Wisdom 10: The Wisdom in Proverbs and the Wisdom Books: Jesus and Mary?

[Xavier]

Throughout the Wisdom Books, we read of Wisdom as a Person, Who delighted to be with the children of men, (e.g. Prov 8 [22] "The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his ways, before he made any thing from the beginning. [23] I was set up from eternity, and of old before the earth was made. [24] The depths were not as yet, and I was already conceived. neither had the fountains of waters as yet sprung out: [25] The mountains with their huge bulk had not as yet been established: before the hills I was brought forth: [26] He had not yet made the earth, nor the rivers, nor the poles of the world. [27] When he prepared the heavens, I was present: when with a certain law and compass he enclosed the depths: [28] When he established the sky above, and poised the fountains of waters: [29] When he compassed the sea with its bounds, and set a law to the waters that they should not pass their limits: when be balanced the foundations of the earth; [30] I was with him forming all things: and was delighted every day, playing before him at all times; [31] Playing in the world: and my delights were to be with the children of men."), the Person, Who in the primary sense, is surely Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, whom St. John calls the Word, Who had appeared also to the Prophets, as such. The purpose of this thread is to inquire reverently whether, as some liturgical texts of the Church also suggest, whether in a secondary sense they can also be applied to Mother Mary, (e.g. the power of Her intercession reaching back to Adam, see below), and whether this is one reason the inspired author sometimes says "she", and so on. Sometimes, Saints like St. Montfort, who wrote "the love of Eternal Wisdom" apply them to Jesus Himself, and say it is to be understood also in the sense that He is not only Father to us, but also, as it were, loves us as a Mother also; while other Saints seem to suggest Mary Herself in a special way manifests this love of Jesus for us. So, then, do you believe passages like the below can be applied to the Blessed Mother, in a certain way?

Careful attention should also be given to what the Rabbis called Shekinah, but never fully understood; it was considered the Ark and Burning Bush especially (which Tradition considers symbols and prefigurements of Mother Mary, because there God's Presence Dwelt in a special way - Shekinah means something like Dwelling, though the article says Glory is also almost synonymous; some say Shekinah refers to the Holy Spirit Himself, the Third Person of the Holy Trinity - but it sometimes seems to be used for God's ad extra operations, that is, His Grace, in the dispensation of which as Mediatrix, Mary plays a special role, as we Catholics know. It's also clear Yahweh and Shekinah are intimately united in Their actions, as we Catholics also know of the union of love between the Hearts of Jesus and of Mary) prefigured Shekinah. Also, the figure of a Woman with Eagle's Wings, which we see in Apocalypse 12. http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/13537-shekinah

See for E.G. Wisdom 10: What wisdom did for Adam, Noe, Abraham, Lot, Jacob, Joseph, and the people of Israel. http://www.drbo.org/chapter/25010.htm Thoughts?

[1] She preserved him, that was first formed by God the father of the world, when he was created alone, [2] And she brought him out of his sin, and gave him power to govern all things. [3] But when the unjust went away from her in his anger, he perished by the fury wherewith he murdered his brother. [4] For whose cause, when water destroyed the earth, wisdom healed it again, directing the course of the just by contemptible wood. [5] Moreover when the nations had conspired together to consent to wickedness, she knew the just, and preserved him without blame to God, and kept him strong against the compassion for his son.

[3] "The unjust": Cain.

[4] "For whose cause": Viz., for the wickedness of the race of Cain.-- Ibid. The just ... Noe.

[5] "She knew the just": She found out and approved Abraham. Ibid.

[5] "And kept him strong": Gave him strength to stand firm against the efforts of his natural tenderness, when he was ordered to sacrifice his son.

[6] She delivered the just man who fled from the wicked that were perishing, when the fire came down upon Pentapolis: [7] Whose land for a testimony of their wickedness is desolate, and smoketh to this day, and the trees bear fruits that ripen not, and a standing pillar of salt is a monument of an incredulous soul. [8] For regarding not wisdom, they did not only slip in this, that they were ignorant of good things, but they left also unto men a memorial of their folly, so that in the things in which they sinned, they could not so much as lie hid. [9] But wisdom hath delivered from sorrow them that attend upon her. [10] She conducted the just, when he fled from his brother's wrath, through the right ways, and shewed him the kingdom of God, and gave him the knowledge of the holy things, made him honourable in his labours, and accomplished his labours.

