O Antiphons – O Wisdom

From today until December 23, we recite before the Gospel and in the evening prayers seven titles known as the "O Antiphons." These are Messianic titles, based on prophecies from the book of Isaiah, and they reflect typologies (figures) that point to the coming of the Messiah.

Today, we begin with the first O Antiphon:

"O Wisdom of our God Most High, guiding creation with power and love: come to teach us the path of knowledge!"

This title has its origin in the book of Isaiah:

“2 The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, A spirit of counsel and of strength,

a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the Lord, and his delight shall be the fear of the Lord.

—Isaiah 11:2-3

This passage tells us that the Messiah would embody the very Wisdom of God. In the Garden of Eden, humanity's first sin was born from the desire for knowledge, they want to know but without obedience out of the will of God. This pursuit of knowledge with proud was our damage.

Yet, God's response to this failure was not to abandon us but to send the true Wisdom that would restore what was lost.

This Wisdom was prefigured in the Old Testament, with figures like King Solomon, who was considered the wisest of kings. Solomon pointed toward the true King, the Messiah, who would bring not only wisdom but peace and salvation.

Jesus Himself presented this title as a fulfillment of prophecy. He declared:

“Therefore, also, the Wisdom of God said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles...’” —Luke 11:49

St. Paul also spoke of Jesus as the fulfillment of divine wisdom:

“But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” —1 Corinthians 1:24

So today, we ask that the Wisdom of God come to us. Why? “Come to teach us the path of knowledge.”

We wait for the Wisdom of God because we want to know the path that leads us to eternal life:

“And this is eternal life, that they know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.” —John 17:3

We can acquire much knowledge in this life, but unless that knowledge leads us to the path of salvation, it cannot save us.

This reminds me of the story of a young, arrogant scholar who hires a boatman to take him across a river. As they travel, the scholar mocks the boatman for not knowing about birds, plants, or the nature of water, claiming that the boatman is wasting his life. But when the boat begins to sink, the boatman asks the scholar if he knows how to swim. The scholar admits he doesn’t. The boatman then points out that, in that case, the scholar has lost his entire life.

This is the case with many people today—they may be experts in many areas, but do they know the most important thing: their own salvation?

The University of Salamanca inscribed a wise saying on its frontispiece, which reflects this thought:

"The highest science is that a man ends in grace, for at the end of the journey, the one who is saved, knows, and the one who is not, knows nothing. In this borrowed life, where good deeds are the key, the one who is saved knows; the other knows nothing."

Today we wait for the wisdom of God, Jesus Chris that he may lead us to eternal life.