St. Lawrence of Brindisi, Doctor of the Church – Christ willed “for His own sake”

A noteworthy quote of St. Lawrence of Brindisi (+1619), Doctor of the Church, was posted at AirMaria.com a few years ago here. It gives marvelous insight into the Franciscan thesis which says that the Incarnation of Christ was willed for its own sake and not primarily as a remedy to Adam’s fall. St. Lawrence says,

God is love, and all His operations proceed from love. Once He wills to manifest that goodness by sharing His love outside Himself, then the Incarnation becomes the supreme manifestation of His goodness and love and glory. So, Christ was intended before all other creatures and for His own sake. For Him all things were created and to Him all things must be subject, and God loves all creatures in and because of Christ. Christ is the first-born of every creature, and the whole of humanity as well as the created world finds its foundation and meaning in Him. Moreover, this would have been the case even if Adam had not sinned.

I have translated a few other quotes pertinent to the primacy of Christ from the Latin Mariale of the Saint which can be found at this link. I consider St. Lawrence of Brindisi a “heavyweight” when it comes to the Franciscan thesis because of his theological erudition and his deeply contemplative and penitential spirit as part of the Capuchin reform.