Tag: prudence

2 Kings 21: Wicked Kings
2 Kings 21: Wicked Kings

Wednesday, October 8, 2025

Written on May 17, 2008 and posted today as a Favorite . . .

It is easy to blame problems on wicked or ineffective leaders. It is also easy to fault ourselves and to blame our own incapabilities or weaknesses. To explain evil by blaming others or selves is a constant human occupation; yet, it need not be so. There is always an option open to us when confronted with insurmountable obstacles or “wicked kings” of any kind. Our trouble is that when we find ourselves in the throes of conflict we cannot see the simplest of solutions, the solution which is always open to the faithful – calling on the power of God.

The faithful who find a path of serenity amidst the turmoil and deception that surrounds them practice a simple formula which we might examine: the faithful pray intercessory petitions for those who are wicked, they trust God with their woe and their joy, they practice prudence, temperance, compassion and mercy.

Scripture always brings us the same story: God’s desire to be with the creatures he has created, God’s yearning to be one with all, God’s willingness to sacrifice self to bring his faithful to intimate union with him. Peace and justice will prevail when the faithful see and hear this Word of God. Serenity is achieved when the Word is practiced, lived, and is made part of what we think, say and do. God might choose to make all of us good instead of stubborn and stiff-necked; but if God were to do this, God would take away our own freedom to choose good over evil. And God so loves us that God wants us to choose God, just as God has chosen us.

We need not fear wicked kings; rather, we must pray for their healing and conversion. We must pray for their change of heart, for the unstiffening of their necks for it is in this way that we will find our own blessed center, our highest potential, our best self, the place where we are one with God.

Perhaps this is the gift of wicked kings. They bring us to our own best hope. They bring us to the Word. They bring us to God.

A re-post from September 13, 2011.

Image from: http://colombomusium.blogspot.com/2010/04/colombo-museum.html
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October 8, 2025

compassion, finding serenity amidst evil, ineffective leaders, intercessory prayer, mercy, prudence, temperance
Matthew 25:1-13: The Duality of Mercy
Matthew 25:1-13: The Duality of Mercy

Friday, May 16, 2025

Phoebe Traquair: The Parable of the Ten Virgins

Some time ago, I heard a lecture concerning the difference between mercy and leniency that piqued my interest since the point of the lecture was that God uses tough love. God is always ready to forgive; God is always abiding. But we benefit most from this gift of loving kindness when we move toward redemption. We blossom with newness when we make reparations. We acknowledge God’s overarching authority when we agree to suffer well in God’s duality of mercy.

God is all merciful and compassionate, and God wants us to recognize and then work on our flaws. If we continually run away from our mistakes rather than fixing them, we reject the reason for our existence. When we refuse to repair the damage we have done, we avoid blooming into the potential God engendered in us at our inception. When we blame family, friends, colleagues and systems for our own unrepaired flaws, we miss the opportunity God wants for us to learn about the duality of mercy, mercy laced with a justice that saves even the most lost of souls.

As a child, I puzzled over the parable of The Ten Virgins, asking my mother why the five wise girls did not share lamp oil with others as we were taught to do in our large family. With wisdom-tinged sadness, Mother told me we usually learn life’s hardest lessons with the biggest bumps, and that, ultimately, it was God who understood our suffering best. Being locked out of the feast seemed an injustice to me, and yet as I grew I better understood the intelligence of Mother’s words. We learn most when we suffer. We learn deepest when we apologize. I began to picture God the party-giver flinging open the door to the feast to right a wrong, to invite the five foolish girls to enter after all. And perhaps this is what God does. But first, I now imagine as an adult, God insists that the five who scoffed at the prudent wisdom of those who prepared well must admit to their own selfishness in going to the feast unprepared. First, I now see as an adult, God moves us to look inward to see what needs repairing rather than outward to see whom we might blame. First, God says to them gently yet firmly, you must learn to trim the wick of your lamp. You must learn to conserve the resources I lend to you. First, you must open your heart to the duality of mercy.

Our roots go deeper and our branches reach higher when we examine ourselves with God’s merciful justice. Our lives have more meaning and our sharing is more authentic when we learn the lessons taught by God’s unprejudiced compassion. Sometimes we have to learn the hard way, I still hear Mother saying. Yet the closed door at the feast feels so final and absolute, and so I continue to imagine another ending in which the door opens, the five apologize and amend their egocentric and imprudent ways, and the master invites everyone in to join in the feast.

Like the five foolish virgins, we must look to ourselves and make changes. Like the five wise virgins, we must continue in our prudence and wisdom despite the pressures of life. Like the many faithful seated at the Kingdom’s table, we must learn the language of God’s merciful justice in order to fully take part in the feast.

