Le Trône de la Sagesse

by Louis Bouyer

Entre tous les livres publiés en l'honneur de la Sainte Vierge, celui-ci mérite une place à part : c'est une synthèse doctrinale, un livre de théologie mariale. C'est aussi et surtout une anthropologie surnaturelle que le Père Bouyer nous présente, une anthropologie vue sous l'angle typique de la figure de Marie. " Tous les thèmes familiers à la méditation chrétienne sont repensés par le fond, avec une force sobre et vigoureuse, méfiante pour tous les excès imprudents... Et si le protestantisme est sévèrement blâmé pour son incompréhension du mystère mariologique, l'auteur par sa connaissance intime des sensibilités réformées nous a pourtant fourni le seul livre sur ce sujet que l'on peut avec bonne conscience conseiller à un lecteur protestant. On connaît en outre les affinités du Père Bouyer avec la pensée orientale... Méthode de pensée essentiellement dialectique parce que souple et englobante, mais jamais molle, jamais diplomatique, au besoin même guerrière : un humanisme fier de sa noble ascendance : Athanase et Antoine, Citeaux avec son "amour des lettres" et son "désir de Dieu", Érasme, Newman... Et à travers tout un souci œcuménique par instinct. En Marie se trouve sauvegardée, exaltée par Dieu lui-même, la noblesse de la femme, sa créature, envers qui le Fils éternel se comporte en parfait gentilhomme. " (Hans Urs von Balthasar) -- Of all the books published in honour of the Blessed Virgin, this one deserves special recognition as a doctrinal synthesis and a book of Marian theology. But Father Bouyer also, and above all, brings us a supernatural anthropology, one viewed from the characteristic angle of the figure of Mary. 'All the familiar themes of Christian meditation are rethought in depth, with sober and vigorous force, and wariness of imprudent excess... And if Protestantism is severely reprimanded for its incomprehension as regards the Marian mystery, the author, who possesses intimate knowledge of Reformist sensibilities, has nevertheless produced the only book on this subject that one can, in good conscience, recommend to a Protestant reader. Besides, we know of Father Bouyer's affinities with Eastern thinking... 'An essentially dialectical method of thinking because it is flexible and inclusive, though never wishy-washy, never diplomatic, and can be warlike if a humanism that is proud of its noble Athanasius and Antony, Citeaux with his "love of letters' and his "desire for God', Erasmus, Newman... and, traversing everything, an instinctive concern for ecumenism. In Marie is conserved, exalted by God Himself, the nobility of woman, His creature, and towards whom the eternal Son conducts Himself as a perfect gentleman.' (Hans Urs von Balthasar)

Paperback

Published June 7, 2012

About the author

Rev. Louis Bouyer (1913-2004) was a member of the French Oratory and one of the most respected and versatile Catholic scholars and theologians of the twentieth century.

A friend of Hans Urs von Balthasar, Joseph Ratzinger, and J.R.R. Tolkien, and a co-founder of the international review Communio, Bouyer was a former Lutheran minister who entered the Catholic Church in 1939.

He became a leading figure in the Catholic biblical and liturgical movements of the twentieth century, was an influence on the Second Vatican Council, and became well known for his excellent books on history of Christian spirituality. In addition to his many writings, Bouyer lectured widely across Europe and America.

Woman in the Church (with an epilogue by Balthasar and an essay by C.S. Lewis), was one of the first three books published by Ignatius Press, in 1979. Other Ignatius Press books by Bouyer include The Word Church and Sacraments in Protestantism and Catholicism, Women Mystics, and the introduction to John Henry Newman: Prayers Verses Devotions (Bouyer wrote a biography of Newman).

He was chosen by the Pope to be part of a team to initiate the International Theological Commission in 1969.

Reviews

[Sarah Myers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fantastic exploration of the place of Mary in Christian anthropology, starting with the insight that Mary, moreso than Christ, is the figure that shows forth what it is to be redeemed humanity; Christ is God entering human nature to raise it up, Mary is the first instance and first exemplar of humanity so lifted up. Bouyer explores the Scriptural symbolic significance for our idea of human nature renewed, that the first instance of it is virgin and mother, naturally continuous with the historical covenant made with the Jewish people as that world's best fruit, and yet also the product of a special and unmerited intervention in her immaculate conception, and somehow especially associated with the divine Wisdom governing creation. I don't think this book has been appreciated as it should be, possibly because it runs counter to our prevailing currently non-ascetic mood about sex, and possibly also because Bouyer himself does not seem to have much to say about how all of this shapes Christian life. But for anyone with the patience to sit with a text that does not immediately tell you what to do with any of it, meditating upon this investigation into the meaning of Mary's life and role in salvation history will be immensely fruitful.