From the first, faith has been God's means of justifying men

Treasures of Our Faith with Deacon Richard Vehige

On Saturday of the First Week in Ordinary Time our Church invites us first to read and reflect on a passage from the book of Sirach (44:1-2, 16a---45:5), entitled, “Praise of the fathers: from Enoch to Moses”. Our treasure, which follows, is from a letter to the Corinthians by Saint Clement I, pope.

Saint Clement of Rome was the third successor of Saint Peter, reigning as pope from 88 AD until his death in 99 AD. He's known as one of the Church's five “Apostolic Fathers,” those who provided a direct link between the Apostles and later generations of Church Fathers. His letter to the church at Corinth is in response to a dispute in which certain presbyters of the Corinthian church had been deposed. He asserted the authority of the presbyters as rulers of the Corinthian church on the ground that the Apostles had appointed such.

The Wisdom of Ben Sira derives its title from the author, “Yeshua [Jesus], son of Eleazar, son of Sira”. The author, a sage who lived in Jerusalem, was thoroughly imbued with love for the wisdom tradition, and for the law, priesthood, Temple, and divine worship. As a wise and experienced observer of life he addressed himself to his contemporaries with the motive of helping them to maintain religious faith and integrity through study of the books sacred to the Jewish tradition.

The book contains numerous well-crafted maxims, grouped by affinity, and dealing with a variety of subjects such as the individual, the family, and the community in their relations with one another and with God. It treats friendship, education, poverty and wealth, laws, religious worship, and many other matters that reflect the religious and social customs of the time. Written in Hebrew in the early years of the second century B.C., the book was finished by ca. 175. The text was translated into Greek by the author’s grandson after 117 B.C.

Though not included in the Jewish Bible after the first century A.D., nor, therefore, accepted by Protestants, the Wisdom of Ben Sira has been recognized by the Catholic Church as inspired and canonical. The Foreword, though not the proper part of the book, is always included with it because of its antiquity and importance.