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   Nigra sum, sed formosa . Universae viae Domini misericordia et veritas Why does the Holy Virgin tell us “I am black, but beautiful—Nigra sum sed formosa”? What connection could there be between the attribution of wisdom and of blackness that signifies a state of inferiority, as can be seen in the term ‘but’? Far from excluding one another, would not these two qualifications have a link of dependence between them? Would there not be a very intimate connection between that blackness the mother of God attributes to herself and her note as first principle? To gauge the nature of this link, we must go back to the primary motive and to the universal way of God’s communication without—ad extra. But this motive is nothing other than the divine goodness insofar as it is diffusive of itself . The root of the primary way of this diffusing and of this manifestation outside is mercy. All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth—Universae viae Domini misericordia et veritas.80 That is why St.Bernard calls the mercy of God causalissima causarum—of causes the one that is most cause.81 Mercy is the first root, even of justice.“But the work of divine justice,”St. Thomas writes, always presupposes the work of mercy and is grounded in it. Nothing is owed to the creature save because of something preexisting in him, or pre-considered in him: again, if it is owed to the creature, this will be because of something prior. And since we cannot be involved in an infinite regress, we must come to something which depends solely on the good of the divine will, which is the ultimate end. For example, it is as if we should say that to have a hand is owed to man because of his rational soul; and to have a rational soul, in order that he be man; and he is a  DeKoninck-01 5/13/09 3:46 PM Page 21 man because of the divine goodness. So it is that mercy shows up in any work of God, as its first root. And its power is saved in everything consequent upon it, and even operates more strongly in it, as the primary cause has a stronger effect than does the secondary cause.82 Mercy, having the meaning of absolute universal root, extends from one end of the universe to the other. Even the sovereign dignity of the Incarnation is willed only with a view to the manifestation of the divine glory by way of mercy and justice.Any dignity other than God’s own is only a relative absolute. “The end for the sake of which the glory of God should be made manifest is by way of mercy and justice; hence because the Incarnation can accomplish this effect of manifesting mercy and justice in man’s redemption , the motive for willing the Incarnation was not the dignity of the Incarnation taken absolutely, but the Incarnation as bringing about such an effect.”83 Since it has the note of the perfectly universal root, “mercy is apparent even in the damnation of the reprobate, not as completely relaxing it, but in a way alleviating it, never punishing beyond what is due.”84 The concept of mercy includes a quite eminent perfection: it is the virtue of the superior precisely as superior. I reply that it should be said that a virtue can be the highest in two ways: in one way, taken in itself; in another way, by comparison to the one having it.—In itself indeed mercy is highest, for it pertains to mercy that it flows to the other, and, what is more, that it makes up for the defects of the other; and this belongs most to the superior. Hence to be merciful is said to be proper to God, and in it His omnipotence is especially made manifest. But with respect to the one having it,mercy is not the greatest,unless he who has it is greatest, having nothing above himself but everything else beneath him. For one who has others above himself it is higher and better to be joined to the superior than to make up the defects of inferiors . Therefore, as for man who has God superior to him, charity, by which he is united to God, is more powerful than mercy through which he supplies what is lacking in his neighbor. But of all the virtues which pertain to the...

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