[6] "The just man": Lot.-- Ibid.

[6] "Pentapolis": The land of the five cities, Sodom, Gomorrha, etc.

[10] "The just": Jacob.

[11] In the deceit of them that overreached him, she stood by him, and made him honourable. [12] She kept him safe from his enemies, and she defended him from seducers, and gave him a strong conflict, that he might overcome, and know that wisdom is mightier than all. [13] She forsook not the just when he was sold, but delivered him from sinners: she went down with him into the pit. [14] And in bands she left him not, till she brought him the sceptre of the kingdom, and power against those that oppressed him: and shewed them to be liars that had accused him, and gave him everlasting glory. [15] She delivered the just people, and blameless seed from the nations that oppressed them.

[12] "Conflict": Viz., with the angel.

[13] "The just when he was sold": Viz., Joseph.

[16] She entered into the soul of the servant of God, and stood against dreadful kings in wonders and signs. [17] And she rendered to the just the wages of their labours, and conducted them in a wonderful way: and she was to them for a covert by day, and for the light of stars by night: [18] And she brought them through the Red Sea, and carried them over through a great water. [19] But their enemies she drowned in the sea, and from the depth of hell she brought them out. Therefore the just took the spoils of the wicked. [20] And they sung to thy holy name, O Lord, and they praised with one accord thy victorious hand.

[16] "The servant of God": Viz., Moses.

[21] For wisdom opened the mouth of the dumb, and made the tongues of infants eloquent.

[Kreuzritter]

So writes St. Bonaventure, identifying Mary with the Tree of Life:

The Angel showed John "the tree of life, bearing its fruits every month, and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of nations." The tree of life is Mary, the Mother of Life; or the tree of life is the tree of the Cross; or else the tree is Jesus Christ, the Author of Life, who is also the Fruit of Life. Those healing leaves are edifying words and deeds. If even the leaves are healing, how much more healing and life-giving is the fruit? Therefore, that we may be healed by this fruit, let us approach its tree; let us draw near, I say, to Mary. Let us pray with St. Anselm [1033-1109]: "Hear me, O Lady! Heal the soul of thy servant who is a sinner, by virtue of the blessed Fruit of thy womb, who sitteth at the right hand of his Almighty Father."

And St. Alphonsus says this is speaking of Mary:

I was exalted like a palm tree in En–ge´di, and as a rose plant in Jericho, as a fair olive tree in a pleasant field, and grew up as a plane tree by the water.

But the we have Proverbs saying of Wisdom

She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: And happy is every one that retaineth her.

That would of itself lead us to identify Wisdom, the feminine Chokmah, with Mary. But we call Jesus the fruit of Mary's womb, after Luke 1:41.

In what sense, really, is Christ the fruit of her womb? Is it not because he is himself the flower from the stem which came forth from the root of Jesse, while the root of Jesse is the house of David, and the stem from the root is Mary, descended from David, that the flower from the stem, the Son of Mary, who is called Jesus Christ, must himself also be the fruit?

After Genesis, we also call Jesus, particularly in the Eucharist, the Fruit of the Tree of Life. This, again, draws a connection between Mary and the Tree, and from the Tree to Wisdom.

[Kreuzritter]

It's worth quoting Ecclesiasticus 24 in full.

