"The Love of Eternal Wisdom"

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Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Not sure if many of you have read the book, “The Love of Eternal Wisdom”

I began re-reading this little treasure of a book by St. Louis Marie De Montfort, yesterday. Like his other spiritual classic "True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin " this saint writes from his heart, and from the insights he has learned from Scripture. I’ve read both books several times and yet continue to be blessed by the Wisdom God has given to this saint and to all His Saints.

I’m paraphrasing but the thought that stayed with me from my reading yesterday was that to know Jesus the Eternal Wisdom Incarnate is to know everything, but not to know Him is to know nothing!

It reminded me of Jesus’ words in John 15 that without Him we can do nothing, and also in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians reminding us that without God’s Love we are nothing. Powerful Truth to set our hearts on fire!

Come, Holy Spirit, reveal to us the fullness of Truth in Jesus, through Mary.
Mary, Mother of the Church, pray for us.
Jesus we trust in You!
O Jesus, living in Mary, come and live in your servants, in the spirit of holiness, in the fullness of your power, in the perfection of your ways, in the truth of your virtues, in the communion of your mysteries. Rule over every adverse power, in your Spirit, for the glory of the Father. Amen. – prayer of Fr. Jean Jacques Olier, S.S. (1608-1657)
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I haven’t read these books, I just wanted to say that your post reminded me of something I was reading yesterday. Job 28, especially verse 28:

And he said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.’

🙂
 
Dear sudy,

Thanks for your reply. Yes, the Book of Job is part of the Wisdom literature of the Bible and is always pointing us to the fulfillment of the Old as it is revealed in the New Testament in Jesus.

Hopefully, you may read them – they are Spiritual Classics. Pope St. John Paul II chose for his Papal Motto: “Totus Tuus” taken from the writings of St. Louis de Montfort. Although St. Louis de Montfort wrote in the 1700’s his work continues to be a blessing to many today!

Both books are inexpensive in paperback. I believe both are now online. 🙂 If you click on the links in my post I give ways to either purchase or read online.
 
Thanks again, sudy. I hope you will read them prayerfully and slowly – they are both books to be pondered and not read too fast.

As in most things if we go too fast we can miss a lot! That expression : “Slow down and smell the roses” can be applied to reading spiritual classics! These books have stood the test of time because people of every generation find in them the Truth we were born to learn and to love.

God reveals Himself first in Scripture but also in Tradition and the Magisterium.
How blessed we can be by the wisdom He has given His saints to share with us. 🙂
 
Returned to this thread today, to see if anyone besides sudy may have looked into St. Louis De Montfort’s writings.

“The Love of Eternal Wisdom” is not as well known as his classic treatise on “True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin” but both are beautiful and solid Catholic Spirituality. The more time I spend on each of these two books the more I appreciate the wisdom God has given to His saints.

The Scriptures were very important to St. Louis which is one of the reasons I so appreciate his writing. He constantly refers back to Scripture, Tradition and the Magisterium and relies on God’s Revelation rather than simply his own thinking. So many modern writers seem less inclined to do that – at least it seems that way to me. Hopefully someone else has read or is reading these two books or at least will take a look at the two links I have given above – both are online copies of the books.

I prefer reading from the books themselves but it is wonderful to have online copies as well to “cut and paste” portions on the internet. Both books are relatively inexpensive in paperback and can be purchased through Amazon online or ordered from a local bookstore. May the Lord guide you! 🙂
 
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OP: in regards to the prayer by Fr. Olier, I caution you
NOT to equate Jesus w/ Mary, that is just not True!
Jesus is the Godhead, the Second Person of the Trin-
ity, Mary doesn’t come CLOSE to "the Author and Per-
fector of our Faith!!
 
+JMJ+

Ok, I read Fr. Olier’s prayer, I did not see anything that would lead anybody to equate Jesus=Mary?

And in defense of the OP, I have been reading and following her posts and threads over the years, and she is the last person to ever think of that.
 
Dear Glam,

Your reply surprised me. Perhaps you misunderstood something. There is nothing in Fr. Olier’s prayer which “equates” Jesus and Mary. Jesus is God the Word made Flesh and Mary is His Human Mother. God is Infinite and all His human creatures, including Mary, are finite.

Fr. Olier’s Prayer, first refers to the Great Mystery of the Incarnation: By the power of the Holy Spirit, Mary conceived and the Word was made Flesh in her womb. Jesus physically lived in Mary and by His Life, Death, Resurrection and Ascension, He has won Grace for us to receive a share in Divine Life. By Our Baptism we are born again in Him. His Divine Life is in us. We live in Him spiritually by Sanctifying Grace. Jesus truly lives in us and we are enabled to grow in Holiness by His grace, as Father Olier prayed.

