O Antiphons--Wisdom--December 17

"To us the path of knowledge show"

We have entered today the countdown to Christmas. The Catholic Church celebrates these next days with the O Antiphons. These beautiful hymns bear reflection at this holy season.

O Wisdom, O holy Word of God, you govern all creation with your strong yet tender care. Come and show your people the way to salvation. (Antiphon for Canticle of Mary, Evening Prayer of December 17)

O come, thou Wisdom, from on high,

And order all things far and nigh;

To us the path of knowledge show,

And teach us in her ways to go.

Rejoice! Rejoice! O Israel-

To thee shall come Emmanuel!

Job 12:12 “With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days, understanding.”

Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

Proverbs 4:5-7 “Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.”

Proverbs 9:10 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.”

James 1:5 , 6 “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.”

James 3:17 “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.”

Lord, You are Wisdom. Christ, You came in the flesh to show us Wisdom in helplessness and Knowledge in a defenseless newborn. You are Wisdom, Lord, and You are full of surprises. Indeed, our meager intelligence and our careful planning cannot come near what seems to us to be the folly of Your intent. For what we consider foolish, You have made wise, and what we thought was the wrong path, has been, because You led there, absolutely right. Come, O Wisdom. Let me embrace with joy and expectation what You are doing my life, no matter how it may look to us who see with human and not divine sight. This, the path I am on, is my way to salvation because You have set my feet here. Show me the way to go, my Lord, my God, my Wisdom. Enable me to walk with You, Emmanuel. Amen.