(Ecclus. 24:14–16)
In the sacred text of Ecclesiasticus, Holy Wisdom proclaims:
“I took root in an honorable people, and in the portion of my God His inheritance, and my abode is in the full assembly of saints… And I took root in an honorable people.”
The Fathers have long seen in this passage a luminous figure of the Blessed Virgin. While the literal sense speaks of Divine Wisdom, the Church, guided by tradition, applies these words to her who bore Eternal Wisdom Incarnate.
St. Bernard of Clairvaux writes that Mary is that “blessed soil” in whom the Tree of Life was planted for the salvation of the world. Wisdom “took root” in her, not merely by grace as in other saints, but in a singular and ineffable manner: the Word was made flesh in her womb.
St. Ambrose teaches that Mary is the “type of the Church in the order of faith, charity, and perfect union with Christ.” As Wisdom dwells in the “full assembly of saints,” so too does it dwell first and most perfectly in her who is both Daughter of the Father, Mother of the Son, and Spouse of the Holy Ghost.
The passage continues:
“I was exalted like a cedar in Libanus… like a palm tree in Cades.”
The cedar signifies incorruptibility; the palm, victory. The Fathers frequently associate these images with Our Lady’s virginal integrity and her triumph over the serpent. Where Eve faltered beneath the tree, Mary stands as the living Tree bearing the Fruit of salvation.
Thus, on this Marian Saturday, we contemplate not merely her privileges, but her rootedness — her total belonging to God. Wisdom took root in humility.
“Yea rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it”
(Luke 11:27–28)
In the Gospel, a woman cries out:
“Blessed is the womb that bore Thee, and the paps that gave Thee suck.”
Our Lord responds:
“Yea rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it.”
At first hearing, some have mistaken these words as a diminishment of His Mother. The Fathers unanimously reject such an interpretation.
St. Augustine explains: “Mary was more blessed in receiving the faith of Christ than in conceiving the flesh of Christ.” She first conceived Him in her heart by faith before she conceived Him in her womb by the Holy Ghost.
St. Bede echoes this: Our Lord does not deny His Mother’s blessedness; rather, He reveals its deepest cause. Why is Mary blessed? Because she heard the Word of God — “Be it done unto me according to thy word” — and she kept it with inviolable fidelity.
In this light, the Gospel becomes the highest Marian praise. Christ lifts our gaze from the physical maternity to the spiritual obedience that made that maternity fruitful. Her biological privilege flowed from her perfect discipleship.
Thus the cedar of Libanus stands tall because its roots descend deep into obedience.
The Witness of St. Valentine
On this same day, the Church commemorates St. Valentine, priest and martyr. His life reminds us that hearing and keeping the Word often demands heroic fidelity. The palm tree of Cades — sign of victory — is also the palm of martyrdom.
If Mary is the cedar and the palm in their perfection, the martyrs are branches grafted upon her example. St. Valentine kept the Word unto blood. The Wisdom that took root in Mary bore fruit in the courage of the martyrs.
A Marian Resolution
This Saturday invites us to a quiet examination:
Has Wisdom taken root in us?
It is not enough to admire the cedar. We must prepare the soil of our souls. The Fathers teach that humility, silence, and recollection make room for divine indwelling. Mary’s greatness lay not in outward display but in interior fidelity.