1 Wisdom praises herself, and tells of her glory in the midst of her people.
2 In the assembly of the Most High she opens her mouth, and in the presence of his hosts she tells of her glory:
3 "I came forth from the mouth of the Most High, and covered the earth like a mist.
4 I dwelt in the highest heavens, and my throne was in a pillar of cloud.
5 Alone I compassed the vault of heaven and traversed the depths of the abyss.
6 Over waves of the sea, over all the earth, and over every people and nation I have held sway.
7 Among all these I sought a resting place; in whose territory should I abide?
8 "Then the Creator of all things gave me a command, and my Creator chose the place for my tent. He said, "Make your dwelling in Jacob, and in Israel receive your inheritance.'
9 Before the ages, in the beginning, he created me, and for all the ages I shall not cease to be.
10 In the holy tent I ministered before him, and so I was established in Zion.
11 Thus in the beloved city he gave me a resting place, and in Jerusalem was my domain.
12 I took root in an honored people, in the portion of the Lord, his heritage.
13 "I grew tall like a cedar in Lebanon, and like a cypress on the heights of Hermon.
14 I grew tall like a palm tree in En-gedi, and like rosebushes in Jericho; like a fair olive tree in the field, and like a plane tree beside water I grew tall.
15 Like cassia and camel's thorn I gave forth perfume, and like choice myrrh I spread my fragrance, like galbanum, onycha, and stacte, and like the odor of incense in the tent.
16 Like a terebinth I spread out my branches, and my branches are glorious and graceful.
17 Like the vine I bud forth delights, and my blossoms become glorious and abundant fruit.
19 "Come to me, you who desire me, and eat your fill of my fruits.
20 For the memory of me is sweeter than honey, and the possession of me sweeter than the honeycomb.
21 Those who eat of me will hunger for more, and those who drink of me will thirst for more.
22 Whoever obeys me will not be put to shame, and those who work with me will not sin."
23 All this is the book of the covenant of the Most High God, the law that Moses commanded us as an inheritance for the congregations of Jacob.
25 It overflows, like the Pishon, with wisdom, and like the Tigris at the time of the first fruits.
26 It runs over, like the Euphrates, with understanding, and like the Jordan at harvest time.
27 It pours forth instruction like the Nile, like the Gihon at the time of vintage.
28 The first man did not know wisdom fully, nor will the last one fathom her.
29 For her thoughts are more abundant than the sea, and her counsel deeper than the great abyss.
30 As for me, I was like a canal from a river, like a water channel into a garden.
31 I said, "I will water my garden and drench my flower-beds." And lo, my canal became a river, and my river a sea.
32 I will again make instruction shine forth like the dawn, and I will make it clear from far away.
33 I will again pour out teaching like prophecy, and leave it to all future generations.
34 Observe that I have not labored for myself alone, but for all who seek wisdom.

If created is correct in verse 9, I can't see how Wisdom can refer to the Son. Also, the feminine language and imagery is just too strong.

[Xavier]

Nice. It's so true as the Council of Trent and its Catechism say, we can detect no difference between what was preached by the Prophets and by the Apostles - the one foretell under various types and figures what God is going to do, and the other describe by their own experience what the great God, by becoming Incarnate in Our Lord Jesus, and through Mary His Virgin Mother, have actually done for us.

Thanks for pointing out the Tree of Life imagery, with Mary as the Tree and Jesus as the Fruit, or with the Cross as the Tree and Christ Crucified the Eucharistic Fruit. We read also of the Tree of Life in the Apocalypse, Rev 2:[7] "He, that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches: To him, that overcometh, I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of my God." Rev 22:1 "[1] And he shewed me a river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. [2] In the midst of the street thereof, and on both sides of the river, was the tree of life, bearing twelve fruits, yielding its fruits every month, and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations ... [14] Blessed are they that wash their robes in the blood of the Lamb: that they may have a right to the tree of life, and may enter in by the gates into the city ... [17] And the Spirit and the Bride say: Come. And he that heareth, let him say: Come. And he that thirsteth, let him come: and he that will, let him take the water of life, freely." [the Water of Life, or the Living Waters, seem to refer to the Holy Spirit, cf. Jn 7:38-39, and as St. Ambrose comments on this passage - also symbolized by the Water flowing from the Lord's Heart] All very beautiful imagery with much to reflect and meditate on for all of us.