God of course is the Origin of all life – and of course Jesus is the Author and Perfector of our Faith. When Jesus was dying on the Cross He told John and all of us: “Behold your Mother” and John obediently took her into his home and into his life.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, in paragraph 971, states:
DEVOTION TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN

971 “All generations will call me blessed”: "The Church’s devotion to the Blessed Virgin is intrinsic to Christian worship." The Church rightly honors “the Blessed Virgin with special devotion. From the most ancient times the Blessed Virgin has been honored with the title of ‘Mother of God,’ to whose protection the faithful fly in all their dangers and needs… This very special devotion … differs essentially from the adoration which is given to the incarnate Word and equally to the Father and the Holy Spirit, and greatly fosters this adoration.” The liturgical feasts dedicated to the Mother of God and Marian prayer, such as the rosary, an “epitome of the whole Gospel,” express this devotion to the Virgin Mary.
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The word “intrinsic” is important; it means essential. I hope you will re-read the prayer, GLAM, from the perspective of John on Calvary, who saw in Mary the perfect disciple of Jesus – all that we are called to be as adopted sons and daughters of God. Hope that helps.
 
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Dear nuntym,

Thanks for your reply. So happy you saw nothing in Fr. Olier’s prayer that “equates” Jesus and Mary – I would never have posted it if it did. There may be a misunderstanding. Hopefully after a prayerful re-reading of the prayer, it may become clearer that neither St. Louis de Montfort, nor Fr. Olier wrote anything to “equate” Jesus and Mary.
 
I read, perhaps wrongly, that Jesus “clothed”
Himself w/ Mary.(The first two phrases of Fr.
Olier’s prayer). Oh, I SEE, WE need to have
Jesus Living in US, 3rd phrase, in order to
“rule over” the forces of evil… !!
 
Dear Glam,

Thanks so much for your reply. Yes, I can see how you may have read that wrongly, but God’s Ways are Perfect. Jesus “clothed Himself” with Mary in the sense that He took flesh from her flesh in His Incarnation, in order for Him Who is the Son of God and pure spirit, to suffer in the Human Nature He assumed.

It is a great Mystery indeed that God so loved the world He sent His Only Begotten Son, born of a woman, to save us. The “Hypostatic Union” – as it is termed in theology – whereby the Divine Nature and the Human Nature is united in the One Divine Person, Jesus, is a profound Mystery. The Church honors Mary in a special way since God created her sinless from her conception in the womb of her Mother to be the spotless “tabernacle of His Son”.

Yes, like Mary, we too are called to be living “tabernacles” – Jesus living in us – that by His Power we may overcome the forces of evil. Baptism makes us “temples of the Holy Spirit” and so Fr. Olier’s prayer is truly a good one to pray. Thanks for re-reading it and being open to the Truth the Holy Spirit was sent to bring all of us. Thanks for letting me know you were able to see how Jesus can live in us in a similar way as He lives in Mary. 🙂
 
Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I’m returning to this thread this morning, to see if anyone has, perhaps, begun to read this little gem among the spiritual classics: “The Love of Eternal Wisdom” by St. Louis de Montfort. Besides the inexpensive paperback edition there is also an online version HERE.

Last night, I read paragraph 193, and after 106 pages, I smiled to myself. The entire book up to this page was centered on Jesus with no mention of Mary – I say this especially to some who may fear St. Louis de Montfort gives too much attention to Mary. It seems to me, that like GLAM on this this thread some can misunderstand St. Louis. How beautiful to me was GLAM’s humility in admitting there was a misunderstanding of the prayer of Fr. Olier, which is so in tune with St. Louis de Montfort! The reward for GLAM was to discover the beauty of God’s Truth in a new way!

Jesus desires to live in us as He lived in Mary. Mary is Mother and Model for all the members of His Body the Church! On p.106, paragraph 193, St. Louis wrote:
  1. 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.
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There are 17 chapters in his little book and only in Chapter 17 does he speak of Devotion to Mary. 🙂
 
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This may be my last try on this thread – to engender any interest in this little gem of a book. 🙂

I’ve read it more than once but my last reading impressed me so much that I wanted to write this thread to see if any one else was interested in reading it or had read it.

Perhaps what impressed me most was not only St. Louis’ love for Scripture and His earnestness in praying over the Word of God but his openness to the Holy Spirit to hear God’s Truth speaking to him and his desire to share the love and truth of God he received

Take a look at the Chapter titles:
ONE: TO LOVE AND SEEK DIVINE WISDOM WE NEED TO KNOW HIM
  1. Our need to acquire knowledge of divine Wisdom
  2. Definition and division of the subject
TWO: ORIGIN AND EXCELLENCE OF ETERNAL WISDOM
  1. Wisdom in reference to the Father
  2. The activity of eternal Wisdom in souls
THREE: THE MARVELLOUS POWER OF DIVINE WISDOM SHOWN IN THE CREATION OF THE WORLD AND MAN
  1. In the creation of the world
  2. In the creation of man
FOUR: MARVELS OF WISDOM’S GOODNESS AND MERCY BEFORE HIS INCARNATION
  1. The Incarnation is decreed
  2. The time before the Incarnation
    Conclusion
FIVE: MARVELLOUS EXCELLENCE OF ETERNAL WISDOM

