"Who is this Wisdom that is calling?"
Preamble
The question posed as the title for this time of reflection is, in itself, surprising or even, I would dare to say, disquieting… Perhaps the more "natural" thing would be to ask the question: "What is Wisdom?"… This question is latent in all movements of reflection and philosophical movements that have existed since the human being began to reflect on himself… And it is a question which has not yet been resolved in a satisfactory manner despite the numerous responses which have been attempted by the "sages"…
The question that has in fact been posed, "Who is this Wisdom that is calling?", does not lead us only in the direction of knowing, but towards a knowledge which, in some sense, we identify with "someone"…
Paradoxically, this question, a little disquieting and at the same time much more precise, really has a response for someone who believes. Besides, for the disciples of Montfort, it is a very beautiful question which helps us to go to the heart of his spirituality, as we shall see.
We must remember that, when we hear the word "wisdom", we do not spontaneously think of some person… Wisdom, in its most easily understood meaning, evokes rather a human quality, an art for living which has a link with practice… But in fact it is a word which has many meanings, a word rich in meaning…
Scripture illustrates the wealth of meanings of the word "wisdom"… In the Old Testament, wisdom is seen little by little as:
A human quality:
An art of living, of being happy
A knowing how to live based on experience, competence, 'savoir-faire'
A form of conduct, a way of behaving which seeks harmony and coherence
A capacity for discernment
Many texts of the Old Testament gather together sayings, proverbs flowing out of popular wisdom (e.g. the Book of Proverbs), which are very similar to those of other cultures of the ancient Middle East.
An attribute or property of God himself
Only God is wise, say the prophets, in reply to those who, principally in the royal courts, proclaim themselves wise, and in denunciation of those who have corrupted Wisdom (Is 5:21; Jer 9:22-23).
A gift of God, to be asked for:
God has his wisdom and he can share it with man (cf. Solomon's prayer in Wisdom 9). A gift which helps to accomplish one's life, to realise one's vocation, to act in a concrete manner and a manner pleasing to God, which is "pleasing to his eyes"…
A female figure
A personification of Wisdom appears little by little in such texts as Proverbs 8, Sirach 24 and Wisdom 6 to 9. In these texts, which are those most used by Fr. de Montfort, we see Wisdom appearing as a female figure, a person:
- who comes from God (cf. Sir 24:3ff; Prov 8:22…)
- who precedes Creation (cf. Prov 8:23ff; Sir 1:4…)
- who has a part to play in Creation (Prov 8:27ff…)
- who is active in the work of Salvation (Wis 10 to 19)
- a mediatrix between God and men.
These different meanings for Wisdom are found also in the New Testament: a human quality and a divine property which are linked with the search for happiness and which are not always found together (cf. the opposition between true and false wisdom, particularly criticised by Paul and James chapter 3). The place where the confrontation between the wisdom of men and the Wisdom of God appears most absolute and most extreme is the cross of Jesus. In a definitive sense, all these meanings of Wisdom come together in Jesus. In many New Testament texts (cf. the Prologue of John's Gospel; Col 1:1-15; Eph 1; 1 Cor 1:17-30…) the biblical authors use what was said of Wisdom in the Old Testament in speaking of Jesus.
So we can legitimately ask ourselves: why is it important for us, the disciples of Fr. de Montfort, today as we are gathered in this place, St-Laurent-sur-Sèvre, to take an interest in this figure? In fact those who wish to live the Gospel according to the spirituality of Fr. de Montfort, that is ourselves, receive through him a pressing invitation from Wisdom to set ourselves to listen to her, to be taught by her… Because one of the strongest spiritual intuitions of St. Louis Marie de Montfort is precisely to have been fascinated, seized, dazzled by this figure of Wisdom and to have contemplated Jesus of Nazareth in the characteristics of this Wisdom. It is in this sense that he speaks of him as Incarnate Wisdom. He sets forth this spiritual intuition in his writings, and he lived by it. It is the unifying element in his spirituality.
Perhaps some of you have an idea of him as someone who is 'over the top', eccentric… maybe even a little bit of a crank… It is true that he has been presented in this way by certain authors! But what we are going to try to see today is that this way of seeing him and presenting him does not really do justice to Fr. de Montfort. In reality, Fr. de Montfort was someone fascinated by God, one who has contemplated him as Wisdom. He recognised in Jesus of Nazareth the traits of the Wisdom that the Old Testament speaks about, and he tried to reproduce these traits in his own life. In other words, a better knowledge of the biblical figure of Wisdom helps us on the one hand to enrich our contemplation of Jesus of Nazareth, for this draws our attention to certain particular aspects of his life and message, of his person, his ministry, his way of living among human beings… And from this flows a particular way of living as a Christian, and of situating oneself in the world and in the Church. On the other hand, a better knowledge of Wisdom helps us too to better understand Fr. de Montfort, and I hope, to make better use of his spiritual intuition today in our own world and in the context of our own being.
Thus, the more familiar we are with Wisdom, the more will we become sensitive to certain aspects of the life of Jesus, and the better will we be able to respond to our proper call as Montfortians…
Besides, in doing what we are doing now, that is seeking to know Wisdom better, we are doing nothing else than following Montfort's wishes as he cries in number 8 of The Love of Eternal Wisdom (chapter 1: To love and seek for Wisdom it is necessary to know her):
" Can we love someone we do not even know? Can we love deeply someone we know only vaguely? Why is Jesus, the adorable, eternal and incarnate Wisdom loved so little if not because he is either too little known or not known at all? Hardly anyone studies the supreme science of Jesus, as did St. Paul (Eph. 3:19). And yet this is the most noble, the most consoling, the most useful and the most vital of all sciences and subjects in heaven and on earth."
