Divine Wisdom and the Kingdom Within

In Wisdom is a spirit
intelligent, holy, unique,
Manifold, subtle, agile,
clear, unstained, certain,
Not baneful, loving the good, keen,
unhampered, beneficent, kindly,
Firm, secure, tranquil,
all-powerful, all-seeing,
And pervading all spirits,
though they be intelligent, pure and very subtle.
For Wisdom is mobile beyond all motion,
and she penetrates and pervades all things by reason of her purity.
For she is an aura of the might of God
and a pure effusion of the glory of the Almighty;
therefore nought that is sullied enters into her.
For she is the refulgence of eternal light,
the spotless mirror of the power of God,
the image of his goodness.
And she, who is one, can do all things,
and renews everything while herself perduring;
And passing into holy souls from age to age,
she produces friends of God and prophets.
For there is nought God loves, be it not one who dwells with Wisdom.
For she is fairer than the sun
and surpasses every constellation of the stars.
Compared to light, she takes precedence;
for that, indeed, night supplants,
but wickedness prevails not over Wisdom.

Indeed, she reaches from end to end mightily
- Wisdom 7:22b-8:1

Asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come,
Jesus said in reply,
"The coming of the Kingdom of God cannot be observed,
and no one will announce, 'Look, here it is,' or, 'There it is.'
For behold, the Kingdom of God is among you."

Then he said to his disciples,
"The days will come when you will long to see
one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it.
There will be those who will say to you,
'Look, there he is,' or 'Look, here he is.'
Do not go off, do not run in pursuit.
For just as lightning flashes
and lights up the sky from one side to the other,
so will the Son of Man be in his day.
But first he must suffer greatly and be rejected by this generation."
and governs all things well.
- Luke 17:20-25

True wisdom doesn’t come from books or clever ideas — it comes from God Himself. As Fr. Mark reminds us, divine wisdom is the light of God that orders all things in creation and directs them toward their ultimate purpose. Today’s readings from Wisdom 7:22b–8:1 and Luke 17:20–25 show us that this divine wisdom is not something distant or abstract; it’s the very presence of God’s Kingdom living within the soul.

Before the Fall, humanity walked in the light of God’s wisdom. But sin darkened our understanding, blinding us to the truth about who God is and how we are meant to live. The Book of Wisdom reminds us that divine wisdom is “holy, unique, manifold, subtle, loving the good, and all-powerful.” It is this wisdom that restores the order lost by sin and allows us to see reality through God’s eyes. When we live according to His divine order, peace and fulfillment follow. When we reject it, disorder and unhappiness rule our hearts.

Jesus teaches in today’s Gospel that “the Kingdom of God is within you.” This means that the Kingdom is not merely a place but the very life of God alive in the soul of the righteous. As St. Faustina recorded in her Diary, Jesus said, “My Kingdom is my life in the human soul.” To live wisely, then, is to allow the Kingdom of God to take root in us — to let divine wisdom order our thoughts, our choices, and our desires according to God’s plan.

Fr. Mark urges us to ask daily for the gift of wisdom — a wisdom that enables us to live rightly, see eternally, and walk in peace. The truly wise are those who look not merely to this world but to eternity, shaping their lives by the light of divine truth. May we pray: “Lord, grant us wisdom, that we may live wisely, love deeply, and build Your Kingdom within and around us.”