PONTIFICIA UNIVERSITÀ GREGORIANA ISTITUTO DI SPIRITUALITÀ THE PATH TO MYSTICAL UNION WITH CHRIST-WISDOM ACCORDING TO ST. LOUIS MARIE DE MONTFORT Tesi di Licenza in Spiritualità Moderatore : Prof. STEFANO DE FIORES Studente : P. PAUL ARNEL L. LUCERO Mat. 152546 Roma Dicembre 2002 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABBREVIATIONS . 5 INTRODUCTION . 7 Related Literature . 9 Object of the Study . 10 Originality . 11 Method . 13 Scope and Limitation . 13 Divisions . 14 I CHRISTIAN MYSTICAL EXPERIENCE . 17 1.1 Christian Experience . 17 1.2 Christian Mysticism . 18 1.2.1 Etymology . 18 1.2.2 Affective-Phenomenology . 20 1.2.3 Ontology . 22 1.3 Christian Mystical Experience . 24 1.3.1 Christ as Founder . 25 1.3.2 Christ as Foundation . 25 a) Divine Inhabitation: The Nucleus . 26 1.3.3 The Holy Spirit as the Agent . 28 1.3.4 The Cross as the Dialectic . 30 1.3.5 Mary as the Milieu . 32 1.3.6 Spiritual Marriage as the Summit . 33 1.3.7 The Blessed Trinity as the Ultimate End . 34 1.4 The Difference Between Christian Spiritual Life and Christian Mystical Life . 36 II ST. LOUIS MARIE DE MONTFORT’S MYSTICAL EXPERIENCE . 37 2.1 His Cultural and Spiritual Environment . 37 2.1.1 The Seventeenth Century France . 37 2.1.2 Spiritual Influences . 38 a) The Jesuits . 38 b) The Sulpicians . 40 c) The Bérullians . 42 i) Mysticism . 43 ii) Centrality of Christ . 43 iii) Christ Living in Us . 45 iv) Devotion to Mary . 46 3 2.2 The Principal Elements of His Mystical Experience . 48 2.2.1 Concept of Experience . 48 2.2.2 Divine Inhabitation and Transformation: In Mary . 49 a) Holy Spirit and Mary . 49 b) Baptism . 53 2.2.3 Incarnation . 54 2.2.4 The Cross . 57 2.2.5 The Trinity . 60 2.3 His Christocentric Mystical Experience . 63 2.3.1 Montfort’s Mystical Journey to Christ-Wisdom . 64 2.3.2 Christ in the Mystical Experience of Montfort . 68 a) Christ, Incarnate and Crucified Wisdom of God . 69 b) Christ, Wisdom in the Cross . 72 c) Christ, Wisdom in Mary and in Us . 74 d) Christ, Wisdom in the Poor . 75 III THE PATH TO MYSTICAL UNION WITH CHRIST-WISDOM ACCORDING TO ST. LOUIS MARIE DE MONTFORT . 77 3.1 Dynamic Movements of his Mystical Path . 77 3.1.1 Descending Movement . 77 3.1.2 Ascending Movement . 79 3.1.3 Horizontal Movement . 81 3.2 The Ultimate Goal of His Mystical Path: Christ-Wisdom . 82 3.3 The Means to Union with Eternal Wisdom . 86 3.3.1 Ardent Desire . 87 3.3.2 Continuous Prayer . 89 3.3.3 Universal Mortification . 91 3.3.4 True Devotion to Mary . 93 3.4 The Most Crucial Point: Perfect Consecration . 95 3.4.1 Its Immediate Sources . 97 a) Pierre de Bérulle . 97 b) Henri Boudon . 98 3.4.2 Its Nature . 99 a) Trinitarian and Christocentric . 99 b) Absolute and Total . 100 c) Marian . 101 d) Apostolic . 103 3.4.3 Its Expressions . 105 a) Slavery of Love . 106 b) Renewal of Baptismal Promises . 107 4 IV STAGES OF THE MYSTICAL UNION WITH CHRIST-WISDOM ACCORDING TO MONTFORT: A PASTORAL PRESENTATION . 110 4.1 First Stage: Falling in Love . 112 4.1.1 “The Love at First Sight” . 112 a) Charming Excellence of Eternal Wisdom . 113 b) The Marvelous Power of Divine Wisdom . 114 c) Wisdom’s Exceptional Goodness and Mercy . 115 d) Divine Wisdom’s Self-Sacrifice for Humanity . 115 e) Wisdom’s Captivating Gentleness . 117 f) Wisdom’s Indescribable Sorrows Out of Love for Us 117 g) Wisdom’s Utmost Expression of Love in the Cross . 118 4.1.2 Captivated by Divine Wisdom . 120 4.2 Second Stage: Courtship and Engagement . 123 4.2.1 “Dating with and Courting Wisdom in Mary” . 123 a) The Practice of the True Devotion . 127 4.2.2 Engagement: “Mutual Exchange of the Final Yes” . 129 a) Living Out of Perfect Consecration . 130 4.3 Third Stage: Spiritual Marriage . 140 4.3.1 “Spousal Union with Christ-Wisdom” . 141 4.3.2 Fidelity to Christ-Wisdom . 144 4.3.3 Lover Transformed into the Beloved . 147 4.4 Illustrations . 151 4.4.1 Figure 1 . 151 4.4.2 Figure 2 . 152 4.4.3 Explanation . 153 PASTORAL RELEVANCE AND CONCLUSIONS . 156 “The True Apostles of the Latter Times” . 156 “Christians of the Future will be Mystics” . 160 Conclusions . 162 BIBLIOGRAPHY . 