Excerpts collected in yellow tell us something about God’s nature or our relationship to Him. Excerpts collected in green tell us about something God wants us to do. Excerpts collected in red tell us about something God does not want us to do.
Reading I
I prayed, and prudence was given me; I pleaded, and the spirit of wisdom came to me.
I preferred her to scepter and throne, and deemed riches nothing in comparison with her, nor did I liken any priceless gem to her; because all gold, in view of her, is a little sand, and before her, silver is to be accounted mire.
Beyond health and comeliness I loved her, and I chose to have her rather than the light, because the splendor of her never yields to sleep.
Yet all good things together came to me in her company, and countless riches at her hands.
Other scriptures addressing similar principles are collected at: Wisdom Principles: We Must Make Real Effort/Sacrifice to Receive All that God Offers, But It Is Well Worth It
Responsorial Psalm
R. (14) Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!
Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Return, O LORD! How long? Have pity on your servants!
R. Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!
Fill us at daybreak with your kindness, that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days.
Make us glad, for the days when you afflicted us, for the years when we saw evil.
R. Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!
Let your work be seen by your servants and your glory by their children; and may the gracious care of the LORD our God be ours; prosper the work of our hands for us!
Prosper the work of our hands!
R. Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!
fill = שָׂבַע= śāḇaʿ
be sated, be fulfilled, be surfeited; to have in excess
love = חֶסֶד= ḥeseḏ
goodness, kindness, faithfulness; favour, good deed(-liness, -ness), kindly, (loving-) kindness, merciful (kindness), mercy; kindness (especially as extended to the lowly, needy and miserable), mercy; lovely appearance; of God: kindness, lovingkindness in condescending to the needs of his creatures; redemption from enemies and troubles;in preservation of life from death; in quickening of spiritual life; in redemption from sin; in keeping the covenants; fidelity; abundant, plenteous in kindness (goodness); greatness of thy mercy; everlasting; plural mercies, deeds of kindness, the historic displays of lovingkindness
desire, ardor; zeal; benignity, benevolence, pity, mercy; grace
joy = רָנַן= ranan
to overcome; to cry out, shout for joy, give a ringing cry; triumph
teach =יָדַע= yāḏaʿ
to perceive and see, find out and discern; to discriminate, distinguish; to know by experience; to recognize; be acquainted with;to know (a person carnally);to know how, be skillful in; to have knowledge, be wise; to be made known, be or become known, be revealed; to be instructed; privy to; seeing; observe with the eyes; be aware of; to get to know, discover; to turn the mind to anything, to care about, to see about
number = מָנָה= mānâ
count, reckon, number, assign, tell, appoint, prepare; ordain; to weigh out; by implication, to allot or constitute officially; prepare
gain = בּוֹא = bô'
to go in, enter, come, go, come in; to bring in, cause to come in, gather, cause to come, bring near, bring upon; carry; fetch; follow;entering into specific relations;walk, associate with
wisdom = חָכְמָה= ḥāḵmâ
a divine attribute or energy; shrewdness; skill; prudence; cleverness; dexterity
Reading II
Indeed the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.
No creature is concealed from him, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account.
word = λόγος = logos
a word or saying, an account which one gives by word of mouth; a cause or reason assigned; a reason, cause, intent;the inward thought itself, a reckoning, a regard, a reason; communication, speech; embodying a conception or idea; the moral precepts given by God;doctrine, teaching
penetrating = διϊκνέομαι = diikneomai
Pierce, to go through, penetrate
discern = κριτικός = kritikos
judging, fit for judging, skilled in judging; discriminative
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
Jesus answered him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; you shall not defraud; honor your father and your mother."
He replied and said to him, "Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth."
Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, "You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."
At that statement his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!"
The disciples were amazed at his words. So Jesus again said to them in reply, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."
They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves, "Then who can be saved?"
