How to develop prudence or practical wisdom

THE secret is to be like a child, simple and humble. We can draw that conclusion from the words of Christ himself: “I confess to thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hidden these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to the little ones.” (Mt 11,25)

The “wise and prudent” cited in that quote refers to the worldly wisdom and prudence that do not come from God. True wisdom and prudence can only come from God as attested in this passage from the Book of Proverbs: “The Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” (2,6)

In other words, it’s when we follow God in Christ through the Holy Spirit that we can have true prudence, the same prudence of the wise virgins (cfr. Mt 25,1-13). It’s the prudence that would lead us to heaven in our earthly journey, just like the wise virgins were able to join the wedding party when the bridegroom finally arrived at midnight.

Prudence, understood as practical wisdom, allows us to think, evaluate and decide properly amid the varying and often confusing conditions of our life. It prepares us to discover the true good in all circumstances and to choose the appropriate means to achieve it.

True prudence would allow us to have an abiding sense of the ultimate purpose of our life and how to relate all the elements, circumstances and conditions of our life to this purpose. It enables us to escape from being trapped in our earthly and temporal concerns. It is what is truly and urgently needed these days when we see a lot of people, especially the young ones, practically held captive in their earthly obsessions and addictions.

One effect of prudence is to receive the gift of counsel from the Holy Spirit. It’s this gift that would enable us to discover what is truly good for us in a given situation. With prudence, we can manage to be attentive and discerning of the hints of God, the promptings of the Holy Spirit who actually intervenes in our life all the time.

Yes, to be prudent in these confusing times of ours today would indeed require us to study things thoroughly, do the proper research, and undertake a widening web of consultations. We have to learn to refer ourselves to more and more branches of knowledge, sciences and technologies to be able to arrive at more enlightened judgments, opinions and views.

The virtue of prudence does not stop only at the level of study, research and consultation. It has to go all the way to making judgments and decisions. And when that time arrives, we can either withhold our judgment for mere lack of bases for such judgment when the circumstances would not allow it, or we can make a judgment when we feel we have enough bases or when we somehow are forced to make one.

In all these possibilities, we should see to it that we form these judgments in the presence of God, asking for his light and grace. This is always indispensable, the only thing necessary actually, because even if we have done our best to be prudent, we can still be wrong, and yet if we have made that judgment in “bona fide,” it would still work out for the good, since with God all things, right or wrong, will work out for the good. (cfr. Rom 8,28)