Image from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable_of_the_Ten_Virgins
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May 16, 2025

Parable of the Ten Virgins, prudence, wisdom
Proverbs 28: Seek Prudence
The Wisdom Tree

Proverbs 28: Seek Prudence

Sunday, October 27, 2024

So many wise thoughts.

The wicked are more frightened than the good.

Security happens through prudence rather than force.

Wealth is a deluge that wipes out everything rather than nourish as does a constant rain.

Happiness lies in true integrity; truth to self is a worthy companion and leads to wisdom.

Happiness lies in seeking justice through the law, rather than force.

Gluttony is an excess of nourishment and has outcomes other than physical obesity.

Take advantage of people if you like but in the end someone will distribute all that you have saved to those who have nothing.

When we pray outside of the God’s law of love, we actually pray to the darkness.

Those who seduce the innocent are constructing their own gibbet, while the innocent will be rescued.

Self-importance is false value; everyone else sees the self-conjurer behind the façade (or the wizard behind the curtain).

We all know when incompetent people are in charge . . . even the incompetents themselves.

We might as well admit our faults; they will be pointed out to us anyway.

Happiness lies in softening our hearts.

People know evil when they see it.

Being idle is a dangerous pastime.

Happiness lies in being worthy of trust; not in money or possessions.

Happiness lies in total commitment and fidelity to the law.

Greed is its own terrible all-consuming end.

Happiness lies in knowing when and how to rebuke a brother or sister with love rather than seeking a relationship through flattery.

Happiness lies in seeking and receiving wisdom.

Happiness lies in following the way of the just, even when evil reigns.

When we seek wisdom, we find it in all that is good.

Image from: https://www.freepik.com/vectors/wisdom-tree

Adapted from a Favorite written on November 4, 2007.
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October 27, 2024

fidelity, happiness, integrity, justice, prudence, rebuke, soft hearts, trust, wisdom
Proverbs 28: Virtues
Proverbs 28: Virtues

Thursday, August 1, 2024

As we begin to close our journey through Proverbs, we reprise this Favorite from October 2009. We have explored our relationships with fools and friends, we have walked with the wise and accompanied fools who are whacked on the head. Watching Lady Wisdom build her house, we have learned that God’s heart asks for union with each of us. Exploring wise sayings of Solomon and others, we have understood that God allows us to lose and find our way. Knowing that God misses nothing and that each morning we are offered armloads of life, we continue to ask for the cure of God’s love and listen for Spirit that speaks to us within.

Surety, Prudence, Integrity, Wisdom, Generosity, Truth, Justice

The wicked man flees although no one pursues him; but the just man, like a lion, feels sure of himself.

When we create monsters out of nothing we give in to our human fears.

If a land is rebellious, its princes will be many; but with a prudent man it knows security.

Our rashness can divide us more than it unites us.

Better a poor man who walks in integrity than he who is crooked in his ways and rich.

Power and treasure appear to be safe havens; yet they crumble to corruption and cannot withstand the simplicity of truth and honesty.

He who rebukes a man gets more thanks in the end than one with a flattering tongue.

The truth always comes out in the end. And it is precious.

Happy the man who is always on his guard; but he who hardens his heart will fall into evil.

Prudence is necessary; hardness is our downfall.

The greedy man stirs up disputes, but he who trusts in the Lord will prosper.

Generosity is a sign of a trusting heart.

He who trusts in himself is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom is safe.

Patience and stillness bring their just rewards.

When the wicked gain pre-eminence, other men hide; but at their fall the just flourish.

In the end, God alone is enough.

Words to live by; virtues to cherish; axioms to settle the mind; maxims to sooth the troubled heart.

When we compare translations of these verses, we allow God’s wisdom to enter our hearts.

Image from: http://goodbooksforyoungsouls.blogspot.com/2013/02/ever-been-on-blind-datewith-book.html
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August 1, 2024

axioms, generosity, integrity, justice, prudence, truth, urety, wisdom
Proverbs 16: Plans of the Heart – A Reprise
Proverbs 16: Plans of the Heart – A Reprise

Monday, July 22, 2024

Today, as we journey through Proverbs, we reprise a post from several years ago in which we see that . . . Everything Belongs.

Man may make plans in his heart, but what the tongue utters is from the Lord. All the ways of man may be pure in his own eyes, but it is the Lord who proves the spirit. Entrust your works to the Lord, and your plans will succeed. The Lord has made everything for his own ends, even the wicked for the evil day . . . In his mind a man plans his course, but the Lord directs his steps.

Humans have a fertile imagination; and weaving a story about ourselves is part of what we do as we form our self-concept. We are often anxious about the future: What am I to do? Where am I to go? What am I to say? How am I to act? We may worry about the past: Why was I so blind? How did I miss what they were saying? And all the time we worry, we are missing the blessed present with its opportunity to open our hearts to God’s economy. The writer of Proverbs reminds us that the best plans are those guided by God. Trusting in divine providence is so very difficult, yet so essential to serene living.