There is also the Fruit of the Womb in St. Luke 1:42 as you said. Sirach 24:24-25 where Wisdom [or the Seat of Wisdom, as the Church calls the Blessed Mother, like the Throne where Christ is Enthroned] introduces Herself to us as "24 I am the Mother of fair love, and of fear, and of knowledge, and of holy hope. 25 In me is all grace of the way and of the truth, in me is all hope of life and of virtue." seems to go with St. Luke 1:28 "And the Angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, Full of Grace, the Lord is with thee: Blessed art thou among women." and there is also "My memory is unto everlasting generations." in 28, which seems to be a foretelling of the Prophet fulfilled in the beautiful Magnificat of our Blessed Mother, "[46] And Mary said: My soul doth magnify the Lord. [47] And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. [48] Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid; for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. [49] Because he that is mighty, hath done great things to me; and holy is his name. [50] And his mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear him." There is also the Ark of the Covenant imagery very strong in St. Luke, pointed out by the Fathers, compare 2 Sam 6:9-11 where the Ark comes for 3 months, and brings the Lord God's blessings to the house. The Fathers also point to the role of the Blessed Mother's prayers and Her Divine Son's graces in the sanctification of St. John the Baptist, and St. Elizabeth also.

I've heard it said that even some Jews, Protestants and others including even secularists believe that Shekinah is to be the Bride of Yahweh the Holy Spirit, though not knowing this is fulfilled in Catholic Christianity. I believe the passage where St. Luke the Evangelist tells us, in 35, "And the angel answering, said to her: The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." would have been understood by those well-versed and prayerfully reading the Hebrew Scriptures as an indication that Shekinah (and Yahweh!) were now on Earth as Mary and Jesus. And thus we have Fathers and Doctors like St. Ambrose and St. Ephrem say that Immaculate Mary, as Bride of the Holy Spirit (compare also Canticle 4:7 and 6:8-9 especially which is applied to Her by the Church) is both Mother of the Church on Earth, and also especially at the Cross, symbolizes the Church's fidelity to Her Lord; at Pentecost, She Who was Full of His Grace 33 years ago, prays for the Apostles also to be filled with the Spirit, receives a deeper infilling Herself and symbolizes the Church going forth to fulfill Her mission, and already almost glorified; and finally now as Queen Crowned with 12 stars (Rev 12:1) symbolizes the Church Triumphant in Heaven. In Her, the whole history of the Virgin Daughter of Zion the Prophets speak of Who ends by becoming Mother of the Universal Church is fulfilled. It's amazing to read that many of these things were known to the Prophets and Scribes and are fulfilled in Jesus and Mary.

[Xavier]

Ven. Mary of Agreda, the Spanish Bi-locating Nun who evangelized many people - to the surprise of other missionaries! - without leaving her convent (see https://www.traditioninaction.org/History/B_013_Agreda_1.html) has an explanation given by God and Mary of Proverbs 8.

Chapter V
INSTRUCTIONS CONCERNING HOLY SCRIPTURES, AND IN PARTICULAR CONCERNING CHAPTER EIGHT OF THE PROVERBS, IN CONFIRMATION OF THE PRECEDING PAGES ...

54. This is the portion of the Proverbs, of which the Most High gave me an understanding. I understood at first, that it treats of the ideas or decrees, which were in the Divine Mind before the Creation of the world; and that, in its literal sense, it speaks of the Person of the Incarnate Word and of his most holy Mother, while in its mystical sense it refers to the holy angels and prophets. For before decreeing or forming the ideals' of the rest of the material creation, He formed and decreed their prototype, the most sacred humanity of Christ and of his purest Mother, and this is indicated by the first words.

