The Gift of Understanding

WEDNESDAY OF THE 1ST WEEK OF THE YEAR
13 JANUARY 2010

Mark 1: 29 - 39

[Mark 1:29] On leaving the synagogue he entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John.
[Mark 1:30] Simon's mother-in-law lay sick with a fever. They immediately told him about her.
[Mark 1:31] He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up. Then the fever left her and she waited on them.
[Mark 1:32] When it was evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons.
[Mark 1:33] The whole town was gathered at the door.
[Mark 1:34] He cured many who were sick with various diseases, and he drove out many demons, not permitting them to speak because they knew him.
[Mark 1:35] Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.
[Mark 1:36] Simon and those who were with him pursued him
[Mark 1:37] and on finding him said, "Everyone is looking for you."
[Mark 1:38] He told them, "Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also. For this purpose have I come."
[Mark 1:39] So he went into their synagogues, preaching and driving out demons throughout the whole of Galilee.
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Holy Scripture can be thought of as involving a double inspiration by the Holy Spirit: that of the sacred writer, and that of the prayerful reader, ultimately subject to interpretation given by the teaching Church. This applies emphatically to today's Gospel, which describes the ministries of Our Lord which involve healing of sickness, and deliverance from demons.

One of the seven sanctifying gifts of the Holy Spirit, the supernatural gift of understanding, is operative in the Christian prayerfully reading this (or any other) scripture passage. He understands the ministries of healing and deliverance to be absolutely distinct, and rejects the false teaching that deliverance from demons is only a metaphor for healing from sickness.

We turn our attention to the gift of understanding, and how it is manifested in the spiritual growth of the baptized and confirmed Catholic.

After Mary and Joseph found Jesus in the temple, He returned with them to Nazareth, where He became subject to them. In Luke 2, we read:

[Luke 2:52] ...Jesus advanced (in) wisdom and age and favor before God and man.

As children of our heavenly Father, we imitate Jesus' life on earth by continuing to grow in wisdom, age, and favor before God and man. In particular, we continue to grow in knowledge through natural and supernatural gifts of understanding. The gift of understanding has been bestowed on the baptized and confirmed Christian so that he will be able to discern not only the natural underlying meaning of things, but also the supernatural relevance of things which we encounter on our present journey in the wayfaring state. St Thomas Aquinas puts it this way:
Since...human knowledge begins with the outside of things as it were, it is evident that the stronger the light of the understanding, the further can it penetrate into the heart of things. Now the natural light of our understanding is (only) of finite power ... Consequently man needs a supernatural light in order to penetrate further still so as to know what it cannot know by its natural light: this supernatural light which is bestowed on man is called the gift of understanding.
The supernatural gift of understanding given to each baptized and confirmed Christian is of paramount importance as he encounters daily the proliferation of teachers and what they teach, as amplified by modern communications technology, especially the Internet. Not all of the teachings encountered conform to the orthodox teachings of the church. In fact, some of the contemporary "teachers" can rightly be classified as "false prophets" in the sense meant by St John the Evangelist, as he states in his first letter, chapter 4:

[1 John 4:1] Beloved, do not trust every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they belong to God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
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[1 John 4:5] They belong to the world; accordingly, their teaching belongs to the world, and the world listens to them.

One of the most pernicious categories of false teaching is called modernism, which Pope Pius X condemned in his encyclical Pascendi Gregis in 1907 as the "mother of all heresies". Simply stated, modernism is the denial of the supernatural. After Pius X's strong condemnation, it lay dormant for several decades. Then, it underwent a resurgence in the late 20th century. Sadly, modernist teaching still appears with some frequency.

One example of modernist teaching states that references in scripture (such as those made in today's Gospel) to demonic activity is a result of ancient peoples' ignorance of modern medical knowledge, and that the term "demonic" is only a metaphor for a natural illness. That teaching is in direct contradiction to today's scripture readings, which clearly state that healing from disease and deliverance from demons were two distinct ministries of Our Lord:

[Mark 1:34] He cured many who were sick with various diseases, and he drove out many demons, not permitting them to speak because they knew him.

The life of prayer, sacraments, and works of charity is essential to the growth of the Christian. Also included must be an edifying amount of spiritual reading. Here is where the gift of understanding is to be active, to be on guard against any false teaching that might be present. One excellent rule to follow is to look at the page after the title page, to see whether the approbation of the Church, called the "imprimatur", has been given. In any event, the prayerful reading of Holy Scripture should always be preceded by a prayer to the Holy Spirit.

Let us now pray for an increase of the gift of understanding:

Holy Spirit, divine Consoler, I adore You as my true God, with God the Father and God the Son. I adore You and unite myself to the adoration You receive from the angels and saints. I give You my heart and I offer my ardent thanksgiving for all the grace which You never cease to bestow on me. O Giver of all supernatural gifts, I beg You to visit me with Your grace and Your love and to increase in me the gift of understanding, so that I may apprehend the divine mysteries and by contemplation of heavenly things detach my thoughts and affections from the vain things of this world.

Amen.