Better a little with virtue, than a large income with injustice . . . How much better to acquire wisdom than gold! To acquire understanding is more desirable than silver . . . A patient man is better than a warrior, and he who rules his temper, than he who takes a city.

Wisdom is our best instructor. Living a life characterized by prudence and temperance is difficult in a society which values the supersize in everything. It is easy to overdo: too much food, too much drink, too much money spent on heat or air conditioning, too much television, too many movies, too many books, too many people making claims on our time, too much aloneness, too much neglect, too much fuss. Is there such a thing as too much justice? Too much hope? Too much faith or compassion? Too much love? Finding moderation and balance is a challenge; but our model is the Christ, who interchanged periods of heavy activity with times of prayer and retreat leaving his sacred heart open to God’s plan.

By kindness and piety guilt is expiated, and by fear [love] of the Lord man avoids evil.

It is never too late to be open to a conversion of the heart. There is always time to enter through the narrow gate, to step onto the narrow road, to sow peace rather than discord. It is never too late to open the door and windows of the mind, to allow the master planner to enter the heart, to move us through our days, to guide us in our thoughts, to thaw our stiffened necks, to melt our hardened hearts.

Let us vow today to open ourselves to the mind of God, so that we might receive our plans from God’s own sacred heart.

Image from: http://hopesrising.com/?m=201105
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July 22, 2024

conversion, prudence, sacred heart, temperance, wisdom
2 Samuel 18: Recklessness
2 Samuel 18: Recklessness

Thursday, May 23, 2024

Pieter de Grebber: King David in Grief (detail)

When we examine the story of David and his son Absalom, and see that sometimes we cling to outmoded ideas or dangerous people. We humans seem to prefer the devil we know to the one we do not. We make a way to survive with the horror we experience rather than set boundaries against the craziness of the world. This is the fine line we walk between forgiving transgression and accepting abuse. This is the difference between pardon and leniency. It is the distinction we draw between recklessness and prudence.

Absalom is the favored child who does as he likes; he is coddled and feels entitled. We see many examples of this in our current world – men and women who take what they like from whomever they like, pitted against the innocent who are open and trusting. It is an uneven match and we wonder why God does not protect the naïve and unknowing more.

In today’s reading we see the dreadful end of Absalom, the favored child who abused his father who had given him so much. We also watch the mourning of the father who believes he has recently lost a child without understanding that he had lost him years before.

As Jesus reminds us, we cannot put new wine into old skins. (Matthew 9:14-17, Mark 2:21-22 and Luke 5:33-39) We cannot sew new patches on old sleeves. We are called by our maker to transform ourselves, to move beyond our old form and style, to become new in Christ. For just as the Old Testament is fulfilled in the New, as the old Covenant is re-written on the new heart, so are we called to make a place for a clean spirit, so are we called to sit at the city gate to indicate that we have returned – but in a new form.

In this season when we celebrate resurrection and new life, let us be determined that when we are fuddled by the line between compassion and acceptance of violence against one’s self, we will examine our lives in light of the Gospel to see if our suffering bears fruit or draws us down. In recent days at Mass we have been reminded that we are the fruit bearing branches of the vine that is Christ. We are nothing and do nothing except through the Creator. There is no secret thought; we keep no actions from the Spirit. We belong to God and our lives are transformed when we understand this.

From the mini-reflection in today’s MAGNIFICAT we read in reference to Acts 16:1-10: “Day after day the churches grew stronger in faith and increased in number”. This was due in large part to Paul and Timothy’s attentive docility and obedience to the Holy Spirit. They had been chosen “out of the world” by Jesus. When we act out of belonging, conscious that we do not “belong to the world”, we change the world”.

And this is how we address the recklessness and violence we see around us. We take on Christ, we go to the Creator, and we allow our transformation in the Spirit. In this way, we pray that we do not come to harm when the violence of the world threatens us. And we pray that when the violence of the world does invade our lives – as it surely will – we will have the courage, strength and clarity to witness with attentive docility and obedience to the Holy Spirit. We pray that we remind ourselves of our true belonging. And we pray for the lost souls of those who have been sucked into the cycle of danger and fear. In this way we change the world. Amen.

A Favorite from May 8, 2010.

Cameron, Peter John, Rev., ed. “Mini-Reflection.” MAGNIFICAT. 8 May 2010. Print.

Image from: https://www.ncregister.com/blog/you-were-made-to-live-for-greatness
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May 23, 2024

Absalom, Acts 16:1-10, David, Luke 5:33-39, Mark 2:21-22, Matthew 9:14-17, new wine in old skins, prudence
Sirach 1:1-10: God’s Wisdom
Sirach 1:1-10: God’s Wisdom

Monday, March 4, 2024

God’s wisdom is eternal.

