In the Footsteps of St. Louis Marie de Montfort
"Footsteps Online"
Winter 2001 (Volume 6, Issue 1)
The Gentleness & Compassion of Christ Wisdom
At the recent General Chapter of the Daughters of Wisdom in Rome, at which there were delegates from all over the world, we were urged to share our spirituality and mission with others, in particular,
'…the contemplation of the gentleness and compassion of Christ Wisdom in the Gospel and in Montfort.'
In this issue, in keeping with our post-Christmas reflections and as we begin a New Year (and make those resolutions again!), we are invited to reflect on the very human face of Christ Wisdom in His gentleness and compassion, and to consider how as a Montfortian family we might daily live this gentleness and compassion in our families, communities and places of work and leisure. In the cut and thrust of today's competitive world, gentleness and compassion may not rate very highly, but in the words of Jesus,
'Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth' (Matt 5:5)
Montfort, in Love of Eternal Wisdom Ch 10- 11, asks us to contemplate Jesus in His looks, his words and his actions,
'He was pleased to clothe Himself with all human gentleness and kindness in such an attractive and visible manner....' (LEW 117)
Let us too reflect on some of these looks, attitudes, actions and words of Jesus; how He valued people and loved them and challenged them.....
Jesus looked steadily at him and loved him. Mark 10:21
The Lord turned and looked at Peter. Luke 22:61
He sat down opposite the treasury and watched the crowd putting money…. Mark 12:41
I feel sorry for all these people…. Matt 15:32
How often have I longed to gather your children as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. Matt 24:37
Then He put His arms around them laid His hands on them, and blessed them. Mk 10:16
The good person produces good things from their store of goodness…. for a person's words flow out of what fills their heart. Matt 12:35
This New Year what will fill your heart? Will it be the gentleness and compassion of Christ Wisdom in your looks, your words and actions?
Montfort in his own life and words reflected Christ Wisdom and was known by many people as 'the good Fr. de Montfort' - he surely must have pondered and prayed for this gift that he so eloquently describes in Love of Eternal Wisdom 122,
Jesus is gentle in His speech. While He was living on the earth, He won to Himself every person he met by the sweetness of His words… 'No man has ever spoken as this man'…. Even the enemies who opposed Him were taken by surprise with the eloquence and wisdom of His words. They wondered, 'Where does this wisdom come from?'
Finally, in her biography of Montfort, Papasogli reveals how Montfort himself grew in this gift of gentleness and compassion over the years in sometimes a hard-fought struggle with a nature that could be impulsive and hot-headed!
"In him we notice a consummate sign of maturity: his 'kind and gentle behaviour', his smiling pleasure at the pleasantries of the young woman who so graciously put him to the test. In other words he had achieved a human graciousness of manner which owed its origin to his complete union with him who is the essence of mercy and gentleness. Here is an open window throwing light on the end product of that long process of maturation undergone by a saint by a miracle of perseverance, one tiny seed of gentleness hidden in him had opened out fully and expanded in the light of God's sunlight."
This tiny seed truly lies within each of us - so let us open our hearts to God's sunlight and discover the wonderful gifts of gentleness and compassion this New Year 2001 !!!
