Montfort’s Spirituality: Call and Response to Happiness: Part III: The Call of God – Jesus the Eternal and Incarnate Wisdom
Fr. J. Patrick Gaffney, SMM
I t is especially in his early years of priesthood when he experienced such intense rejection and loneliness, (cf. L 15) that Montfort was drawn into Jesus as the Eternal and Incarnate Wisdom. He not only read the works of Blessed Henry Suso who, in turn, relies on Saint Bonaventure and through the Seraphic Doctor on Saint Augustine, but more importantly, he meditated on the Wisdom literature of the Old Testament and in particular, the Book of Wisdom.
His Love of the Eternal Wisdom indicates the reasons for his attraction to the Christological title, Wisdom. Among the more important ones are:
Filled with Beauty & Gentleness: Meditating especially on the Book of Wisdom and chapter 24 of Sirach, Saint Louis de Montfort concludes: “(Wisdom) is the substantial and eternal idea of Divine Beauty which was shown to St John the Evangelist … when he exclaimed, ‘In the beginning was the Word – the Son of God or Eternal Wisdom – and the Word was in God and the Word was God”’ (LEW 17). “My words fail to give even the faintest idea of Wisdom’s beauty and supreme gentleness and fall infinitely short of her Excellence, for who can ever form an adequate idea of her?
Who could ever portray her faithfully? “You alone, great God, know who she is and can reveal her to all you wish” (LEW 19). It is the “captivating beauty and the inexpressible gentleness of Incarnate Wisdom” that Montfort so stresses when discussing Jesus-Wisdom. Chapters ten and eleven of the Love of the Eternal Wisdom are devoted to this theme. Wisdom, the saint proclaims, is gentle in his origin: “He is a gift sent by the love of the Eternal Father and a product of the love of the Holy Spirit. He was given out of love and fashioned by love, He is therefore all love, or rather the very love of the Father and the Holy Spirit.” He is gentle in his name: “What does the name of Jesus, the proper name of Incarnate Wisdom, signify to us if not ardent charity, infinite love and engaging gentleness. The distinctive characteristic of Jesus, the Savior of the world, is to love and save man” (LEW 120). Jesus is gentle in his looks, in his words and actions (LEW 121-126}: “How beautiful and meek and charitable is Jesus, the Incarnate Wisdom! Beautiful from all eternity, he is the splendor of His Father, the unspotted mirror and image of his Goodness. He is beautiful in time, being formed by the Holy Spirit pure and faultless, fair and immaculate how loving and gentle He is with men and especially with poor sinners whom He came on earth to seek out in a visible manner and whom He still seeks in an invisible manner every day” (LEW 126). Wisdom continues to be gentle in heaven: “Do you think that Jesus, now that he is triumphant and glorious, is any the less loving and condescending? On the contrary, His glory as it were, perfects his kindness. He wishes to appear forgiving rather than majestic, to show the riches of His mercy rather than the gold of His glory” (LEW 127).
Yearning for man. What appears to stun Father de Montfort is the “earnest desire of Divine Wisdom to give Himself to men.” Meditating on the Sapiential books, the saint writes: “The bond of friendship between Eternal Wisdom and man is so close as to be beyond our understanding. Wisdom is for man and man is for Wisdom , . , He loves man as a brother, a friend, a disciple, a pupil, the price of His own Blood and co-heir of his kingdom.
This eternal beauty, ever supremely loving, is so intent on winning man’s friendship that for this very purpose He has written a book [Book of Wisdom) in which he describes His own excellence and His desire for man’s friendship. The book reads like a letter written by a lover to win the affections of His loved one. In the pursuit of man, He hastens along the highways, or scales the loftiest mountain peaks or waits at the city gates, or goes into the public squares and among the gatherings of people, proclaiming at the top of His voice, “You children of men it is you I desire and seek” (LEW 64-65).
