Catholic Commentary on Sirach 2

"Those who fear the Lord will not be timid, and will not be cowardly, for he is their hope." (Sirach 2:8)

Trust in God through Trials

My child, when you come to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for testing. Set your heart right and be steadfast, and do not be impetuous in time of calamity. Cling to him and do not depart so that your last days may be prosperous. Accept whatever befalls you, and in times of humiliation be patient. For gold is tested in fire, and those found acceptable in the furnace of humiliation. Trust him and he will help you; make your ways straight and hope in him. Those who fear the Lord will not be timid, and will not be cowardly, for he is their hope. Blessed are the souls of those who fear the Lord - to whom do they look, and who is their strong support?

The Catechism identifies the testing of the faithful described in Sirach 2 as the providential formation that refines character: God does not remove his people from the testing but sustains them through it (CCC 2734).

Living the Word

Brothers and sisters, when you come to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for testing. Sirach does not say if testing comes; he says when. The test is built into the service. The question is not whether trials will arrive but whether you will be found with a right heart and steadfast spirit when they do. Set your heart right now, before the crisis arrives.

Prayer

Lord God, we come to serve you and prepare for testing. Set our hearts right and make us steadfast. You are our hope. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

2
1 Son, when thou comest to the service of God, stand in justice and in fear, and prepare thy soul for temptation. 2 Humble thy heart, and endure: incline thy ear, and receive the words of understanding: and make not haste in the time of clouds. 3 Wait on God with patience: join thyself to God, and endure, that thy life may be increased in the latter end. 4 Take all that shall be brought upon thee: and in thy sorrow endure, and in thy humiliation keep patience. 5 For gold and silver are tried in the fire, but acceptable men in the furnace of humiliation. 6 Believe God, and he will recover thee: and direct thy way, and trust in him. Keep his fear, and grow old therein. 7 Ye that fear the Lord, wait for his mercy: and go not aside from him, lest ye fall. 8 Ye that fear the Lord, believe him: and your reward shall not be made void. 9 Ye that fear the Lord, hope in him: and mercy shall come to you for your delight. 10 Ye that fear the Lord, love him, and your hearts shall be enlightened. 11 My children behold the generations of men: and know ye that no one hath hoped in the Lord, and hath been confounded. 12 For who hath continued in his commandment, and hath been forsaken? or who hath called upon him, and he despised him? 13 For God is compassionate and merciful, and will forgive sins in the day of tribulation: and he is a protector to all that seek him in truth. 14 Woe to them that are of a double heart and to wicked lips, and to the hands that do evil, and to the sinner that goeth on the earth two ways. 15 Woe to them that are fainthearted, who believe not God: and therefore they shall not be protected by him. 16 Woe to them that have lost patience, and that have forsaken the right ways, and have gone aside into crooked ways. 17 And what will they do, when the Lord shall begin to examine? 18 They that fear the Lord, will not be incredulous to his word: and they that love him, will keep his way. 19 They that fear the Lord, will seek after the things that are well pleasing to him: and they that love him, shall be filled with his law. 20 They that fear the Lord, will prepare their hearts, and in his sight will sanctify their souls. 21 They that fear the Lord, keep his Commandments, and will have patience even until his visitation, 22 Saying: If we do not penance, we shall fall into the hands of the Lord, and not into the hands of men. 23 For according to his greatness, so also is his mercy with him.

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