In this sense, the main thrust of my talk is going to be simple enough… we are going to look at some texts from the Old Testament which speak of Wisdom (not all of them, since that would require much more time, but perhaps this will give us a taste to take it up again!). We are going to see how that might help us to contemplate Jesus of Nazareth. what consequences this had in the life of Fr. de Montfort and Blessed Marie-Louise Trichet… and what consequences it might have for us.
Introduction - Invited to a relationship of love: Wisdom goes in search of human beings and we are called to respond.
We know that Louis Marie de Montfort found his spiritual inspiration in the love of the Divine Wisdom that he had contemplated in the Wisdom literature of the Old Testament and in the New Testament. Fr. de Montfort does a spiritual reading of the Scriptures… Besides, for one of his own major works, The Love of Eternal Wisdom, he modelled his plan on that of the Book of Wisdom (a book of the Bible)… Fr. de Montfort does not use the biblical text to confirm a doctrine he has already constructed, but for him this is the base, the foundation, the source even. Montfort is steeped in Scripture which he has for a long time read, meditated, prayed…
Wisdom, personified as a female figure, is in love with the human being. She does not address herself just to the people of Israel as a whole, but to each person, to ensure their happiness. She reveals to him or her an art of living, unknown, practical, leading to all other good things. Montfort also expresses in a spontaneous way this vision of Wisdom in chapter 6 of LEW:
LEW 64: "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."
LEW 65: "This eternal beauty, ever supremely loving, is so intent on winning man's friendship that for this very purpose she has written a book in which she describes her own excellence and her desire for man's friendship. … in it she expresses such ardent desires for the heart of man, such tender longings for man's friendship, such loving invitations and promises, that you would say she could not possibly be the sovereign Lord of heaven and earth and at the same time need the friendship of man to be happy."
LEW 66: "In her pursuit of man, she 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 her voice: You children of men, it is you I have been calling so persistently; it is you I am addressing; it is you I desire and seek; it is you I am claiming. Listen, draw close to me, for I want to make you happy!"
LEW 67: [Wisdom says] " I love those who love me and those who seek me diligently find me, and in finding me they will find good things in abundance. (…)"
LEW 68: "And now, my children, listen to me. Happy are those who keep my ways. Hear my instructions, be wise and do not ignore them. Happy is the man who listens to me, watching at my gates every day, waiting beside my door. He who finds me finds life (…)"
Montfort proclaims that the Eucharist is the proof of the desire Eternal Wisdom has for man, to the point of becoming his food (cf. LEW 71).
Montfort was captivated by this mystery. What seems to astonish him is "the ardent desire Divine Wisdom has to give herself to men".
Chapter 6 of LEW emphasises very well the different aspects of this astonishing discovery which affects the whole of his life, his prayer, his mission…
- Before the unmerited call of God, we find ourselves before a mystery
- Wisdom and man are made for each other
- Wisdom has such a desire to find human beings that she takes the initiative in going to meet them where they are and to live with them. She finds the means to "give them a more convincing proof of her love": a "book" (the Bible), then the Incarnation, death on the Cross and the Eucharist.
- It is love that makes her seek and meet human beings, what she proposes for those who find her is nothing less than happiness.
- To find her and live with her, humans must listen to her (she speaks) and watch for her.
- We are therefore invited to desire nothing other than her and to seek her with all our strength.
We have to respond to this desire of Wisdom for us:
LEW 73: "Above all else let us seek and long for divine Wisdom. (…) 'Nothing that you desire can be compared with her'. You may desire the gifts of God and even heavenly treasures, but if you do not desire Wisdom you desire always something of far less worth. If only we could realise what Wisdom actually is, i.e. an infinite treasure made for man (…) we would be longing for her night and day. We would fly as fast as we could to the ends of the earth, we would cheerfully endure fire and sword, if need be, to merit this infinite treasure."
We see, therefore, that in this relationship which Fr. de Montfort understood so well, there are, so to speak, several "movements": the first that of Wisdom who takes the initiative and comes towards humans, towards us. The second, that which involves us if we wish to respond to her and welcome her: we sit down and listen. The third, that which brings us with Her to the byways of the world.
I/ First movement - Wisdom takes the initiative: Going out of herself, going out to meet in love.
To know better who this Divine Wisdom is and the practical consequences of this mystery in the life, spirituality and mission of Fr. de Montfort and Marie-Louise of Jesus, and for our own, let us read together, with close attention, this text of Fr. de Montfort which is directly inspired by the Book of Proverbs in chapter 8, and which you know well now, for it supplies the main theme of our meeting:
LEW 66: "In his 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 have been calling so persistently; it is you I am addressing; it is you I desire and seek; it is you I am claiming. Listen, draw close to me, for I want to make you happy! (…)"
Together let us examine this text…
First of all, see where Wisdom speaks… It is in public places (along the highways, … the loftiest mountain peaks, … at the city gates, … the public squares and among the gatherings of people…) These are places of passage… they are important places for the life of human beings… They are "crossroads" where life is played out, where various influences interlace, where decisions are made… There where human beings live, suffer, love, serve…
Next let us pay attention to what Wisdom says… It is a promise of happiness… Tomorrow's conference will develop this aspect of the promise of happiness which is offered us… But it is very important not to lose sight of this: is God calls us to himself, if Wisdom invites us, it is that we might be happy.