Saint Louis de Montfort proclaims the inexhaustible gift of the Eucharist as proof of Eternal Wisdom’s yearning for us “so that when received He might enter the heart of man and there take his delight” (LEW 70). His solid and moving hymns on the Sacred Heart proclaim the same message (cf. H 40-44).
This longing of Wisdom for us must be answered: “How ungrateful and insensitive we would be if we were not moved by the earnest desires of Eternal Wisdom, his eagerness to seek out and the proofs he gives us of his friendship. How cruel we would be, what punishment would we not deserve even in this world, if instead of listening to him, we turn a deaf ear; if instead of seeking him, we flee from him; if instead of loving him, we spurn and offend him … How great will be their misery in hell!” (LEW 72).
Artisan at Creation: It is in Love of Eternal Wisdom that Saint Louis de Montfort so accentuates the beauty and marvelous qualities of creation. And yet, even here, the indescribable magnificence displayed by Wisdom in the creation of the cosmos and in the creation of man appears to be a foil for describing the heinousness of original sin which has so ravished man and the entire universe.
The Virgin [and Child] With Angels (cropped) : Painter: William-Adolphe Bouguereau: 1900
This oil on canvas painting now resides in Petit Palais, Paris. For those that have visited The Shrine of Our Lady of the Island, a print of the full painting resides in the rear of Church.
This longing of Wisdom for us must be answered: “How ungrateful and insensitive we would be if we were not moved by the earnest desires of Eternal Wisdom, his eagerness to seek out and the proofs he gives us of his friendship. How cruel we would be, what punishment would we not deserve even in this world, if instead of listening to him, we turn a deaf ear; if instead of seeking him, we flee from him; if instead of loving him, we spurn and offend him
Creation itself is a manifestation of Divine Wisdom. “Eternal Wisdom began to manifest himself outside the bosom of God the Father when after a whole eternity, he made light, heaven and earth, St. John tells us that everything was made through the Word, that is, Eternal Wisdom. “All things were made by Him” (LEW 11). “It was this supremely perfect Beauty who, after creating the universe, established the magnificent order we find there. He it was who separated, arranged, evaluated, augmented and calculated everything” (LEW 32). And “if the power and gentleness of Eternal Wisdom were so luminously evident in the creation, the beauty and order of the universe, they shone forth far more brilliantly in the creation of man. For man is the supreme masterpiece, the living image of his beauty and his perfection, the great vessel of his graces, the wonderful treasury of his wealth and in a unique way his vicar on earth” (LEW 35).
Montfort even speaks about the playfulness of Wisdom, manifested in creation “in the great variety of all he created . . . we are filled with wonderment at the changes we see in the seasons and the weather, at the variety of instincts in animals, at the different species of plants, at the diversified beauty of the flowers and the different tastes of the fruits,” (LEW 33). Referring to Proverbs 8, Montfort sees Wisdom as joyfully “playing a game to entertain my Father and myself,” splashing the cosmos with color, variety, order and precision. And not only at creation itself, for “Eternal Wisdom abides in them (all things} to contain, maintain and renew them” (LEW 32). Wisdom, who Incarnate is Jesus the Lord, is revealed in the beauty of creation, in the mighty, thundering ocean waves, in the innocence of a child, in the starry night, in the bubbling woodland streams, in the saint’s cave hidden in the forest of Mervent. All creation tells of the glory of God who through Wisdom – “playfully” – creates all things.
