The Writings of Charles De Koninck: Volume 2

EGO SAPIENTIA THE WISDOM THAT IS MARY

E S The Wisdom That Is Mary MN Charles De Koninck  DeKoninck-01 5/13/09 3:46 PM Page 1 To my wife Zoé and to my daughters Godelieve and Marie-Charlotte DeKoninck-01 5/13/09 3:46 PM Page 2 I confess my own ignorance and do not hide my own pusillanimity. And yet, nothing gives me greater joy, but also nothing frightens me so much, as to speak of the glory of the Virgin Mary. —Saint Bernard, In Assumpt., sermo  The excellence of the glorious Virgin is such that every language is impotent to recount and praise it: Scripture is powerless, the prophets are powerless, and the parabolic images are also. That is why the Holy Spirit, speaking by the mouth of the Prophets, praises her not only with words but also by figures and parabolic images: because no parabolic image suffices perfectly to express her excellence, the similitudes and metaphors have been multiplied with a view to better celebrate her praise. —St. Bonaventure, De Nativitate B.V.M, sermo  DeKoninck-01 5/13/09 3:46 PM Page 3 ...