Finally, let us note that it is she who takes the initiative for this encounter, it is she who goes most of the way to meet with men, to meet with us. It is she who takes the first step.
The book of Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) develops this image in describing Wisdom as going the round of the heavens and plumbing the depths of the abyss to find a place to pitch her tent. Finally she roots herself in humans (Cf. Sirach 24)… In the Prologue of John's Gospel or in the letter to the Philippians (Phil 2:6-11) we see a similar movement when the Incarnation is described.
This is a movement out of oneself in love, a movement which makes one take the initiative to meet the other (humans) through renunciation and self-stripping… And it is easy to see Jesus of Nazareth in this light… Is this not the first image of Jesus-Wisdom? Look at him… It is He, the one who (unlike the foxes in their lairs and the birds in their nests) has nowhere to lay his head (Matt 8:20). It is He, the preacher who roams Palestine far and wide, the obedient Son whose last journey (both interior and exterior) brings him to Jerusalem and the cross. He has walked among fishermen and farmers, shepherds and tax-collectors, rabbis and priests. (Examples: Mk 2:15-17 and parallel passages; Lk 3:12; Lk 7:34 and parallel passages; Lk 15:1-2; Lk 19:12; Mt 21:31-32…). In short he has walked among the people… He has gone to meet human beings to offer them the Kingdom, to offer them the possibility of living in relationship with his Father, to offer them happiness.
So can we ask ourselves what consequences might this discovery of Wisdom, who comes to us out of love, have for our own life? What does this involve for us?
II/ Second Movement - Listening to Wisdom who seeks me and calls me to the crossroads of my life. Welcoming Wisdom in my life.
Let us go back to the text of LEW 66 inspired by Prov 8. Since Wisdom speaks, calls, cries out, it is logical to say that, in order to experience to the full our encounter with her, the natural movement would consist in setting oneself to listen to her… We must sit down. We must lend an ear…
Listening to and welcoming Wisdom in our lives supposes:
A. Prayer.
In many texts, Fr. de Montfort draws our attention to the importance of prayer:
"Prayer is the usual channel by which God conveys his gifts, especially his Wisdom" (LEW 184).
It is clear that whoever decides to live in a relationship of friendship with Wisdom in prayer is not starting out on a difficult or impossible task… No, because Wisdom allows herself to be found by those who seek her, those who desire her…
"By those who love her, she is readily seen, by those who seek her, she is readily found. She anticipates those who desire her by making herself known first. Whoever gets up early to seek her will have no trouble but will find her sitting at the door…" (Wis 6:12ff)
She says: "Blessed, whoever listens to me, who day after day keeps watch at my gates to guard my portals" (Prov 8:34).
Blessed… Yes, the consequence of listening to Wisdom is indeed happiness… The stakes are not negligible, this is a matter of life or death… Both the biblical and the Montfortian texts that alert us to this crucial choice are many and striking…
Wisdom, as she says herself, is the most precious gift to which we can aspire: (Cf. Prov 8:10-11: more precious than pearls or the finest gold) for "whoever finds me finds life, and obtains the favour of Yahweh" (Prov 8:35).
Fr. de Montfort has some beautiful pages in LEW to encourage us to ask for Wisdom in prayer… In LEW he speaks of prayer as the second means to acquire Divine Wisdom (cf. chapter 15, numbers 184-193).
"The greater the gift of God, the more effort is required to obtain it. Much prayer and great effort, therefore, will be required to obtain the gift of Wisdom, which is the greatest of all God's gifts… Let us listen to the voice of Wisdom himself: 'Seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you, ask and it shall be given you.' (Mt 7.7; Lk 11.9) It is as if he said: If you wish to find me, you must seek me; if you wish to enter my palace, you must knock at my door; If you wish to receive me, you must ask for me. Nobody finds me unless he searches for me; nobody enters my house unless he knocks at my door; nobody possesses me unless he asks for me. We can only do this by prayer… 'If any of you lacks wisdom let him ask God, and it shall be given him, for God gives his gifts to all men abundantly and ungrudgingly.' (Jas 1.5) Note here that the Holy Spirit does not say, 'If anyone lack charity, humility, patience, etc.,' although these are most excellent virtues, but he says, 'If anyone lacks Wisdom.' For by asking for Wisdom we ask for all the virtues possessed by incarnate Wisdom". (LEW 184).
In numbers 185 to 190 of LEW, Fr. de Montfort makes clear what our prayer should be like to ask for Wisdom: we must ask with a lively and strong faith, without any hesitation; with a pure faith, without allowing our prayer to depend on felt consolations, visions or private revelations… Pure faith is the principle and the effect of Wisdom in our soul: the more faith one has, the more one will have wisdom; the more wisdom one has, the more one will have faith. Finally, we must ask for Wisdom with perseverance…
A disciple of Fr. de Montfort needs to open the door of his heart to Wisdom day after day… and the key to this door is prayer… He must take special care to welcome the Word in his life, and learn to contemplate Jesus in the Scriptures as Wisdom, as Fr. de Montfort did in his own contemplations. This is what Fr. de Montfort is thinking of when he says in number 193 of LEW:
"To vocal prayer we must add mental prayer, which enlightens the mind, inflames the heart and disposes the soul to listen to the voice of Wisdom, to savour his delights and possess his treasures. For myself, I know of no better way of establishing the kingdom of God, Eternal Wisdom, than to unite vocal and mental prayer by saying the holy Rosary and meditating on its fifteen mysteries."
