Friday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
June 2, 2023
Daily Reading from the USCCB: Sirach 44:1, 9-13
Now Sirach remembers the wise men of the past. Many are mentioned by name elsewhere. Here the author deals only with the godly persons whose lives enriched God’s people anonymously.
We need to be aware also, that at the time that this book of the Old Testament was written, personal immortality was not yet part of Jewish belief. Yet the life of the individual was not for that reason unimportant.
Our author assures us that although death seemed to be the final element of their human existence, these nameless persons live on through God’s covenant with them expressed in their progeny. Through their families their association with the Lord will endure. Somehow their glory will never be blotted out. We are all precious to God.
