Last week, we saw

Sophia/Wisdom (as) the divine order patterning all creation,
from the ancient oceans to this morning’s dew.

Ever since we humans gazed, astonished, at the stars, we have intuited a pattern in the Universe. We have wondered at the pattern maker for eons of time. Have we understood that there is Love within every aspect of this many-faceted reality?

English poet-mystic Edwina Gately speaks of this:

They stretched beyond my sight —

millions of tiny pebbles,

broken stones, and smooth rocks

thrown together,

heaped, it seemed,

in careless huddles,

then washed apart

and rushed into new places

to nudge against

other, different shapes,

falling together

in patterns ever changing.

But over all,

in never-ceasing constancy,

flowed the great water,

drenching and shifting

great and small,

stretching out

in wondrous unfolding

of Wisdom’s great design. 

(Growing into God, Sheed and Ward, Franklin Wisconsin, 2000 p.38.)

Do we experience that great water of Wisdom flowing over the smooth rocks, the pebbles, the broken stones of our lives, forming fresh new patterns? When we dare to name the pattern-maker Sophia, when we come to know her as Wisdom in the Universe, we experience her loving guidance in the small everyday moments of our lives. We sense that we are held in a tenderness that can be, at times, overwhelming.

Joyce Rupp, in her Prayers to Sophia (Innisfree Press, Philadelphia, 2000) writes of knowing and living within the awareness of Sophia’s guidance:

Trusted Guide,

you are my Mentor, my Inspiration,

my Home of good choices and decisions.

You help me to search with confidence

as I find my way to inner peace.

Please gather your wisdom around me.

Guide me carefully as I make choices

about how to use my energy positively.

Place your discerning touch on my mind

so that I will think clearly.

Place your loving fingers on my heart

so I will be more fully attentive

to what is really of value.

Teach me how to hear your voice,

to be aware of what is in my mind and heart,

to attend to your wisdom in those around me,

to acknowledge my intuitions and ponder my dreams,

to listen to earth and all of life,

for in each piece of my existence you are guiding me.

Guide of my life,

thank you for all you have given to me.

Reveal my spiritual path 

and direct me in the living of it.

Lead me to inner peace and oneness with you.

Joyce Rupp invites us to reflect on Sophia’s guidance in our lives:

“Search your present life situation. Where is it that you most need Sophia’s Guidance?”

“Go to Sophia. Find her sitting in her chair of wisdom. Ask her to lead and direct you.”

“Receive her wisdom.”