When we pray the Rosary we meditate, in the presence of Mary, on the mysteries of the life of her Son, and we learn to contemplate him as Wisdom Incarnate.
B. Discernment
Let us recall what was said to us in the text of Proverbs 8 or in number 66 of LEW, which serves as the main theme for this meeting: Wisdom goes about to seek man in public places, in places of decision, in places of growth… This means that she is not the only voice we hear.. Her voice is mingled with various other noises… This is particularly so today in our pluralist societies… Several forms of wisdom are offered to us and our contemporaries… several possible meanings can be given to our actions, our life, our choices…
It is very important to remember this: to the person wishing to be open to Wisdom, to live according to God's art of living, to find true ways of behaving, the world makes signs by means of ambiguous things in which a path may be deciphered: it presents itself as offering clues, points of reference with which we might find a way which pleases the Lord. But if we have to sort out and scrutinise events or our own intentions, this means that there is neither clear evidence nor regulations to be respected. We have to consider these reference points as signposts on the way; they mark out a route, prevent our going astray, but only on condition that we know where we want to go. The reference points do not dispense with the necessity for a decision or a plan; in fact they presuppose these things. Nevertheless, without these reference points, the plan would lack any possibility of realisation. We have to give ourselves the means to do as little damage as possible in all circumstances.
Every disciple of Christ must practise spiritual discernment, that is, must examine, in the light of the Gospel and led by the Spirit of God, the motives which guide his personal choices, so as to discover the road to happiness and fidelity to God which daily open up before him, and act accordingly.
A disciple of Christ following the way laid out by Fr. de Montfort, owes it to himself to be particularly attentive to this aspect of life. In fact, he is constantly warning us about the true and false forms of wisdom present in our world (cf. LEW 13-14). So chapter 7 of LEW is entitled "The Choice of True Wisdom" (nos. 74-89), and is designed to warn us about the false forms of wisdom present in our world that we need to set aside in order to choose the true Wisdom which is in Jesus Christ. Certain examples given by Fr. de Montfort are a bit dated but many of his reflections retain all their relevance to today.
As in every historical period, and as in every life, Louis Marie and Marie Louise experienced in their own lives the necessity for spiritual discernment.
According to Fr. de Montfort, this need of discernment applies to all the dimensions of life, including, for example, genuine devotion to Mary which we must indeed distinguish from false devotions (TD 90).
He never gave an explicit teaching on spiritual discernment, but his writings and his life contain many clues as to how to proceed. They reveal the great importance he attached to all kinds of discernment and the facility he had of seeking and finding the ways of the Spirit in concrete circumstances, for example when it was a question of:
- the different forms of his own apostolate;
- the directions he had to give to people seeking spiritual direction from him;
- the choice to be made between the true and the false;
- the choice of what is best in any given situation.
Marie Louise gave no organised teaching, either, on discernment. But she put it into practice in her own life, and through her writings she worked out a profound orientation for her life: to seek in everything the will of God:
We could cite several concrete examples of discernment drawn from the life of Fr. de Montfort (one simple one: the choice of a priestly vocation, and another more difficult one, the type of apostolate: contemplative or apostolic life?: Letter 5).
And we could also cite several examples from the life of Marie Louise. Though punctuated by numerous moments of discernment (the choice of communities to be set up, for example), the life of Marie Louise was marked by several particularly decisive and difficult choices:
- That of her vocation (what was to be the manner of her response to the call to the religious life that she felt)
- The departure from the General Hospital in Poitiers: should she leave to go to La Rochelle or not?
- The choice of a place for the "headquarters" of the Congregation.
So we must become more and more familiar with the voice of Wisdom, so as to recognise her voice and learn to discern her presence in the midst of other voices, noises, false forms of wisdom present in our world…
C. The Eucharist
The second major symbolic gesture of Wisdom is to invite everyone, rich and poor, nobles and commoners, "those inside" and "those outside", to her banquet. She builds her house on seven pillars…
"Wisdom has built herself a house, she has hewn her seven pillars, she has slaughtered her beasts, drawn her wine, she has laid her table. She has despatched her maidservants and proclaimed from the heights above the city, 'Who is simple? Let him come this way.' To the fool she says, 'Come and eat my bread, drink the wine which I have drawn!'" (Prov 9:1-5).
In this text we see another Wisdom's ways of acting, as she gives herself to human beings… She invites them to her banquet, a banquet with all the characteristics of abundance, of non-exclusion and of love.
What is the aim of Wisdom's banquet? The sharing of food in abundance suggests the sharing of life in abundance. Nothing brings down the social barriers as effectively as the fact of eating at the same table. Nothing shows more clearly the sharing of authentic love than breaking bread together.
Finally we note that this gesture is proper to Wisdom. We do not find it with the same quality or the same depth in any of the patriarchs, prophets or judges.
Jesus has made the invitation to Wisdom's banquet in the Old Testament incarnate in his flesh.
Jesus has also torn down all barriers by the simple choice of those with whom he ate. He ate with the crowds, with sinners, with the rich; he mixed with them and excluded no-one… And it was always the banquet of abundance (cf. the baskets remaining after the multiplication of the loaves… the abundance of choice wines at Cana…).
This is a characteristic of Jesus, which is not found in the other prophets…
Cf. Matt 11:18-19: "'For John came, neither eating nor drinking, and they say, "He is possessed." The Son of man came, eating and drinking, and they say, "Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners." Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.'" (and its parallel in Lk 7:33-35: "'Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.'").
