Mary, Seat of Wisdom, Mary: Day 145

Mary, Seat of Wisdom

Mary’s Son was Wisdom himself. As the mother in whose womb he was carried and in whose lap he sat as a Child, she is called “Seat of Wisdom.” But Blessed John Henry Newman insists that the name tells us even more about her.

Mary has one particular title in her litany because the Son of God, who is also called in Scripture the Word and Wisdom of God, once dwelt in her. Then, after she gave him birth, he was carried in her arms and seated in her lap in his first years. Thus, being as it were the human throne of him who reigns in heaven, she is called the “Seat of Wisdom.”

But the possession of her Son lasted beyond his infancy. He was under her rule, as St. Luke tells us, and lived with her in her house, till he went forth to preach—that is, for at least a whole thirty years (see Lk 2:51–52). And this brings us to a reflection about her.

If such close and continued intimacy with her Son created in her a sanctity inconceivably great, the knowledge which she gained during those many years from his conversation of present, past, and future, must also have been large, and profound, and diversified, and thorough. So even though she was a poor woman without human advantages, she must in her knowledge of creation, of the universe, and of history have excelled the greatest of philosophers; and in her theological knowledge, the greatest of theologians; and in her prophetic dis- cernment, the most favored of prophets.

Our Lady, Seat of Wisdom, pray for us! —Blessed John Henry Newman, Meditations and Devotions

IN GOD’S PRESENCE, CONSIDER . . .
If I had lived with Jesus for thirty years as Mary did, what questions might I have asked him? What might I have sought to learn from him about God and the universe he had created?

CLOSING PRAYER
From a prayer of St. Thomas Aquinas: Mary, Seat of Wisdom, I choose you as my guardian and patron of my studies. Obtain for me the grace of the Holy Spirit, so that I can understand more quickly, retain more readily, and express myself more fluently. May the example of my life serve to honor you and your Son, Jesus.

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