou has reached it, remember, thou wilt never enjoy beautiful Truth in this life, without having, at the same time, still to cultivate laborious justice. How comprehensive and pure soever may be the sight granted to mortal men of the unchangeable Good, "the corruptible body is a load upon the soul, and the earthly habitation presses down the mind that muses upon many things." ONE, then, is that to which we must tend; but many are the things we are to bear for that ONE'S sake.'
Our beloved Abbot Gueranger tells us: 'By their fruits shall ye know them as we hear in the Gospel, and history confirms the words of our Redeemer. Under the sheep's clothing, which they wear that they may deceive simple souls, the apostles of falsehood ever betray their real nature. The artful language they use, and the flattery they utter for gain's sake, cannot hide the hollowness of their works. They separate themselves from the flock of Christ, and flee from the light'; for, as the Apostle says: 'All things that are reproved, or deserve to be so, are made manifest by the light; and as to the things that are done by them in secret, it is a shame even to speak of them. Therefore, be ye not partakers with them'.
However, sometimes people of this sort are unavoidable. When I was working, many protestants were trying to convert me, telling me I was going to hell because I was Catholic, which they always say is the 'Whore of Babylon' in Scripture. I had to study, and found out from them that they had never heard a Catholic say the Catholic Faith like I said it. I told them it was because most Catholics don't know their Faith like they should. I, with the help of my resources, proved their books and tracts wrong, which confused them to no end. I miss those days because they made me study. I told one guy, who was raised Catholic this story: 'There was flooding in this city, which was rapidly rising up to the rooftops of the houses. One man was on his roof, when a boat came along and asked if he needed help, to which he replied: 'No thanks, the Lord will save me', and so the boat left. Another came along with the same proposition, and received the same answer. Then a helicopter did the same, and was also denied. The man eventually was drowned, and when he came to be judged, asked the Lord why he didn't save him, to which the Lord replied: "Hey, I sent you two boats and a helicopter."' I told this guy at work that he has now missed the two boats, and he just kind of looked at me weirdly and never spoke to me again. His problem, not mine. Also, when they ask you: "Where is the word 'Pope' in scripture, ask them where the words 'personal Lord and Saviour' are. Also ask them where it says that we have to know how to read to be saved. The Church is a teaching Church, not a writing one. At Pentecost, it wasn't flaming pencils that descended on the Apostles. And again, tell them that our Douay-Rheims Bible New Testament was printed in 1583, with the Old Testament in 1609. Since the King James bible came out in 1611, and it is different, which bible has been changed? I even sold a Douay Bible to a Jehovah's witness after a whole summer of them trying to convert me. Didn't work; their conversion of me, that is. Another thing; get an older bible (pre-1964) to learn from. And, also, Protestant bibles have changed every single verse pertaining to our Blessed Mother, Mary. This happens in the newer versions of supposed 'catholic' bibles also. Learn Church history, because Protestants are idiots in history! When looking for a Bible, check out in Luke, when the angel Gabriel came to Mary. If it doesn't say 'Hail, full of grace', it's not the one you want to purchase. Also, when Mary, after the greeting by Elizabeth, gives her Magnificat. If in the bible you want to get, doesn't say "My soul magnifies the Lord", don't get this one. These words mean a whole lot differently than 'my being proclaims the goodness of the Lord'.
Can we know the false prophets from the good ones? Absolutely!
By their works. They work for evil. Corrupted men can produce only bad fruit. If we look into their life we will find that at heart they are immoral hypocrites who observe external propriety only that they may the more easily spread their poison. The false teachers and messengers of error may be known by their lives, but especially by their intentions and actions, which are to subvert all divine order, and to put the unrestrained lust of the flesh and tyranny in its place.
Anyway, study like your life depended on it, because it probably does. Beware of those who would have you believe wrong things. It is IMPOSSIBLE for a rotten tree bring forth good fruit!
The big problem now days is that the 'wolves in sheep's clothing' are within the walls of the Church!
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