167 5 ABBREVIATIONS A. Most of the quotations of Montfort’s Works are taken from God Alone, The Collected Writings of St. Louis Marie de Montfort, New York, 1995 (= GA). L Letters LEW Love of Eternal Wisdom FC Friends of the Cross SM The Secret of Mary TD True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin SR Secret of the Holy Rosary MR Methods of Saying the Rosary H Hymns PM Prayer for Missionaries B. Church Documents CCC Cathechism of the Catholic Church DV Dei Verbum DeV Dominum et Vivificantem FR Fides et Ratio GS Gaudium et spes LG Lumen Gentium MC Mystici Corporis NMI Novo Millennio Ineunte 6 C. Dictionaries, Encyclopedias, Handbooks, and Other Sources DCS M. DOWNEY (ed.), Dictionary of Catholic Spirituality, Minnesota 1993 DM L. BORRIELLO-E. CARUANA-M.R. DEL GENIO-N. SUFFI (ed.), Dizionario di mistica, Città del Vaticano 1998 DSAM Dictionnaire de spiritualité ascétique et mystique, 17 tomi, Paris 1932-1995 JLM Jesus Living in Mary, Handbook of the Spirituality of St. Louis Marie de Montfort, S. DE FIORES-P. GAFFNEY (ed.), New York 1994 NCE EA. WALSH, The New Catholic Encyclopedia, 19 vols., New York 1967 NDM S. DE FIORES-S. MEO (ed.), Nuovo dizionario di mariologia, Cinisello Balsamo 19964 NDS S. DE FIORES-T. GOFFI (ed.), Nuovo dizionario di spiritualità, Cinisello Balsamo 19997 NRT Nouvelle revue théologique RVS Rivista di vita spirituale TMPM G. GHARIB, E. TONIOLO, GAMBERO, G. DI NOLA (ed.), Testi mariani del primo millennio, 4 voll., Roma 1988- 1991. 7 INTRODUCTION Some years ago, I was assigned in a mission team in the Philippines, working in a mountainous area of the island of Cebu, called Tuburan (Spring), situated approximately 30 kilometers away from the main highway. I used to walk the distance, climbing the mountains for hours in order to reach my destination. Every Tuesday I would go there and stay with the people up to Saturday, while on Sundays I would return to our Mission House located in a nearby town. By working there for a couple of months, I started to know rather well the roads and paths leading to my place, while I became familiar with the many other barrios I had to pass before reaching Tuburan. One day however, a wise old man from the place kindly invited me to journey with him so that he could show me a shorter way. He added saying that it was not only the shortest but also the safest way because there were no snakes or wild animals on that route. It was for me a great discovery indeed! Since then, I decided to take, week after week, the shortest and safest road the wise man taught me. Reflecting on this simple experience, I believe the same is true with my spiritual journey. Day after day, week after week and year after year I walk the roads, I run the highways, I climb up mountains of Christian life with the hope to reach my goal: the goal of every baptized Christian, namely fullness of Christian life and union with God. Lumen Gentium teaches that this is the vocation of every believer: “In the Church, everyone […] is called to holiness… Thus it is evident to everyone, that all the faithful of Christ of whatever rank or status are called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of charity” (LG 39- 40). Many holy and Spirit-filled people in the history of Christianity, while following in the footsteps of Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life, have reached this state of union with God. They have reached Christian fullness and perfection. They have journeyed well by conforming their lives to that of their Teacher and Master. Drawing from their own life experience during their 8 journey, they gifted the Church with certain new spiritual ways and models for our imitation. In some respect, they are like the “old wise man” I came to know in the mission area who showed me the ‘secret road’ to easily reach my destination. We can trace in the history of the Catholic Church saints whom we believe to have reached the union with God while still living in this world. They have journeyed and were able to reach the peak of Christian maturity. Some of them have described in diaries and spiritual writings the path they themselves had followed. In many different ways, they have depicted this spiritual process, based on their very own experience of reaching the culmination point. A few of the saints have even delineated certain stages or phases in their pilgrimage towards God. St. Benedict for instance in chapter seven of his Rule describes the stages of monastic perfection consisting in twelve steps of humility. The journey culminates in what he called the perfect love of God. In the seventh century, John Climacus wrote the The Ladder of Divine Ascent, where he traces thirty steps towards perfection. Bernard Clairvaux in his On the Love of God, mentions four stages to move beyond the love of self to the love of God. Origen of Alexandria saw spiritual life as passing through three stages of purification, namely from sin to the illumination by the grace of God, and finally to a unitive resting in God.