“Does not wisdom call, and understanding raise her voice? On the top of the heights, along the road, at the crossroads, she takes her stand?”[i] … “I called and you refused. I extended my hand, and no one took notice.”[ii] In the weeks preceding the season of Lent, in the first lesson of the Office of Readings, the Church gives us these words from the Book of Proverbs. These passages set us on the course towards the season that is coming.
Lent is meant to be a time of returning to the Lord, a time to examine whether our deepest choices lead us toward God or not. Throughout our entire lives, He extends his hands to us, inviting us to take hold of Him, making it possible for us to draw close to Him. He always already “has” us, because He is our creator, and so in a certain sense He is always holding us. The question is how we respond and how we reach out to Him with the help of His grace. This is a path of conversion, an ongoing process. Lent gives us time to look at this relationship we have with God. Through this time of prayer, we have an opportunity to delve deeper into the mysteries of salvation and of God’s love. Fundamentally, our choices in life are like crossroads. His gift of wisdom enables us to choose aright, but we must be open, willing to hear his voice and accept the invitation to change.
Got Wisdom?
We need His wisdom to see and to choose aright, for when gazing around at the things of the earth, many good things grab our attention. We must know how to use them, or whether sometimes it is better to leave them be, for sake of what we truly want. Through the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, God prompts us to set our hearts on the right things, and to leave the things that won’t lead to Him.
Using both words of admonition and words of love, He speaks in the Scriptures in order to give us the opportunity to choose Him. He tells us through Moses, for example: “I set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse; choose life.”[iii]
The choice at the crossroad is really this: life in Christ or death without Him. This means too eternal life in Christ or eternal death lost from Him. It is a choice, and choosing Him means also willing all the means to go toward Him.
Seem Impossible?
It would be impossible were it only up to us, weak as we are…but Jesus has his hands extended to us. From the cross, He reveals the true Tree of Life, the source of grace and salvation. The true Eden is found in Him, the source and completion of everything we need. Yes, through the of the branches of this Tree, we find the path to life.
How do we get on the path?
Jesus is the way, for He says, “Come to me all you who labor and burdened and you will find rest.”[iv] “I am the way, the truth, and the life…”[v] This “I am” stands for the source of all reality standing under what we experience and see. Finding the Lord as our foundation, we may take comfort in His companionship along the journey, and take shelter in the goodness of his Heart.
Christ on the Mount of Olives, Josef August Untersberger (1864–1933)
Meditation on the Book of Wisdom
For any of us, Lent can be a time to step back and take more time for prayer and meditation. The first chapter of the Book of Wisdom can serve as an examination of conscience. It is an opportunity to examine both inner acts and outer deeds. An examination of conscience can be used to prepare for the Sacrament of Reconciliation or Penance. This is one concrete action we can do to stay with Jesus along the Way.
Exhortation to Uprightness
1 Love righteousness, you rulers of the earth,
think of the Lord in goodness
and seek him with sincerity of heart;2 because he is found by those who do not put him to the test,
and manifests himself to those who do not distrust him.3 For perverse thoughts separate people from God,
and when his power is tested, it exposes the foolish;4 because wisdom will not enter a deceitful soul,
or dwell in a body enslaved to sin.5 For a holy and disciplined spirit will flee from deceit,
and will leave foolish thoughts behind,
and will be ashamed at the approach of unrighteousness.6 For wisdom is a kindly spirit,
but will not free blasphemers from the guilt of their words;
because God is witness of their inmost feelings,
and a true observer of their hearts, and a hearer of their tongues.7 Because the spirit of the Lord has filled the world,
and that which holds all things together knows what is said,8 therefore those who utter unrighteous things will not escape notice,
and justice, when it punishes, will not pass them by.9 For inquiry will be made into the counsels of the ungodly,
and a report of their words will come to the Lord,
to convict them of their lawless deeds;10 because a jealous ear hears all things,
and the sound of grumbling does not go unheard.11 Beware then of useless grumbling,
and keep your tongue from slander;
because no secret word is without result,
and a lying mouth destroys the soul.12 Do not invite death by the error of your life,
or bring on destruction by the works of your hands;13 because God did not make death,
and he does not delight in the death of the living.14 For he created all things so that they might exist;
the generative forces of the world are wholesome,
and there is no destructive poison in them,
and the dominion of Hades is not on earth.15 For righteousness is immortal.
Life as the Ungodly See It
16 But the ungodly by their words and deeds summoned death;
considering him a friend, they pined away
and made a covenant with him,
because they are fit to belong to his company.[vi]
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Image Credit:
Untersberger , Josef August. Christ on the Mount of Olives. August 27, 2013. WikiMedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Christ_on_the_Mount_of_Olives_by_Giovanni.jpg
Work Cited:
[i] Proverbs 8:1-2
[ii] Proverbs 1:24
[iii] Deuteronomy 30:19
[iv] Matthew 11:28
[v] John 14:6a
[vi] Wisdom Chapter 1 NRSVCE. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Wisdom%201&version=NRSVCE
Posted on March 7, 2025
Lent 2025