This is another way of proclaiming: "I am Wisdom"…
It is important also to note that many of the parables use the image of the meal when speaking of the Kingdom. Whether in the meals that He shared or in his teaching, we find the same three aspects: non-exclusion, abundance, love. (Levi the tax-collector (Lk 5:27-32) and Zachaeus (Lk 19:1-10); Simon the Pharisee (Lk 7:36-48); Martha and Mary (Lk 10:38-42); the multiplication of the loaves (Jn 6:5-13 / Lk 9:12-17); and Cana (Jn 2:1-12)).
Above all, at the decisive moment of his life, to show the extreme love which was to lead to the cross, it is again in the context of a meal that Jesus gathers his disciples. At the Supper, in the key meal remembered by the four gospels (Mt 26:26-29; Mk 14:22-23; Lk 22:14-18; Jn 13:2-15).
Contemplating the gestures of Jesus, Fr. de Montfort understood his open conviviality as a major gesture designed to teach both rich and poor about non-exclusion, sharing, love… Many examples in his life show how hard he tried to find ways whereby the surplus of the rich might benefit the poor who were dying of hunger; social barriers might be broken down and the "have-nots" might be welcomed among the "haves" to eat with them, or the "haves" might go among the "have-nots" to eat with them. We also find examples which demonstrate "miracles of abundance", the multiplication of resources…
But above all, Fr. de Montfort was struck by what was played out at the last meal taken by Jesus, the banquet in which Wisdom gives herself as food.
"(Jesus,) having loved those who were his in the world, loved them to the end" (Jn 13:1); "I have ardently longed to eat this Passover with you" (Lk 22:15).
Jesus made incarnate in his own flesh the invitation to her banquet made by Wisdom to all people of good will (Prov 9).
The Paschal meal is usually celebrated as a family. In inviting his disciples and apostles, Jesus breaks the strict limits imposed by the clan and the family. These disciples and apostles are destined to go about the whole world and to live out, wherever they go, the inclusiveness and abundance of Wisdom's banquet. At the Last Supper, Wisdom finds a way to be present - breaking the bread and drinking the wine - by-passing all limits of time, space, race, nationality, tribe or caste. Jesus, as Wisdom Incarnate, transcends the barriers of the social system into which he was born. Jesus, precisely as Wisdom Incarnate, incarnates in his own life the ultimate symbol of feeding the multitudes and multiplication of loaves.
Fr. de Montfort understood this and said it in his own words. There is no better résumé of the aim of the banquet of Wisdom who gives herself in love, than LEW 70 and 71. The mystery instituted by Christ is the prolongation in time of this love which pushed Eternal Wisdom to become man and to die on the cross (LEW 70 and Hymn 128,1). So that death might not separate him from men, Jesus left us the Eucharist:
"Finally, in order to draw closer to men and give them a more convincing proof of his love, eternal Wisdom went so far as to become man, even to become a little child, to embrace poverty and to die upon a cross for them. How many times while here on earth could he be heard pleading, 'Come to me, come to me, all of you. Do not be afraid, it is I. Why are you afraid? I am just like you; I love you. Are you afraid because you are sinners? But they are the very ones I am looking for; I am the friend of sinners. If it is because you have strayed from the fold through your own fault, then I am the good shepherd. If it is because you are weighed down with sin, covered with grime and utterly dejected, then that is just why you should come to me for I will unburden you, purify you and console you.'" (LEW 70)
"Eternal Wisdom, … wished to prove his love for man … and went to the extent of changing and overturning nature itself. He does not conceal himself under a sparkling diamond or some other precious stone, because he does not want to abide with man in an ostentatious manner. But he hides himself under the appearance of a small piece of bread - man's ordinary nourishment - so that when received he might enter the heart of man and there take his delight" (LEW 71).
One verse of the series of Hymns dedicated to the Eucharist, expresses in an extraordinary way the content of "The Love of Eternal Wisdom", nos. 70 & 71. It is in Hymn 129,2:
"Truly Jesus possesses / In the Eucharist / Fullness of love, / Fullness of life. / He is the infinite treasure / Since He is Wisdom; / His splendour is not tarnished / By lowering Himself to us.
We find references to the way in which Fr. de Montfort presents the Eucharist in LEW, TD, SM, MR, RS; but is most of all in the Hymns that he had sung at Mass, during Adoration, in processions, etc., that show us his thinking, his Eucharistic feelings, letting us see the fire of zeal that inspired him to help the people to understand and live the mystery of the Eucharist.
Montfort was deeply convinced that sacramental communion is a moment of vital conformity with Christ:
"The just man who receives communion / Becomes another Jesus Christ, / Filled with His spirit / And His life" (H 158,9).
The gift of the Body and Blood of Jesus has for its aim to transform us completely into Him:
"Giving His flesh to eat, / His own blood to drink, / His soul and infinite Being, / So to change us into Himself" (H 132,3).
In communion,
"Jesus and the soul form but one. / Everything between them is in common" (H 132,4).
And the Christian can say with St. Paul: "it is no longer I, but Christ living in me" (Gal 2:20).
In the context of Wisdom's banquet, Montfort suggests a common preparation before communion:
"Let us eat this living bread, let us drink this wine of angels, / Frequently, / Piously. / Let us eat, let us drink, / And we will be filled. / Let us eat, let us drink / And we shall be inebriated / And let us praise God" (H 158,9).
