Daily Thought For May 16, 2015

The Gift of Knowledge

Through the gift of knowledge the Christian who is docile to the Holy Spirit will learn to discern perfectly between what leads to God and what separates from him, in the field of arts, of fashion, and in the world of ideas. Truly he will be able to say that wisdom guided him on straight paths; she showed him the kingdom of God, and gave him knowledge of angels.  The Holy Spirit himself will warn us when what is good and true in itself is in danger of becoming bad by leading us away from our last supernatural end. It could be a disordered desire for material possessions, or an attachment to these goods in a way that does not leave the heart free to serve God. 

Christians who must sanctify themselves in the middle of the world have a particular need of this gift so as to direct all temporal activities to God, making them a means of holiness and apostolate. Through it a housewife discovers how her work at home is a way to God if it is done with an upright, honest intention and with a desire to please God; a student learns that study is the ordinary way to love God, do apostolate and serve society; for an architect the way to God is through plans and drawings; for a nurse, her care of the sick. We understand that we must love the world and temporal affairs, and come to discover the truth of those words of Blessed Escriva: There is 'something holy', something divine hidden in the most ordinary situations, and it is up to each one of you to discover it. When a Christian carries out with love the most insignificant everyday action, that action overflows with the transcendence of God. That is why I have told you repeatedly, and hammered away once and again at the idea, that the Christian vocation consists in making heroic verse out of the prose of each day.  The epic poetry we men and women write for God is comprised of the ordinary events of the day, the problems and and joys we meet along our way. 


We love the things of earth, but we value them correctly, that is, as God values them. Thus we give the utmost importance to being temples of the Holy Spirit because if God is dwelling in our soul, everything else, no matter how important it may seem, is accidental and transitory, whereas we, in God, stand permanent and firm. We treasure our faith more than material goods and even life itself, and would be ready to abandon all else to preserve it. In the light of this gift we see the value of prayer and mortification and appreciate the importance they have in our life. Thus we would never dream of omitting them. 

from In Conversation with God by Francis Fernandez Volume 2 pp. 545-546