A Mother's Wisdom: The Virgin Mary in the Old Testament Wisdom Literature

The Modern Era

1. St. Louis de Montfort

While the generous contribution of St. Louis de Montfort to contemporary Mariology is obvious based on the number of references made to his work thus far in this essay, he is worth mentioning again. Besides having the distinction of being one of the most renowned Mariologists in Church history, his works also seem to have the most widespread mention of the wisdom literature in relation to Mary. De Montfort, who died in 1716, is best known for his book True Devotion to Mary. In True Devotion, he lists over sixty explicit references to Mary in the Old Testament, more than three-fourths of which are from the Wisdom books and the Psalms. Most of his wisdom references come from Sirach 24 and Proverbs 8, both prominent texts of Lady Wisdom. However, he does also mention Wisdom chapters 3 and 4 as references to the Holy Spirit and to Jesus, respectively. ¹Yet there seems to be hundreds of implicit references to the wisdom books as well as to other Old Testament writings. For example, he gives a lengthy exegesis of the story of Jacob, Esau, & Rebecca without ever citing a single Bible verse. ²He also echoes the hyperbolic language of Wisdom 7, referring to Mary as a storehouse of precious hidden treasures. ³ Another compelling fact about De Montfort's vision of Mary hidden in the wisdom texts is that the formulary for the Mass of "The Blessed Virgin Mary, Seat of Wisdom" in the 1987 Collection of Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary is taken directly from the proper of Masses of the religious order De Montfort himself founded, the Missionaries of the Company of Mary (see the liturgical section for details on this Mass). ⁴ Incidentally, de Montfort also founded an order of nuns called Daughters of Wisdom, devoted to Our Lady and the Holy Spirit.

2. Modern Magisterium

St. Louis de Montfort's work has been especially inspirational to many popes. This adds a great deal of weight to his many references to Mary and the wisdom literature. Advocates of his True Devotion to Mary include Pope Pius IX (d. 1878), Pope Leo XIII (who beatified De Montfort in 1888, and even granted a plenary indulgence for making his consecration), Pope St. Pius X (d. 1914), Pope Pius XI (d. 1939), Pope Pius XII (who canonized De Montfort in 1947), Pope Paul VI (d. 1963), and most significantly Pope John Paul II (d. 2005). ⁵Blessed Pius IX's 1854 papal bull Innefabilis Deus (which solemnly defined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception), citing wisdom literature, says, "The fathers and writers of the Church, well-versed in the heavenly scriptures,...celebrated the august Virgin as the spotless dove, as the holy Jerusalem, as the exalted throne of God, as the ark and house of holiness which Eternal Wisdom built..." Pope Leo XIII uses the title "Seat of Wisdom" in several of his encyclicals, most notably in his 1897 Militantis Ecclesiae and Aeterni Patris, which invoke Mary, Seat of Wisdom, in their conclusions. ⁶ Pope Pius XII in his 1950 apostolic constitution Munificentissimus Deus (which solemnly defined the dogma of the Assumption) says that Song of Songs 3:6, 4:8, and 6:9 all refer to the "heavenly Queen." John Paul II, as alluded to, agreed with de Montfort's writings to the point that he even took his papal motto "Totus Tuus" (which means "Totally Yours," referring to consecrating oneself entirely to Jesus through Mary) from de Montfort's writings. Indeed, he went on to call de Montfort "one of the great doctors of Marian spirituality." ⁷John Paul II also invoked Mary, Seat of Wisdom in his conclusion to his encyclical Veritatis Splendor in 1993 as well as Fides et Ratio in 1998 and several other homilies. He also had a "Mary, Seat of Wisdom" mosaic icon made in order to be reverently passed among various universities around the world.⁸ John Paul II further identified Mary as the Bride of Song of Songs, like so many before him, referencing this topic in several homilies as well as in his 1994 Letter to Families. ⁹ Pope Benedict XVI also has a profound understanding of the connection between the Virgin Mary and Wisdom. In his book entitled Daughter Zion, he says:

It has been argued that these [wisdom] texts can & should allow only a Christological interpretation. After years of wholehearted agreement with this latter view, it is ever clearer to me that it actually misjudges what is most characteristic in the Wisdom texts...a remainder, nevertheless, resists total integration into Christology. ¹⁰

He further mentions that "Wisdom" or "Sophia" is a feminine noun in both Hebrew and Greek. He also says (as mentioned earlier) that the Hebrew word for "Spirit" is feminine, and as such can refer to God the Holy Spirit in a veiled way. However there is also a distinction between God and Sophia because from a New Testament perspective, she refers both to creative Logos and to the creature, to creation and to the "fruitfulness of grace" in receiving wisdom. The humble Mary with her cry of Fiat ("Be it done") is the epitome of this fruitfulness, and in her very person, she exemplifies the true and faithful Israel. Benedict also makes strong statements about the necessity of the reading Mary into the wisdom texts:

The eradication of the Marian interpretation of sophiology ultimately leaves out an entire dimension of the biblical and Christian mystery...To deny or reject the feminine aspect in belief, or, more concretely, the Marian aspect, leads finally to the negation of creation and the invalidation of grace. ¹¹

Benedict XVI further elaborates that the "woman" of the Old Testament expresses the hope that God will rescue His people, and in the New Testament this hope receives a name in the person of Jesus Christ. Simultaneously, however, this hope of redemption has another name.

The figure of woman, until then seen only typologically in Israel although provisionally personified by the great women of Israel, also emerges with a name: Mary. She emerges as the personal epitome of the feminine principle in such a way that the principle is true only in the person, but the person as an individual always points beyond herself to the all-embracing reality, which she bears and represents. ¹²

The majority of the ideas expressed thus far are succinctly summed up by one of the most authoritative Church documents, the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The Catechism recognizes the "Seat of Wisdom" title of the Blessed Mother as well as the application of wisdom literature to Our Lady by saying in paragraph 721:

Mary, the all-holy ever-virgin Mother of God, is the masterwork of the mission of the Son and the Spirit in the fullness of time. For the first time in the plan of salvation and because his Spirit had prepared her, the Father found the dwelling place where his Son and his Spirit could dwell among men. In this sense the Church's Tradition has often read the most beautiful texts on wisdom in relation to Mary. Mary is acclaimed and represented in the liturgy as the "Seat of Wisdom." In her, the "wonder of God" that the Spirit was to fulfill in Christ and the Church began to be manifested.

This passage even cites Proverbs and Sirach in the footnotes. The magisterial testimony of Mary as Lady Wisdom of the Old Testament as well the unbroken continuity and witness of the Church Fathers proves, without question, the academic and theological soundness of the application of the wisdom literature to Mary.