Jesus looked at them and said, "For human beings it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God."
ran up = προστρέχω = prostrechō
to run to; hasten to meet or join
knelt down = γονυπετέω= gonypeteō
to fall on the knees, the act of imploring aid, and of expressing reverence and honour
asked = ἐπερωτάω = eperōtaō
to accost one with an enquiry, put a question to, enquiry of, ask, interrogate; to address one with a request or demand; inquire, seek
looking at = ἐμβλέπω = emblepō
earnest looking;This verb implies a close, penetrating, look; to look at with the mind, to consider; to observe fixedly, or (absolutely) to discern clearly; gaze
loved= ἀγαπάω = agapaō
to welcome, to entertain, to be fond of, to love dearly;to be well pleased, to be contented at or with a thing;to take pleasure in the thing, prize it above other things, be unwilling to abandon it or do without it;to welcome with desire, long for
to be full of good-will and exhibit the same;to have a preference for, wish well to, regard the welfare of
Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words
"Love can be known only from the actions it prompts *** this is not the love of complacency, or affection, that is, it was not drawn out by any excellency in its objects; It was an exercise of the [] will in deliberate choice, made without assignable cause[]”
"Christian love, whether exercised toward the brethren, or toward men generally, is not an impulse from the feelings, it does not always run with the natural inclinations, nor does it spend itself only upon those for whom some affinity is discovered. Love seeks the welfare of all ... and works no ill to any[]; love seeks opportunity to do good to 'all men, and especially toward them that are of the household of the faith'”
“In respect of agapao as used of God, it expresses the deep and constant ‘love’ and interest of a perfect Being towards entirely unworthy objects, producing and fostering a reverential "love" in them towards the Giver, and a practical "love" towards those who are partakers of the same, and a desire to help others to seek the Giver.”
Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon
greet with affection, show affection for; persuade, entreat; to be fond of, prize, desire; to be well pleased, contented
treasure = θησαυρός = thēsauros
a place of safe keeping;a storehouse; place in which good and precious things are collected and laid up; storehouse, repository, magazine; he things laid up in a treasury, collected treasures; wealth; something precious
Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon
store, treasure; strong-room, magazine; treasuries; vaults; granary; receptacle for valuables, safe
follow = ἀκολουθέω = akoloutheō
to follow one who precedes, join him as his attendant, accompany him; to join one as a disciple, become or be his disciple; to be in the same way with, i.e. to accompany (specially, as a disciple); to cleave steadfastly to one, conform wholly to his example
Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon
follow one, go after or with him, freq. of soldiers and slaves; be guided by
enter = εἰσέρχομαι = eiserchomai
to come into; entrance into any condition, state of things
Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon
go in or into; enter the ranks of; to be brought in; come into one's mind
kingdom = βασιλεία = basileia
is primarily an abstract noun, denoting "sovereignty, royal power, dominion;" denoting the ... people over whom a king rules; the right or authority to rule;reign; royal power and dignity; the rule of God; God's rule, the divine administration; the universe subject to God's sway, God's royal domain
Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon
Dominion; being ruled by a king; reign
What these readings tell us about God/His ways:
I prayed, and prudence was given me
I pleaded, and the spirit of wisdom came to me.
all gold, in view of her, is a little sand, and before her, silver is to be accounted mire.
the splendor of her never yields to sleep.
Yet all good things together came to me in her company
Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!
Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!
your kindness
your love
Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!
Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!
the word of God is living and effective
penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow
able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.
No creature is concealed from him, but everything is naked and exposed
him
to whom we must render an account.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!
It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."
What these readings tell us to do:
I prayed
I pleaded
I preferred her to scepter and throne
deemed riches nothing in comparison with her
Beyond health and comeliness I loved her
number our days aright
gain wisdom
the poor in spirit
ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him
honor your father and your mother
enter the kingdom of God
enter the kingdom of God
What these readings tell us not to do:
kill
commit adultery
steal
bear false witness
defraud