At a time when Communion was only received under the form of bread, such an insistence on "eating and drinking" is striking; singing this together and the plural sense of the verbs could only help pious souls to leave behind individualism to come to a better communitarian understanding of Communion.
Speaking of Wisdom's banquet is useless and meaningless unless we find creative and practical ways to make sure that abundance, inclusiveness and the service of love become a reality for the people among whom we live and work. The same is true for sharing in the Eucharist without an understanding that we do so as members of a single body which rejoices and suffers when any one of its members rejoices and suffers.
III/ Third movement - Going with Wisdom to the crossroads: the apostolic dimension of the encounter with Wisdom
Montfort and Marie Louise opened wide the door of Wisdom calling them to the crossroads of their lives… They even lived in intimate and strong union with Her…
For them, it is clear that the spiritual life is not limited to a pious life, but becomes a witness and a means of evangelisation in the world. Missionaries must let themselves be guided by the Holy Spirit without any obstacles arising from the affective or economic order (PM 7-9).
As we have seen, the explicit aim of Fr. de Montfort's spirituality is happiness. St. Louis Marie thus addresses himself to the deepest aspiration of all men and women. But Montfort and Marie Louise are not content simply with tasting this happiness for themselves. They help others to gain it too. Like Wisdom, they go out into the highways, the mountains and the towns, into all the public places that they can reach, they consecrate their lives to this, and all their energy even to the point of exhaustion and with considerable creativity.
In a concrete way, Louis Marie chose to follow the example of Wisdom going among people.
Literally he understood like other saints (St Francis of Assisi…), the need of the marginalised poor, whether in the countryside or in the towns, for this fundamental approach. We cannot understand the true depths of this need unless we experience what it is to be without a voice, always mistrusted and ignored… The presence of someone who shares with you your own experience is a proclamation for you of the good news, and so has tremendous importance.
In a symbolic sense Louis Marie understood in all its depth the metaphor of the journey: the need to continually leave behind what you have already accomplished, the need to set out on a path that leads to an unknown destination, the need to abandon the certainties and live in ambiguity and lack of security, the need to go beyond the expectations of respectable society.
Montfort, because he had encountered Wisdom and wanted to follow her way, understood that this movement towards others and especially the little ones, finds its source in love, and demands a stripping, a "coming down", a "losing"…
No doubt it would be enriching for each of you to give examples from the lives of Montfort and Marie Louise that show how they experienced this going out of themselves through love, this movement towards others, especially the little ones and the poor, a movement which implies, after Christ's example, an emptying… For example we can think of Louis Marie suffering rejection in Poitiers, at the Salpetrière… in the Rue du Pot de Fer where he was abandoned by everyone… or the Calvary at Pontchâteau… etc.
For Marie Louise, we could recall: the first Wisdom community, ten years of solitude, her mother's lack of understanding… the arrival in St-Laurent… the calumnies against the sisters in St-Laurent…
For Montfort, this comes about most of all through his preaching. Where other missionaries see the sinner, Montfort sees the 'potential' saint. We come to the classical question: is it the practice of virtue which leads to union with God, or is it union with God that issues in the practice of virtue? Many mystics, among whom we must count Montfort, prefer the second hypothesis, and he gave flesh to this in a concrete manner especially in his missions.
The choice of the simple and poor people therefore corresponds to a theological vision rooted in Scripture, according to which the Kingdom of God is offered to all but more particularly to the small, the poor and the humble. Christ himself became poor and he hides mysteriously in the poor and the suffering (H 17,14-15). Montfort and Marie Louise have great esteem for simple people and the poor, as being the most open to God's Wisdom. Holiness lies in being spiritually little (LFC 31; TD 54; L 34). If the mission is addressed to all humanity, it must always have a special regard for the poor, for, according to the words of Isaiah quoted by Jesus, "The Lord sent me to bring the Good News to the poor". They made these words their own and brought them alive in their lives in a concrete way (cf. MR 2) and a different way.
For Marie Louise this will be evident in, among other things, her indefatigable courage and her creativity in bringing the Congregation to birth. Through the most varied and difficult foundations, she takes her stand at the crossroads of her own era to reach out to prisoners, soldiers, the incurable… By dint of journeys, adaptations, fatigue, she finds, along with her sisters, new ways to reach out to the poor and to let them know they are loved; she builds an edifice "on the scaffolding of Providence"…
From this spiritual orientation, there flows the concrete love for the poor shown all their lives by Montfort and Marie Louise.
Speaking of Montfort, Besnard writes: "In the poor he could only see him (Jesus Christ). It was him that he venerated in them, and he saw them as a sacrament concealing Jesus Christ. He used to say 'a poor man is a great mystery, and we must know how to get inside him'". This is what he himself put into practice, a clear example being that of Dinan where he took the poor man on his shoulders and cried out: "Open up to Jesus Christ!".
The attitude of Montfort towards the little people consists above all in listening to them and fighting the prejudice of which they are victims. Hymn no. 18, The Cries of the Poor, is a realistic description of their painful situation; God does not blame them, but promises to intervene with justice and goodness, as in the Magnificat (H 18,7).
This would also be the practice of Marie Louise who, seeing how cold were the ill-clad poor, cried out: "Yes, if I were material, I would give myself to the poor!" She served them all her life and retained a preferential care for them until, on her deathbed she recommended: "Do not forget the poor."
