Neil Anthony Weber

The Children of Wisdom Neil Anthony Weber

Our Lord called himself a child of Wisdom when he said, "John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, 'He has a devil.' The Son of Man is come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Behold a man who is a glutton and a drinker of wine, a friend of publicans and of sinners.' Yet Wisdom is proven right by all her children."

Jesus and John, and indeed all the saints, are the children of Wisdom, who do her good credit. Each has his path, like the stars in the heavens: not one is the same, yet they all keep her ways.

And yet, who is Wisdom? In the Book of Proverbs she speaks:

"I, Wisdom, dwell in counsel... The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his ways, before he made anything, from the beginning.

"I was from eternity, from of old before the earth was made. The depths were not as yet, and already I was brought forth...

"When he encompassed the sea in its bounds, and set a law to the waters that they should not pass, when he balanced the bedrock of the earth, I was with him forming all things.

"And I was delighted, day upon day, playing before him at all times, playing in the world, and my delight was to be with the children of men.

"Now therefore, children, hear me: Blessed are they that keep my ways. Hear instruction and be wise, and refuse it not."

Commenting on this passage, St. Irenaeus teaches that Wisdom is the Holy Spirit:

"... Moreover, I have demonstrated at great length that the Word, namely the Son, was always with the Father, and that Wisdom also, who is the Spirit, was present with him, prior to all creation."

How can we find this great Spirit who loves us? How can we too become children of Wisdom?