The Way of Mary: Wisdom

Good Tuesday morning, good Advent people who walk The Way of Mary. You would not believe the excitement in our house right now. Today . .. this very day . . .being the 17th day of the 12th and last month of December, is . . .. wait for it, wait for it . . . the first day of the O Antiphons.

I can't tell you how Ms. Conroy looks forward to this day, when the antiphons, said or sung at vespers, count down the last seven days before Christmas.

So, of course, the word for the day is: O Sapientia. O Wisdom.

I want to tell you about something I learned from a news article posted by my dear Facebook friend Janet Vetter, which shows that Mother Earth has wisdom and healing that we are just beginning to discover.

It's about the Black Fungus that is healing Chornobyl, Ukraine. (Note Chernobyl is the Russian spelling of that city. Chornobyl is the way the Ukrainians spell it and say it. Sort of like the Kyiv is Ukraninan and Kive is Russian. We say "Kyiv.")

Remember Chornobyl? The explosion of Reactor No. 4 at the Nuclear Power Plant near Pripyat, Ukraine, on April 26, 1986, stands as the worst nuclear disaster in history. The catastrophe created a 30-kilometer exclusion zone—a desolate area still unsafe for human habitation due to lingering high radiation levels decades later.

Shortly after the explosion, scientists discovered a black fungus growing on the walls inside Reactor No. 4. Inside the reactor. These fungi were actually flourishing where the radiation was most intense.

The fungi appear to “feed” on radiation, using it as an energy source much like plants use sunlight through photosynthesis. And now, almost 50 years later, the fungi are still growing, still thriving, eating up the radiation and turning it into energy.

The Black Fungus is healing the earth.

Just let that sink in for just a moment. The earth is healing itself from a deep wound that happened almost fifty years ago, inflicted upon it by its human creatures.

One of the definitions of the word 'Wisdom' is "the ability to see the world as God sees it."

Sr. Joan Chittister offers a very brief meditation for today's O Antiphon - a way to find a path to wisdom. She says this:

"Try reading the newspaper today through the eyes of a God who was born in a stable, counted to be of no account, hounded by society from one place to another."

As I read this account of the Black Fungus of Chornobyl, I see God's wisdom in the world, healing the damage done by Her children who, even after left The Garden more than a few millennia ago, have not yet learned how to use the gift of wisdom.

I suppose it takes more than one bite of the Fruit of Knowledge to gain Wisdom.

Here's another way to meditate on the word wisdom: Try to recall the best and worst decisions you ever made. While we all like the way our best decisions work out, we probably gain the most wisdom from our biggest mistakes. Spend some time trying to understand how God has given you wisdom through your decisions - even the mistakes you've made.

You might want to add this prayer as part of your devotions today — O Wisdom, O Holy Word of God, you govern all creation with your strong yet tender care. Come and show your people the way to salvation. (Isaiah 11:2-3; Wisdom 8:1; Proverbs 9:1)

I hope something good happens to you today.

Bom dia.

OPS&BTW, here's that article: https://scienceadvance.com/this-black-fungus-might-be-healing-chernobyl/