We see that this way is open to all; yet among so many ways, it is a distinct and unique path to take. It has its roots in the tenderness of God, Jesus Christ, Wisdom crucified and in the maternal womb of Mary. It is a path that - adapted to the particular gifts of each one - leads each individual person and , through humanity, the universe, quickly, perfectly, directly and surely (cf. TD 168) to union with the Trinity. The power of this spirituality has been proved not only in the life of this itinerant missionary and this servant of the poor, but also in their disciples and in so many souls in the course of the centuries whose lives have been transformed by their teachings.
In fact, Montfort proposes to all, and in first place to Marie Louise, a way of life: to discover that Wisdom gives herself, to discover her love, to discover that she wants our happiness.
As for this discovery, it is a matter of responding to her love, of living in her presence and of witnessing to her so that others may live from this in their turn.
This invitation is not for an elite group but for all. They consecrate their lives to this.
IV/ The fruit of union with Wisdom: coherence of life and missionary fruitfulness
Numerous testimonies by their biographers attest to the continual presence of Jesus and Mary in the lives of Montfort and Marie Louise, and witness to the relationship in their lives of contemplation, the power of their preaching and their coherence of life. Their intimate union with Wisdom is translated into an ardent desire to live like Jesus, to be identified with him in all aspects of their lives, right up to transformation of themselves into Jesus Christ. That is what it means to acquire Wisdom: Examples:
"He showed me his New Testament and then asked me if I could find fault with anything which Jesus Christ had practised and taught … he had no other course to take but to … walk in the footsteps of Jesus Christ…" (Blain 332-333).
"I began today… to ask my lovable Jesus for the grace to speak like him and to act like him…" (Letter 9 of Marie Louise).
"As this devotion (True Devotion to Mary) essentially consists in a state of soul, ... Only the one to whom the Spirit of Jesus reveals the secret (will step into its interior). The Holy Spirit himself will lead this faithful soul from strength to strength, from grace to grace, from light to light, until at length he attains transformation into Jesus in the fullness of his age on earth and of his glory in heaven" (TD 119).
One of the consequences is the radicalism of the vision and style of life of Montfort and Marie Louise. So for Montfort, this demands:
- renouncing all glory or personal prestige;
- denouncing "false wisdom";
- proclaiming the wisdom of the Kingdom of God (an alternative wisdom).
This leads to conflict with the forces of sin and evil, and a commitment for the Kingdom.
In relaying to all the invitation of Wisdom, Montfort was coherent with his own way. The way he opens up is the one he himself followed and preached to the simple folk of the countryside of the North-West of France, at the very beginning of the 18th century.
V/ Wisdom learnt at the foot of the Cross
As we have just seen, unfortunately this path of the proclamation of the love of Wisdom, is not without conflict.
Opposition, calumny, humiliation, rivalry and obstacles arise the moment a disciple of Wisdom, with zeal and energy:
- announces (proclaims) true wisdom;
- denounces false wisdom;
- chooses a strong and public option for the poor;
- fights for justice.
There are two reasons for this:
An external reason: Whenever good appears, the forces of evil try to fight it. When interests are involved, those who benefit from them struggle to keep hold of them.
An internal reason: Even our best actions are tainted with our weakness, our helplessness, our limitations, our sin. Because we do not always enter into this movement of Wisdom, into this movement of "going towards others" through love. Unfortunately often it is rather the opposite movement that weighs with us: selfishness, self-interest…
Evil, and the resistance that always arises in the path of the disciple who dedicates his life resolutely to the service of the Kingdom… this internal and external combat is the cross.
We are not about to give here a teaching on the doctrine of the Cross in Montfort… We will have the opportunity to do that when we go to Pontchâteau in a few days' time. But it is not possible to speak about Wisdom without speaking of the Cross.
Jesus, Wisdom Incarnate, in line with all the choices that his unconditional love for us caused him to make during his life on earth, walked freely towards the Cross which presented itself to him as an unavoidable consequence of those choices made out of love. It is in the Cross that we see the ultimate revelation of the Wisdom of God, for this is the ultimate revelation of his love for us and the coherence of his life, his way of living as a human in Gods way: a love without return.
The Cross bears no other explanation or reason than love. The choice of the Cross remains astonishingly scandalous and foolish. The reason for Jesus's death on the cross cannot be rationalised; it is beyond our wisdom and our knowledge (Rom 11:33). Beyond death and suffering there gleams another abyss, the love of a God who gives himself. In God, love becomes law.
Fr. de Montfort understood this well. And like St. Paul, he had learnt in his own life that "the language of the cross is foolishness" (1 Cor 1:18). Yet he never wanted to reduce this cross, so paradoxical and shocking, to nothingness (cf. 1 Cor 1:17). With St. Paul, he preached a crucified Christ, a scandal for some and foolishness for others (cf. 1 Cor 1:23). Like St. Paul, Fr. de Montfort never wanted to find any glory other than in the Cross of Christ (cf. Gal 6:4), and his sole glory was to be crucified with him.
Fr. de Montfort's experience of Wisdom is linked with his experience of the Cross. His discovery of Wisdom is deeply rooted in the mystery of Jesus crucified. He discovers, in the midst of human crosses, the presence of the Crucified. He can no longer separate Wisdom and the Cross… In his mystical experience, God gives him the grace to discover the mystery of the relationship of Wisdom with the cross and so that of our relationship with the Cross. In this experience Louis Marie finds the strength and courage to struggle on, for the cross is a struggle.
