Ecclesiasticus 1:1-10 / Mark 9:14-29
A good place to spend a quiet and reflective moment is probably in a bookshop, a good and spacious bookshop.
Somehow, in a bookshop, people naturally make themselves comfortable and begin browsing through books that would interest them and maybe buy what attracts them.
One category of books that will probably attract us is in the section called "Self-help".
What attracts us is all this material on how to improve ourselves, to make ourselves more capable, more skilled, more talented. In a word it is to become better.
But even if we do become better, in the general sense of the word, we still need the wisdom to use our knowledge and skills and talents.
The one book that we ought to read is the book of Ecclesiasticus. That's the book from which the 1st reading is taken.
The first line from that book proclaims that all wisdom is from the Lord, and it is His own forever.
Hence if we truly desire to be wise, it is necessary that we come before the Lord in humility and in reverence.
We must come in humble prayer before the Lord of all wisdom.
And that was what Jesus told His disciples in today's gospel passage.
Before they embark on any task, they must come before the Lord in humble prayer.
It is necessary to read to broaden our knowledge. But reading all the books in the world will not necessarily grant us wisdom.
It is the Lord of all wisdom who will bless us with wisdom and give success to the work of our hands.