The World Is Drowning in Data — and Starving for Wisdom

In the end, it won’t be power brokers or politicians who save us — it will be wisdom, the kind that bends low and walks with the poor.

Dear friends —

This Advent, all paid subscribers are receiving the Letters from Leo Advent Reflection Series: a daily companion to prepare for the coming of Christ at Christmas — and to reckon with what his arrival demands of us, personally and publicly, in a moment of deep moral and political crisis.

It’s not too late to join us. Today’s reflection is below.

To give you a sense of what you’ll encounter, I’ve unlocked two pieces for all readers.

The first is our opening Sunday reflection, which sets the tone for the season. The second is a reflection from last week, where I wrote candidly about the isolating pain me and so many others experience during the holidays — and how Advent meets us there, not to deny the loneliness, but to reveal God’s quiet presence within it.

These reflections will continue each day through Christmas.

Letters from Leo is open to anyone who wants to be informed and inspired by our pope — and to turn that inspiration into action that leaves America and the world more just, less cold, and more alive with hope.

If you’d like to support this work during this sacred season, here are three ways you can help:

• Subscribe as a paid member to receive exclusive posts about the life and formation of Pope Leo and help sustain this newsletter.

• Donate with a one-time gift to fuel this project’s mission.

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Whether you give $0, $1, or $1,000, your presence here matters — no matter your faith or your politics.

Thank you for reading. I’ll see you on the road.

“O Wisdom of our God Most High, guiding creation with power and love, come to teach us the path of knowledge!” (O Antiphon, December 17)

Today’s Readings

In the halls of power, knowledge abounds — yet our world still feels starved for wisdom.

We live amid an explosion of information, but without wisdom, even knowledge can work against the common good.

For all our cleverness, we still cry out for something greater.

In the final week of Advent, Christians voice that cry through the O Antiphons — ancient prayers calling on God to save us.

They inspired the verses of O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.

Each antiphon invokes a title of the Messiah.

And today, December 17, we plead: “O Wisdom of our God Most High, come teach us the path of knowledge!”

In a world aching for wisdom, we beg God to show us how to live rightly.

How does he answer this cry?