On Prudence: Homily for the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time

My dear brothers and sisters, for some Sundays in a row we have been reading through the thirteenth chapter of Mathew dealing with a lectionary urging the cultivation of the soil of our heart. We, in Goa, and in South Asia, are fortunate that this focus on cultivation comes in the time of the monsoon, allowing us to think of the fields that are prepared for cultivation and nourished with the rains that fall from heaven. The rains being metaphors for the graces that shower down from heaven to water the prepared heart.

And how do we prepare our hearts, normally so stony, or only superficially prepared with soil that will welcome the Word (of God)? The first reading today offers us an example of King Solomon in his youth, when his heart was focused entirely on God and not distracted by worldly temptation.

Encountering God who permits Solomon to ask for anything, Solomon responds:

Give your servant, therefore, an understanding heart
to judge your people and to distinguish right from wrong.

There is one word that can capture the quality of a heart that can judge, and distinguish right from wrong; that word is Prudence; Solomon asked for the virtue of Prudence.

Most people often assume prudence to be the virtue of doing the right thing at the right time, but in the sense of not prejudicing our worldly interests. For example, it would be imprudent to contradict one’s boss in a meeting, even if he were wrong, because he might feel insulted and then make life miserable for one. It would be imprudent for a student to speak out when the teacher is being unfair, because this student would then bear the brunt of the teacher’s vengeance. As you can see, prudence involves judgement, and distinguishing the right, from the wrong move. Indeed, the world might often whisper that the right move in these cases might be to flatter the boss, or teacher, even in the face of their injustice, so that our own standing with them increases, and with it our worldly prospects.

The cardinal virtue of prudence, however, operates on a different register, and today’s Gospel illustrates this perfectly. The virtue of prudence is associated with the wisdom and understanding necessary for us to grasp the actions necessary for us to inherit the kingdom of God which as Saint Paul teaches us today has been promised to us from before we were born, and indeed, which we are heirs to, especially since the moment of our baptism.

The virtue of prudence, therefore, is:

…like a merchant
searching for fine pearls. 
When he finds a pearl of great price,
he goes and sells all that he has and buys it. 

Worldly prudence assures us that a bird in hand, is worth two in the bush. But when we find that one thing that will lead us to the kingdom of God, the virtue of prudence not only informs us that it is worth selling ALL we have, so that we can have that one pearl of great price, but ensures that we do so. In other words, the virtue of prudence is not only about an intellectual ability to distinguish, or discern between right and wrong, but also about the determination to physically realise that right, or truth. To echo St. Thomas Aquinas, prudence is “right reason applied to action” (II-II, 47, 2). 

This is what King Solomon failed to do as he grew older. Despite the great gift that was offered to him, he was seduced by his wives to offer worship to false gods, which he did, no doubt despite his knowledge of his error (1 Kings 11: 1-8). Prudence is about acting to secure that pearl of great price.

‘All we have,’ my dear brothers and sisters, this is what we are called to give up when we find that all we have is incompatible with the pearl of great price. To the eyes of the world, this make us look foolish, and they – your family and friends – will do their best to dissuade you. But to those who know better, it is the price worth paying for eternal life.

Let us pray, therefore, that we live our lives asking for the grace so that we can cultivate the virtue of prudence in the poor soil of our hearts.

Virgin most prudent, pray for us.

(A version of this homily was first preached to the faithful at the Igreja Matriz da Nossa Senhora da Conceicão, Pangim, on 26 July 26, 2026.)

(Image reference: The Ten Evangelical Virtues of the Blessed Virgin, detail from St. Jeanne de Valois, António Joaquin Padrão, 18^th cent., Santuário de Nossa Senhora de Balsamão, Chacim, Portugal.)