Scripture for meditation: Deuteronomy 6:4-9
“ Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
St. Ambrose
teaches us: We must always meditate on God’s wisdom, keeping it in our
hearts and on our lips. Your tongue must speak justice; the law of God must be
in your heart. Hence Scripture tells you: You shall speak of these
commandments when you sit in your house, and when you walk along the way, and when
you lie down, and when you get up. Let us then speak of the Lord Jesus, for
he is wisdom, he is the word, the Word indeed of God. It is also written: Open
your lips, and let God’s word be heard. God’s word is uttered by those who
repeat Christ’s teaching and meditate on his sayings. Let us always speak this
word. When we speak about wisdom, we are speaking of Christ. When we speak
about virtue, we are speaking of Christ. When we speak about justice, we are
speaking of Christ. When we speak about peace, we are speaking of Christ. When
we speak about truth and life and redemption, we are speaking of Christ. Open
your lips, says Scripture, and let God’s word be heard. It is for
you to open, it is for him to be heard. So David said: I shall hear what the
Lord says in me. The very Son of God says: Open your lips, and I will
fill them. Not all can attain to the perfection of wisdom as Solomon or
Daniel did, but the spirit of wisdom is poured out on all according to their
capacity, that is, on all the faithful. If you believe, you have the spirit of
wisdom. (From the Explanations of the
Psalms by St. Ambrose, bishop)
Prayer: St.
Ambrose Prayer
Teach me, O Lord, to search for you. Show yourself to me
when I search for you. If you do not teach me first, I cannot seek you. If you
do not reveal yourself to me, I cannot find you. In longing may I search for
you, and in searching, long for you. In love may I find you, and in finding
you, love you.
My thoughts: Today we see a lot of people walking down
the street talking to no one. Well, it looks as though they are talking to no
one. In truth, they are on the phone. Imagine our lives if we were “on the
phone” with Christ as we walked down the street, sat on the bus, relaxed on a
park bench or reclined in a home rocker. Imagine the peace and wisdom that
would fill our lives if we gave our troubles over to God and listened to His
response. We would be so filled with the
word of God that everything that came out of our mouths would be pure, holy and
wise, good and uplifting to those around us. Sound too good to be true? St.
Ambrose tells us it is very possible. Whenever we speak of wisdom or truth or
justice or peace we are speaking about Christ. These are everyday topics. Let
us approach them from the perspective of bringing Christ into our
conversations. Then let us strive to spend every moment in the presence of Christ. Remember, “If you
believe, you have the spirit of wisdom.” Do you believe?
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