Christ, the Beginning and the End

Christ, . . .

If someone was to ask the readers of The Queen what St. Louis de Montfort is most noted for, . . .

. . . they would probably reply: his devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. And if he asked further which work of St. Louis is the most popular, they would probably answer; his True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin and The Secret of Mary.

The answers would be correct, for most Catholics know him as a great apostle of Marian devotion. And most realize how profound his influence has been in spreading devotion to the Mother of God.

And yet, there are critics (in the best sense of the word) who maintain that, although these two works are the most popular, his very first publication, The Love of the Eternal Wisdom, is the most basic and the most important of all his books. They claim that, without an understanding of what Montfort is saying in his book on Divine Wisdom, his doctrine on Our Blessed Lady becomes somewhat distorted and taken out of context. Divine Wisdom, they hold, gives a more comprehensive idea of the meaning and import of Montfortian spirituality.

. . . the Beginning and . . .

Montfort’s understanding of Our Lady’s role in the redemption of the human race can only be grasped in the light of his book, The Love of the Eternal Wisdom.

There are undoubtedly grounds for this assertion. And the matter, as we can well imagine, is of great interest to scholars of Montfort’s overall spirituality. We will, however, leave the issue for some other time. For the present, let’s take a look at this first book written by St. Louis de Montfort.

St. Louis de Montfort was ordained to the priesthood in June of 1700, and he probably composed his book on Divine Wisdom sometime between 1703 and 1704. It seems likely that this particular work resulted from a series of lectures he had previously given to a group of seminarians in Paris. The writing style is very much that of a young priest who reduces his lectures to print. It is not as polished as the style of his later works, especially his True Devotion. His approach is not quite as clear and concise as it will later become. This, however, is to be expected in view of the fact that, like any other author, he needed time and practice to perfect his writing technique.

As a seminarian and young priest, Montfort had been intrigued by the divergence that exists between what he calls “human wisdom” and “Divine Wisdom”. He was an avid reader of the Scriptures, as anyone can tell from just looking at his works. Montfort was struck by the fact that the Scriptures stress the difference between God’s ways and ours, that the Bible shows how often human misery results from a refusal to follow God’s way.

. . . the End

He especially noticed this in the Gospels where Christ kept reminding His hearers that He had come to establish a heavenly kingdom, not an earthly one, a kingdom that is not of this world. Christ, he perceived, had rebuked St. Peter for not accepting Our Lord’s suffering and death by saying to him.  “Get thee behind me, Satan! You are thinking as man thinks and not as God.”

Montfort considers Christ, in his book, as Wisdom Incarnate. He Who has come to redeem us by showing us the way to the Father. Our “human thinking” or “human wisdom” cannot of itself lead to union with God. Only by accepting Christ as the way, the truth and the life can we attain redemption. Only by submitting our human outlook (human wisdom) to the divine perspective (Divine Wisdom) can we ever hope to be united with Christ in His kingdom.

His book is divided into two main sections. The first part deals with our need to love Divine Wisdom, the Wisdom Incarnate Who is Christ our Lord. The second part speaks of the means of attaining and acquiring this Divine Wisdom. (As can be seen, Montfort uses the classical distinction between end and means.  Christ is the beginning and the end of all things, the goal toward which we must strive. To attain this end, Montfort recommends what means he thinks necessary.)

Christ is the Goal . . .

There are times throughout the book when Montfort’s exposition becomes rather deep and somewhat abstruse. He apparently recognized this himself, for he begins his book with a prayer to Christ the Eternal Wisdom. He asks Christ to overlook his deficiencies, to pay no attention to his “babbling” as he calls it, to consider the “darkness of mind” that he brings to this writing. It is a prayer for Christ’s assistance in understanding the ways of God. And it is a prayer that we could profitably say before reading, and while reading, The Love of the Eternal Wisdom.

After this opening prayer, Montfort gives a long series of quotes from the Book of Wisdom in the Old Testament. They are taken from the sixth chapter of this book. And are a collection of admonitions that amount to a panegyric on the beauty and practical usefulness of the wisdom that God gave to Solomon. In this wisdom, Montfort sees the personification of Christ as the Wisdom of the Father. Admonishing us to seek Him as the source and fountain of the true wisdom that leads to God.

Montfort follows this with some “remarks” of his own. These consist chiefly in an attempt to show us the attractiveness of Divine Wisdom and the folly of human wisdom. Divine Wisdom, he tells us, entices us to follow the way that leads to the kingdom of God. Human wisdom – wisdom that is opposed to God – can only lead to misery and rejection.

. . . Toward Which We Must Strive

The reader of The Love of Eternal Wisdom should be forewarned that this is not an easy book to read and to understand. As was mentioned above, the contents are rather deep and the ideas at times somewhat abstruse. But, as Montfort recommends, a recital of the prayer to the Eternal Wisdom will certainly prepare the reader by opening him to the grace of God and the inspirations of the Holy Spirit.