1.7 Response
STAGE 1: Facing Reality
TRUE WISDOM
AFFIRMING THE VISION
RESPONSE
Aim: To affirm our commitment to practice the most re-commended means to obtain true Wisdom.
Reading
The infinite treasure of true Wisdom (LEW 73): “Let us seek and long for divine Wisdom. All other things that are desired are not to be compared with Wisdom […]. 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”.
Comment
According to St. Louis-Marie de Montfort, in order to respond the best way possible to the call of Wisdom, we need to avail of four important means: an ardent desire, continuous prayer, universal mortification, a loving and genuine devotion to Mary.
Ardent Desire. In LEW 183 Montfort writes: “Solomon, the model given us by the Holy Spirit in the acquiring of Wisdom, only received this gift after he had desired it, sought after it and prayed for it for a long time. ‘I desired wisdom and it was given to me. I called upon God and the spirit of wisdom came to me’ (Wis 7:7). ‘I have loved and sought wisdom from my youth, and in order to have her as my companion and spouse I went about seeking her’ (Wis 8:2.18). Like Solomon and Daniel we must be men and women of desire, if we are to acquire this great treasure which is wisdom”.
First of all, the type of desire required of us here is qualified as “ardent”. It goes with an intense experience involving our whole being and intentionality.
Then, our desire is to be focused on Wisdom Incarnate: “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” (LEW 73).
Such desire is rooted in the awareness that, it is itself a “great grace from God” and not a mere human feeling. Moreover, our desire for Wisdom is the fruit of a life of moral integrity, hence “holy, sincere and fostered by faithful adherence to the commandments of God” (LEW 182).
Continuous Prayer. In LEW 188 we read: “Those who wish to obtain Wisdom must pray for it day and night without wearying or becoming disheartened. Blessings in abundance will be theirs if, after ten, twenty, thirty years of prayer, or even an hour before they die, they come to possess it. And if they do obtain this treasure after having spent their whole life seeking for it and praying for it and meriting it with much toil and suffering, let them remind themselves that it is not a gift due to them in justice, a recompense that they have earned, but rather a charitable alms given to them out of mercy”.
Montfort’s assumption is that if we pray for Wisdom we pray for everything; if we pray for everything and not for Wisdom we pray for nothing at all. However, in order to obtain Wisdom, we need to pray “with a strong and lively faith […], with pure and simple faith, not counting on consolations, visions or special revelations, and […] with perseverance” (LEW 185-188).
Further on, speaking from his personal experience, he maintains that all the above qualities are brought to light through the practice of the Rosary: “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 mysteries” (LEW 193).
Universal Mortification. Quoting from Imitation of Christ, Montfort says: “Leave all things and you will find all things by finding Jesus Christ, incarnate Wisdom” (LEW 202). Concretely, in order to possess Wisdom:
- “We must either give up actually our worldly possessions […] or at least detach our heart from material things and possess them as though not possessing them” (197).
- “We must not follow the showy fashions of the world” in our way of living (198).
- “We must not believe or follow the false maxims of the world or think, speak or act like people of the world” (199).
- “We must flee as much as possible from the company of others […] when our association with them would be useless and a waste of time” (200).
- “We must mortify the body, not only by enduring patiently our bodily ailments, the inconveniences of the weather and the difficulties arising from other people’s actions, but also by deliberately undertaking some penances and mortifications” (201).
- “For exterior and voluntary mortification to be profitable, it must be accompanied by the mortifying of the judgement and the will through holy obedience, because without this obedience all mortification is spoiled by self-will and often becomes more pleasing to the devil than to God” (202).
Devotion to Virgin. “The greatest means of all, and the most wonderful of all secrets for obtaining and preserving divine Wisdom, is a loving and genuine devotion to the Blessed Virgin” (203).
“Happy are those who have won Mary’s favours! They can rest assured that they will soon possess divine Wisdom, for as she loves those who love her, she generously shares her blessings with them, including that infinite treasure which contains every good, Jesus, the fruit of her womb” (206).
Personal Reflection and Sharing
What is my personal response to the four means “for obtaining and preserving divine Wisdom”?
What concrete ways do I consider practicing as I continue journeying through this process of preparation for the Reign of Christ in my life?
[1-7] CALL RESPONSE COMMITMENT PRAYER