Saint for the day: Frances Xavier Cabrini (July 15, 1850 – December 22, 1917)

Scripture Readings for today’s Liturgy:

Wisdom 1:1-7 – Psalm 139 – Luke 17:1-6

Before we even get to the Scriptures for today, be sure to follow the above “link” to today’s saint, Frances Xavier Cabrini to read how she heard the voice of God and followed.

This section from Wisdom lays out for us the manner in which “wisdom” comes to us and dwells with us. Wisdom – not knowledge – comes to the sincere of heart. Even though we are prone to sin, Wisdom comes to our aid if we are honest in what we seek. You can’t fool “Wisdom” and you can’t expect to have her as guide if you are duplicit in your life. It’s a thin line that we must struggle with in this matter: Seek Wisdom in sincerity of heart and then watch out for she will come to you and that means a change of lifestyle.

Our Gospel ends with the quest for “mustard seed faith” which enables us to cast the mulberry bush into the sea. It also speaks of sin, that is inevitable but in the context of causing another to fall. Yes, we will be forgiven for the “seven times seventy” that we have fallen from God’s grace, but “woe to you who cause one of these little ones to sin. The original words used here is “scandaon” which is translated, ‘stumbling block.” Each one of us must be sure that we are not “scandilon” for another or else we’ll get the millstone around our necks and we will be cast into the sea!

Bottom line: we must work on seeking this gift of “wisdom” in order to be able to see as God sees. We must remove the blinders from our eyes that block our ability to see what’s happening along the way. A horse has blinders on its eyes so that it will not be disturbed by things on either side of its path. We, on the other hand, have to remove those blinders in order to see clearly what is going on in our lives. It’s back to Galatians 5: do we see the fruits of the HS flowing out of us: peace, patience, goodness, self-control, etc. Or are jealousy, wrangling, gross indecency, sexual impriority the result of our actions. Just look at the “wake” you’re leaving as you plow through the lake of life. Amen!