Photo Prayer:
Eternal rest give unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.
"Lean not upon thine own prudence; . . be not wise in thine own conceit" (Prov. iii. 5, 7). One important element in prudence is docility in taking counsel. No one is qualified to be judge in his own case; and this, which is true in natural affairs, is no less true in spiritual ones. Every one suffers at times from deficiency of information, or some failure of his faculties, or the impartiality of judgment is clouded by the unconscious intrusion of personal considerations. Points of view are numerous, and no one can grasp them all at once. The most self-reliant are the least qualified to judge alone; for the excess of self-reliance arises not from perfected capacity, but from inexperience, and from ignorance of personal deficiencies and external difficulties. Obstinacy increases with incapacity, and such pride is followed by a fall. The seeking of counsel is evidence of humility; and it is to the humble that God accords enlightenment and grace. How many troubles and catastrophes would be avoided if each remembered that he is not infallible and self-sufficing! "My son, do thou nothing without counsel, and thou shalt not repent when thou hast done" (Eccli. xxxii. 24).