Crucified Wisdom: folly in the eyes of the world. Saint Louis de Montfort’s primary use of the title Wisdom is to demonstrate that Wisdom can only be found in the folly of the Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Montfort borrows heavily from Paul’s magnificent praise of Jesus Crucified Wisdom found in 1 Cor, 21-25: “For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to the Gentiles but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” Saint Louis de Montfort writes: “True wisdom is not to be found in the things of this world nor in the souls of those who live in comfort. Wisdom has fixed his abode in the Cross so firmly that you will not find Wisdom anywhere in this world save in the Cross. Wisdom has so truly incorporated and united himself with the Cross that in all truth we can say: Wisdom is the Cross and the Cross is Wisdom” (LEW 180). Wisdom is Jesus Crucified. It is folly to seek fulfillment outside of the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Our Lady of Wisdom: Devotion to Mary is, in Saint Louis de Montfort’s eyes, “the greatest means of all and the most wonderful of all secrets for obtaining and preserving divine Wisdom” (LEW 203). He immediately gives the reason for his statement: “no one but Mary ever found favor with God for herself and for the whole human race. To no other person was given the power to conceive and give birth to Eternal Wisdom. No one else had the power to incarnate Him, so to speak, in the predestinate by the operation of the Holy Spirit.” Mary is therefore, “the Mother, the Mistress and the Throne of Divine Wisdom” (ibid). “Mary is like a holy magnet attracting Eternal Wisdom to herself with such power that He cannot resist. This magnet drew Him down to earth to save mankind and continues to draw Him every day into the person who possesses it. Once we possess Mary, we shall, through her intercession, easily and ln a short time possess Divine Wisdom” (LEW 212).
The union between Mary and the Eternal, Incarnate Wisdom is inseparable (TD 74). Their hearts are one (H 40:36). It comes then as no surprise that texts of the Wisdom literature which are referred to Jesus are at times also applied to Our Lady (e.g., cf. Sir. 14:8; 24:12; cf. TD 29,31,34). Montfort hears primarily the voice of Eternal Wisdom in Sapiential literature but he also can hear in some way (as does the Liturgy ln some of the votive Masses of Our Lady) especially in Proverbs and Sirach, the voice of Our Lady of Wisdom, the “inseparable associate” of Jesus, “in His life, death, glory, and power in heaven and on earth” (TD 74).
Conclusion: Jesus, the “ONLY.”
The explicit and emphatic Christocentric nature of Montfort spirituality is its greatest glory. The apostolic missionary is at great pains to show that Jesus alone is the goal, for Mary herself is “infinitely inferior to her Son” (TD 27). The first truth of solid devotion to Mary must be that Christ alone is the ultimate end of all devotions (TD 60-62). Montfort becomes lyrical, exuberant, in extolling Jesus as the “only”:
“In Him [Jesus Christ] alone dwells the entire fullness of the divinity and the complete fullness of grace, virtue and perfection.
In Him alone we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing.”
“He is the only teacher from whom we must learn
The only Lord on whom we should depend
The only Head to whom we should be united
The only model we should imitate
The only Physician that can heal us
The Only Shepherd that can feed us
The Only Life that can animate us
He alone is everything to us
He alone can satisfy all our desires.”
“We are given no other name under heaven by which we can be saved. God has laid no other foundation for our salvation, perfection, and glory than Jesus. Every edifice which is not built on the firm rock is founded upon sifting sands and will certainly fall sooner or later. Everyone of the faithful who is not united to Him is like a branch broken from the stem of the vine. It falls and withers and is fit only to be burnt. If we live in Jesus and Jesus lives in us, we need not fear damnation . . . Through Him, with Him and in Him, we can do all things and render all honor and glory to the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit. We can become perfect and be for our neighbor a fragrance of eternal life . . . If devotion to Our Lady even distracted us from Our Lord, we would have to reject it as a diabolical illusion.”
Throughout his writings, “God Alone,” “only Jesus” become his trademarks: “We desire Jesus alone” (LEW 30, 73), for He is our only Head (TD 168), our only Refuge, our only love (L 12, 13, H 54:13). Jesus Christ is our advocate and our mediator of redemption with God the Father; it is through Him that we must pray with all the Church triumphant and militant. He alone is our Mediator of Redemption. Mary’s role is to be the Mediatrix of intercession (TD 86). “It is not His (Wisdom’s) wish that the honor even of a relative adoration be given to any other creature [as it is for the True Cross] however exalted, such as His most Blessed Mother” (LEW 172).
(to be continued: Part IV: The Means Wisdom Takes to Come to Us)