55. "The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his ways." In God there are no ways, and his Divinity does not need them: but He made use of them, in order, that by them we may know Him and that all of us creatures, who are capable of knowing Him, may tend toward Him. In this beginning, before He formed any other ideal in his mind, because He desired to create paths and open ways in his mind for the communication of the Divinity, He decreed, as a beginning, the formation of the humanity of the Word, who was to be the highway, by which the other creatures might come to the Father (Joan. 14, 6). Joined with this decree was that of his most holy Mother, through whom his Divinity was to enter into the world, becoming man and being born from Her as God and man; therefore it is said: "God possessed me" since both were possessed by his Majesty: for as to his Divinity, He was the possession, the property, and the treasure of the Father without possibility of separation, because Father and Son are One, of the same substance and Divinity with the Holy Ghost; and also as to his humanity, the Father possessed the Son; because He himself knew and decreed the plenitude of grace and glory, which He was to bestow upon it at the moment of its creation and its hypostatical union. Moreover, as this decree and possession was to be brought about by the mediation of the Mother, who was to conceive and bring forth the Word (since He did not decide to create it out of nothing, nor form his soul and body out of any other material), it followed that He possessed Her, who was to give Him the human form. Thus He possessed and claimed Her as his own in the same instant, providing with solicitude, that in the order of grace neither the human race nor any other, should have at any time a right or a part in Her. He alone retained the full right in Her as his portion, and so much his portion as the dignity of Mother required. She alone was to call Him Son, and She alone was to be called Mother, a Mother worthy of having an incarnate God for a Son. Now as all this far surpassed in dignity the whole creation, so did it also take the precedence in the mind of the supreme Creator. Hence He says:

56. "Before He made anything from the beginning, I was set up from eternity and of old." We, in our present state, conceive this eternity of God as an interminable time. But what were the things "of old," since none had been created? It is clear that the three Persons are here spoken of, namely, that She was foreseen from the eternal ages of the Divinity, by the Beings, which alone are ancient, namely, the indivisible Trinity (since all the rest, having a beginning, are recent), that She was foreseen when only the ancient Uncreated was, and before any ideals of the future creation were formed. Between these two extremes intervened the ideal of the hypostatic union which was to be verified ad extra through the intervention of most holy Mary. Both were ordained together, immediately next to God and before any other creature, and it was the most wonderful decree ever passed or ever to be passed. The first and most admirable image in the mind of God, next to the eternal generation, was that of Christ and next to it, that of his Mother.

57. And what other order could there be in God, in whom all that pertains to Him is present at one and the same time, so that no part of His being must await the perfection of another, or one perfection ever need succeed upon others? All is well ordered in his eternal nature, and so it was and will be forever. The new ordainment, however, was that the person of the Son should become incarnate and that from his deified humanity should begin the order of God's desires and of his decrees ad extra. He was to be the Head and Ideal of all other men and creatures; for this was the most appropriate order and harmony to be instituted among creatures, that they have One, who is the first and the highest, and that from Him should descend the order of all nature, and In a special manner, of the mortals. First among them all, however, was the Mother of the ManGod, as the Supreme among mere creatures, following immediately upon Christ, and, through Him, upon the Divinity. Thus the conduits, which led the crystalline fountains of the Divinity from the eternal throne, meet first in the humanity of the Word and immediately thereafter in his holy Mother in the degree and in the manner, as it was possible for a mere creature, and as it was proper for the Mother of the Creator. It was equitable, that all the divine attributes should exert themselves in Her, without reserve, so far as She was capable; and that She be inferior only to Christ our Lord. She was to be superior in the degree of his incomparable graces to all the rest of the creatures, that are deserving of graces and gifts. This then was the order, so well instituted by the eternal wisdom: that all was to commence with Christ and his Mother. Therefore the text adds:

58. "Before the earth was made; and the depths were not as yet and I was already conceived." This earth was that of the first Adam; for before his creation was decreed, and before the abysses of the ideas ad extra were formed in the divine mind, the likenesses of Christ and of his Mother were already conceived. The forms are called abysses, because there is an infinite distance between the being of God and that of creatures. This distance was measured (speaking according to our own way of understanding), when the ideals of the creatures were formed; for then these very abysses were formed. Not only was the Word [Jesus] conceived before all these by eternal generation from the Father, but His temporal generation from the Virgin Mother full of grace, had already been decreed and conceived in the divine mind. Inasmuch as no efficacious and complete decree of this temporal generation could exist without at the same time including his Mother, and such a Mother, the most holy Mary, was then and there conceived within that beautiful Immensity, and Her eternal record was written in the bosom of the Divinity, in order that for all the ages it should never be blotted out. She was stamped and delineated in the mind of the eternal Artificer and possessed the inseparable embraces of his love."

From: https://www.ecatholic2000.com/agreda/vol1/vol1.shtml