32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Wis 6:12-16
1 Ths 4:13-18
Mt 25:1-13
She herself walks about looking for those who are worthy of her and graciously shows herself to them as they go, in every thought of theirs coming to meet them.
In the midst of frenetic end-of-year exam revision, I mulled over the readings for this reflection. My brain hurt from all the primary school mathematics and science and I needed inspiration to strike me. Sure enough, social media (I cannot recall which one) showed me a St Augustine quote: “Patience is the companion of Wisdom”. Interesting. What has patience got to do with wisdom? Let’s think this through.
We are familiar with jumping to conclusions, flying into a rage, acting rashly, running headlong into danger, all these very speedy acts to certain doom or destruction. We have most certainly done most or all of these things, and because we reacted too quickly with neither thought nor reflection nor patience, we acted foolishly. In contrast, we have phrases like measure twice cut once, 三思后行 (in Chinese, it means to think things over 3 times before making a move), more haste less speed, take a step back, look before you leap, and so on and so forth. The good advice always tells us to slow down, to stop, to be patient, in order to make wise and informed decisions.
Slow Wisdom in a Fast World
So we know that we do need patience in order to make wise decisions. But in today’s context, where everything is ‘go, go, go’, how do we afford the time to wait?
I am of the view that Patience’s role in wise decision making is not about putting off what needs to be done so much as it is about doing the correct thing at the correct time. And the reason for this is Consequences. For every decision we make, every act, every word, there will be a consequence — an effect on both us and the people it was directed at. Think about all the things we have done out of rashness and the downstream fallout. We often regret our hasty actions and wish that we could turn back time and do things differently. We often wish we could have paused, or that someone had stopped us, so that we need not have hurt anyone in our haste.
This is why patience needs to come in. When something happens, our knee-jerk reaction is to make a huge fuss. But hasty, foolish decisions lack foresight, humility, respect, and empathy. A wise decision will take into account all of these and then some. What do I mean?
Stop in the name of Love
Why should we be wise and make wise decisions? Because our decisions affect people. A wise decision will affect people in a good way. It protects and guards, it edifies and teaches, it is just and merciful, it heals and helps. Because people are made in the image and likeness of God, it is paramount for people to be treated right. Wisdom, prudence and discernment are meant to help protect the life of God in everyone.
I have mentioned consequences. When we react based on our emotions, we give ourselves no room and no time for thinking about the consequences of our actions. Without this foresight, respect, or empathy we can run into trouble. Imagine an over excited child dashing straight in to pet a dog, without much thought given as to whether or not the dog will retaliate in fear. Imagine being overly inebriated and ruining your best friend’s wedding with your antics because you did not stop to consider their feelings while you were still sober.
Imagine slapping a child because they spilled juice in the car. Because of your knee-jerk reaction based on anger, a young child is now scared and confused instead of being given an opportunity to learn responsibility. Now imagine yourself overthinking a comment, second guessing another’s intention, torturing yourself while imagining the worst-case scenario. If only you stopped and had the humility to realise that other people are not always out to get you. Being patient and wise requires forethought, respect, humility, empathy.
Wisdom and other Virtues
In classical and Christian philosophy, Wisdom is seen as a cardinal virtue, along with Justice, Temperance, and Fortitude. Justice is, of course, fairness and righteousness, and Fortitude is basically courage and strength. Temperance is self-restraint and self-control, which is considered essential for knowing when to stop, thus making it sound a bit like Patience.
So it appears that a lot of virtues are intertwined. I am inclined to think that Wisdom might just be the most important and most useful. But all other virtues do not simply just follow. Being aware of their importance is not the same as being able to exercise those virtues. You have to use them consistently. Yes, use your Wisdom. But to use it well and properly, we need to practice Patience. In order to do that, we must learn to Love. To love honestly requires Respect and Humility. And so on and so forth.
The fundamental point of Wisdom is to make things better and easier for everyone. To make wise decisions that can benefit everyone. To create wise solutions to help others. It is not about being correct, or being liked, or being strong or powerful or controlling. It is about sacrifice, and disciplining yourself to do the right thing at the right time.
Brothers and sisters, like little children, we are all still learning and failing along the way. We may despair at our lack of progress and we may give up. But that would be foolish. We must realise that patience is needed for us to properly grasp how to live as God intends for us to live. We must make that wise but frustrating decision to press on despite our failures. God is wise and patient, and we should be too.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Felicia Zou)
Prayer: Dear Lord, grant us the grace to be patient, to be wise, to be compassionate and understanding, to be humble, to be loving.
Thanksgiving: Dear Lord, we thank you for your unending love and forgiveness for us, for the patience you have shown us when we fall, for your infinite grace and strength to help us up again.
OXYGEN 
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