Prayer for Eternal Wisdom by St. Louis de Montfort

Favorite Prayers

Prayer for Eternal Wisdom

St. Louis de Montfort

Dear TIA,

Where can I find a copy of St. Louis Marie de Monfort's prayer for Divine Wisdom?

Offering my consideration and esteem, I remain,

J.C.C.D., The Philippines

TIA responds:

Dear J.C.C.D.,

In his work Love of Eternal Wisdom (Chap. 15, nn. 89-190). St. Louis de Montfort’s writes:

Whoever wishes to obtain wisdom must pray for it day and night without wearying or becoming disheartened. Blessing in abundance will be his if, after 10, 20, 30 years of prayer, or even an hour before he dies, he comes to possess it.

No, it is not those who are careless and inconstant in their prayers and study who obtain Wisdom, but those rather who are like the man in the Gospel who goes during the night to knock at the door of a friend, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread (Lk 11.15).

Note that it is Divine Wisdom itself who in this parable or story teaches us how we should pray if we wish to be heard. This man knocked and repeated his knocking and entreaties four or five times with increased force and insistence in spite of the untimely hour, near midnight, and his friend having already gone to bed; and in spite of having been rebuffed and told repeatedly to be off and not make himself a selfish nuisance. At length the friend became so annoyed by the persistence of the man that he got out of bed, opened the door and gave him all he asked for. (Lk 11.5-8)

That is how we must pray to obtain Wisdom. And assuredly God wants to be importuned, and He will sooner or later rise up, open the door of His mercy and give us the three loaves of Wisdom, that is, the bread of life, the bread of understanding and the bread of angels. (Ecclesiasticus 15.3; Jn 6.35)

Then St. Louis de Montfort offers a prayer “composed by the Holy Spirit to ask for Divine Wisdom.”

Prayer of Solomon

God of my Fathers, God of mercy, You created all things by Your word and by Your wisdom You formed man so that he might have dominion over all the creatures You have made; so that he might govern the world in fairness and justice and pronounce judgment with an upright heart. Give me this Wisdom that sits with You and on Your throne.

Do not exclude me from the number of your children, for I am Your slave and the son of Your slave [Our Lady], a man who is weak and short-lived, with little understanding of judgment and laws. For, even when a person be considered perfect among the children of men, he is, nonetheless, worthless if Your Wisdom does not dwell in him.

It is Your Wisdom who has knowledge of Your works, who was with You when You made the world and who knows what is pleasing in Your sight and shows what is right according to Your commandments.

Send forth Your Spirit, then, from Your Sanctuary in Heaven and from the throne of Your majesty, for this Wisdom to be with me and work with me so that I may know what is pleasing to You. For Wisdom possesses the knowledge and understanding of all things. It will lead me in all my works with true perception, and its power will guard me. My actions, then will be pleasing to You and I will lead Your people with justice and be worthy of the throne of my Father. For what man can know the designs of God or can discover what is His will?

The thoughts of men are unsure and their plans are uncertain, for a perishable body weighs heavily upon their soul, and the earthly dwelling depresses and disturbs the spirit by many cares. We understand only with difficulty what is happening upon earth, and we find it hard to discern even what is before our eyes.

How can we know what is happening in Heaven, and how can we know Your thoughts, unless You give us Your Wisdom and send us Your Holy Spirit from Heaven so that He may straighten out the paths of those living on earth and teach us what is pleasing to You. Lord, it is through Your Wisdom that all those who have been pleasing to You since the beginning of time have been saved. Give me, then, Your Divine Wisdom. (Chap. 15, nn. 191-193)

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Posted June 21, 2012

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