All wisdom comes from the LORD and with the LORD it remains forever, and is before all time.

God’s wisdom is immense and all-encompassing.

The sand of the seashore, the drops of rain, the days of eternity: who can number these? Heaven’s height, earth’s breadth, the depths of the abyss: who can explore these?

God’s wisdom is prudent.

Before all things else wisdom was created; and prudent understanding, from eternity. The word of God on high is the fountain of wisdom and her ways are everlasting.

God’s wisdom does not discriminate.

To whom has wisdom not been revealed? Who knows her subtleties? To whom has the discipline of wisdom been revealed? And who has understood the multiplicity of her ways? There is but one, wise and truly awe-inspiring, seat upon his throne and the LORD is the God of dominion. The LORD has lavished wisdom on the friends of God.

God’s wisdom invites each of us to listen to her today.

When we use the scripture link and the drop down menus to explore these verses, we open ourselves to the surprises God’s wisdom has in store for us.

Image from: https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/retro-key-and-opened-book-gm488801411-39405722
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March 4, 2024

prudence
Proverbs 28: Virtues
Proverbs 28: Virtues

Saturday, November 11, 2023

A Favorite from October 31, 2009.

Surety, Prudence, Integrity, Wisdom, Generosity, Truth, Justice

The wicked man flees although no one pursues him; but the just man, like a lion, feels sure of himself.

When we create monsters out of nothing we give in to our human fears.

If a land is rebellious, its princes will be many; but with a prudent man it knows security.

Our rashness can divide us more than it unites us.

Better a poor man who walks in integrity than he who is crooked in his ways and rich.

Power and treasure appear to be safe havens; yet they crumble to corruption and cannot withstand the simplicity of truth and honesty.

He who rebukes a man gets more thanks in the end than one with a flattering tongue.

The truth always comes out in the end . . . and is precious.

Happy the man who is always on his guard; but he who hardens his heart will fall into evil.

Prudence is necessary; hardness is our downfall.

The greedy man stirs up disputes, but he who trusts in the Lord will prosper.

Generosity is a sign of a trusting heart.

He who trusts in himself is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom is safe.

Patience and stillness bring their just rewards.

When the wicked gain pre-eminence, other men hide; but at their fall the just flourish.

In the end, God alone is enough . . .

Words to live by; virtues to cherish; axioms to settle the mind; and maxims to sooth the heart.

When we compare translations of these verses, we allow God’s wisdom to enter our hearts.

Images from: https://inchristalonedevotions.wordpress.com/2015/03/15/proverbs-28-practical-wisdom-for-all-generations/ and https://howtobeastoic.wordpress.com/2016/04/14/the-universality-of-virtue/
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November 11, 2023

axioms, generosity, integrity, justice, prudence, surety, truth, wisdom
Revelation 6: Cosmic Conflict
Revelation 6: Cosmic Conflict

Easter Tuesday, April 11, 2023

EdwardVon Steinle: The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

We might well believe that we live in a world that is in cosmic conflict. Terrorist attacks, extreme politics, fanatic social movements might give us good reason to believe that “the end times” are near. We must exercise caution before reading the last book of the Bible without commentary lest we slip into a dualistic world of fundamentalism. This narrow view emphasizes the vision of universal struggle, and forgets the message of hope, trust, prudence, mercy and love that Jesus delivers. These verses must be read through the filter of unity and solidarity, hope and determination that Jesus brings to the world. Rather than relying on an apocalyptic eschatology in which God rescues the world and sets all wrongs right while we watch and observe, we are urged to delve into the ethical eschatology of joining with Christ to bring his message of love to all.

Commentary cautions us appropriately; it encourages us to take up the challenge of these remarkable verses. “It is useless to tease such poetry into a train schedule. The vision here is not one of history unfolding like clockwork; it is a religious vision of God’s ultimate conquest despite current appearances. Once the reader lets go of the obsessive ‘need to know’ that twists beauty into biorhythm charts, it is possible to wonder at the powerful poetic and religious imagination at work in these glorious images”. (Senior RG 575)

When we spend time with various versions of these verses today, we allow the gift of Christ’s wisdom and love to settle over us. We allow ourselves to become of God’s remarkable kingdom. And we allow the consolation of the Spirit to work through us to heal a waiting world.

Today we remember as we reflect . . . we are Easter People.

Senior, Donald, ed. THE CATHOLIC STUDY BIBLE. New York, Oxford University Press, 1990.RG 575. Print.

Image from: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/82753711874400212/

To explore the imagery of the four horsemen of the apocalypse, read the commentary at: http://www.usccb.org/bible/revelation/6
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April 11, 2023

Christ’s wisdom and love, consolation, eschatology, four horsemen of the apocalypse, hope, kingdom, love, mercy, prudence, trust