Also, the spirituality of Fr. de Montfort on the cross is profoundly linked to the experience of the cross in his own life. Several experiences are interwoven in him to make him into a lover of the Cross:
- The experience of Incarnate and Crucified Wisdom in the mystery of the Cross which he so deeply contemplated;
- His own experience of the cross, where he discovers the presence of Wisdom;
- His experience of being present to those who suffer, are in despair or are poor.
What Montfort says on the cross (and he has some magnificent texts!) is always the fruit of an experience which is human (the cross experienced in his life and in the lives of those he meets) and spiritual (contemplation of Wisdom crucified, prayer, mystical experience of the love of Wisdom). For him, the cross is less an object of contemplation and sensible emotion as a mystery to be gone into in depth and to be lived.
Also, we must not forget the link between this mystery and that of the Incarnation. The Cross, in fact, is already written into the Incarnation. Her love for us leads Eternal Wisdom to choose, not only to become man, but to accept to die on the cross (e.g. LEW 70, 167-168).
As you know, we are going to go more deeply into this mystery of the Cross in the light of Montfortian spirituality when we go to Pontchâteau in a few days' time. But let us note now that, when Fr. de Montfort cries out "Wisdom is the Cross and the Cross is Wisdom" (LEW 180), and "Never Wisdom without the Cross, nor the Cross without Wisdom" (LEW 172), it is not the Cross that is sought for its own sake, it is divine Wisdom that wants and is seeking. He has understood that the Cross is the place where the love without return of Wisdom incarnate is expressed to the highest degree. Henceforth the two are inseparable.
CONCLUSION
We have seen that, in its fundamental structure, the way of St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort towards holiness, involves two major points: the call of God which is unmerited and loving, and the total response on all levels of the person to this voice that cries out: "It is you I am seeking" (LEW 66).
In LEW we see the clear connection between "the acquisition of Wisdom" and holiness. To acquire Wisdom is to welcome her presence in the soul and to live in her. (Cf. LEW chapter 8: The Marvellous Effects of Eternal Wisdom in the Souls of those who possess Him).
Montfort sees virtue and holiness as the consequence of union with God and not the other way round. (Cf. LEW 99). This union is a great grace: "And now let us proclaim: 'A thousand times happy is the man into whose soul Wisdom has entered to have his abode!'" (LEW 51).
For that to happen, we must listen to her, for she speaks, and set ourselves to learn from her. Marie Louise herself is supposed never to have ceased exhorting her daughters in this sense: e.g. "Listen to his voice and what he may say to you in the depths of your heart" (L 29).
We must respond to this desire of Wisdom for us:
LEW 73: "Above all else let us seek and long for divine Wisdom. … Nothing that you desire can be compared with him… You may desire the gifts of God and even heavenly treasures, but if you do not desire Wisdom you desire always something of far less worth. If only we could realise what Wisdom actually is, i.e. an infinite treasure made for man … we would be longing for him night and day. We would fly as fast as we could to the ends of the earth, we would cheerfully endure fire and sword, if need be, to merit this infinite treasure…".
Over a lifetime, the intimacy between Wisdom and ourselves makes us grow and transforms us: we are not centred on ourselves, but always turned towards the mission.
"… There is an indissoluble link between our consecration, the acquisition of Wisdom and our missionary vocation… It is useful to see this process as a movement of incessant spiralling. Being moved more and more by the touch of eternal Wisdom, we are impelled towards a growing consecration. This growing consecration leads us, in its turn, to acquire eternal Wisdom more deeply, bringing us to a growing transformation into Her and to an ever greater ardour in Her mission" (Humblet, 1993, pgs 75-76).
Hence we have laid great stress on the practical consequences which flow from union with Wisdom, the coherence of life which is its fruit. Number 102 of LEW points to this final degree of joy:
"Nothing is more consoling than to know divine Wisdom. Happy are those who listen to him; happier still are those who desire him and seek him; but happiest of all are those who keep his laws. Their hearts will be filled with that infinite consolation which is the joy and happiness of the eternal Father and the glory of the angels".
To live with Wisdom is to practice the art of living with God, of doing his will, "what is pleasing in your eyes and what agrees with your commandments" (Wis 9)… We can easily understand that the one who best took to this way is Mary of Nazareth. She is the model of the wise woman according to God… In her is accomplished the will of the Father who is pure Wisdom, in her is enfleshed the Son who is the pure concretisation and the pure transparency of Wisdom… In her there acts without any obstacles the Spirit who is the dispenser of all the gifts which are manifestations of the Wisdom of God…
May we all, with the Blessed Virgin, the Mother of God, and after her example, become wise according to the Wisdom of God, and count ourselves among the blessed who seek her, desire her, and follow her ways and put them into practice.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
COMITE DE COORDINATION POUR LA SPIRITUALITE DES FILLES DE LA SAGESSE (L. ALONSO, N. BOGLIOLO, N. JEAN-CHARLES, A. NIELSEN), Six Images bibliques pour présenter la Spiritualité Sagesse. St Laurent sur Sèvre 2006-2010, 6 booklets.
DE FIORES Stefano smm, (under his direction), Dictionnaire de Spiritualité montfortaine, , Ed Novalis, Ottawa 1994. 1360 pages. [Jesus Living in Mary: The Handbook of the Spirituality of St Louis Marie de Montfort, Montfort Publications, Bay Shore, NY, 1994, 1380 pages]
GAFFNEY Patrick smm, et allii Louis-Marie de Montfort : Théologie spirituelle. Rome, Centre International Montfortain 2002, 259 pages.
GILBERT Maurice sj, Les cinq livres des Sages, Paris, Cerf 2003, 304 pages.
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