SIX: EARNEST DESIRE OF DIVINE WISDOM TO GIVE HIMSELF TO MEN
  1. Eternal Wisdom’s letter of love
  2. Incarnation, Death and the Eucharist
  3. The ingratitude of those who refuse
  4. Conclusion
SEVEN: CHOICE OF TRUE WISDOM
  1. Wisdom of the world
  2. Natural wisdom
  3. Conclusion
EIGHT: MARVELLOUS EFFECTS OF WISDOM IN THE SOULS OF THOSE WHO POSSESS HIM

NINE: THE INCARNATION AND LIFE OF ETERNAL WISDOM
  1. The Incarnation
  2. Life of Wisdom Incarnate
TEN: THE CAPTIVATING BEAUTY AND THE INEXPRESSIBLE GENTLENESS OF INCARNATE WISDOM
  1. Wisdom is gentle in his origin
  2. He is declared gentle by the Prophets
  3. He is gentle in his name
  4. He is gentle in his looks
  5. He is gentle in his words
ELEVEN: THE GENTLENESS OF THE INCARNATE WISDOM IN HIS ACTIONS
6. He is gentle in his actions
7. He continues to be gentle in heaven

TWELVE: THE PRINCIPAL UTTERANCES OF WISDOM INCARNATE WHICH WE MUST BELIEVE AND PRACTISE IF WE ARE TO BE SAVED

THIRTEEN: SUMMARY OF THE UNBELIEVABLE SORROWS THE INCARNATE WISDOM CHOSE TO ENDURE OUT OF LOVE FOR US
  1. The most convincing reason for loving Wisdom
  2. The circumstances of his Passion
  3. The great love with which he suffered
  4. Conclusion
FOURTEEN: THE TRIUMPH OF ETERNAL WISDOM IN AND BY THE CROSS
  1. Wisdom and the Cross
  2. The Cross and ourselves
  3. Practical conclusion
FIFTEEN: MEANS TO ACQUIRE DIVINE WISDOM
The First Means: An Ardent Desire
The Second Means: Continuous Prayer

SIXTEEN: THE THIRD MEANS: UNIVERSAL MORTIFICATION
  1. Necessity of Mortification
  2. Qualities required for mortification
SEVENTEEN: FOURTH MEANS: A LOVING AND GENUINE DEVOTION TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN
  1. Necessity of genuine devotion to Mary
  2. What genuine devotion to Mary consists in
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Read the online version: HERE
 
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I read Fr. Kiosicki’s book “Spiritual Warfare:
the Attack Against the Woman” in it he clearly
states that the Nature of the Struggle is between
the serpent and THE WOMAN, meaning the
BVM, the New Eve and between his “seed”,
the Beast or Anti-Christ and her “seed” those
who are Faithful witnesses to Christ and His
victory over death. See Gen. 3:15 and Rev. 12
 
Yes, dear Glam,

God has done marvelous things in Mary, as Scripture records. From the First Book of Genesis we can begin to hear His Plan for Jesus to come through her (Gen 3:15) and we hear of her again in the Last Book of Revelation (Rev.12).

Thanks for your reply. Hope you have an opportunity to read both of St. Louis de Montfort’s books. 🙂 He is steeped in Scripture!
 
Dear OsculeturMeOsculo,

I sincerely hope you will go back to both De Montfort’s books: his treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin and his other short but powerful book on The Love of Eternal Wisdom

So many critics of the Catholic Church’s Devotion to Mary misunderstand the Sources of God’s Revelation of Himself to us. Sacred Scripture is the primary source (and is the source most quoted in the Catechism of the Catholic Church) however God also reveals Himself in Sacred Tradition and the Magisterium of the Church. St. Louis de Montfort makes ample references to Scripture in both books and also makes use of Sacred Tradition and the magisterial teachings of his own time.

It is the Scripture references from both Old and New Testaments which I am particularly blessed by, as well as the obvious testimony of his holy life. I have read both books, and as I’ve said many times, I continue to learn from them, each time I read them. Thanks for your reply – at least you began to read – now by God’s Grace may you continue, or begin again, to prayerfully listen to this Saint’s love for Jesus through Mary expressed in his books. Pope St. John Paul II wrote that reading “True Devotion” as a young man was a turning point in his life. I believe it can be an important turning point for many of us – look at what God’s Grace coming from Divine Wisdom accomplished in Mary and through Mary in Both saints Louis De Montfort and St. John Paul II!
 
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