The Crown of Excellence : Chapter 11 : § 4.5-6

Chapter 11 : The Tenth Star or Splendour of the Crown of Excellence of the Mother of God

Continuing our translation of the 1845 reprint of Fr François Poiré's Triple Crown of the Mother of God (1643 French edition).

Notre Dame des Grâces, Cotignac.(Poggi, 2020)

§ 4. The peerless qualities of her holy soul

The third peerless quality

 5   We now move on to the third splendour and this concerns her accidental glory[1]. This is a reference to certain increases in glory which the Saints experience in an extraordinary manner or which are attached to particular classes or conditions of persons. I am saying it is indeed the case that God may choose to favour His faithful servants in Heaven with an increase of accidental glory. Their happiness is an unchanging state when we are talking of essential glory, but as far as accidental glory is concerned, we must remember that God loves His Saints infinitely and so He occasionally gives them new causes for rejoicing. 

He may do this, for instance, 

    • by revealing to them something which advances His honour in a matter of interest to them all; or

    • by increasing their happiness through the fruits of the good examples and holy institutions they left behind on earth; or

    • by illuminating their souls, according to His good pleasure, with a sudden enlightenment and making their hearts burst with a delight quite out of the ordinary, all according to His good pleasure.

In all this, it is clear that none of the blessed surpassed or even came near to what the MOTHER OF GOD received, not only because of the way she was conjoined with the principle and point of origin for all these benefits, but also by reason of her own most eminent qualities. As universal cause, she partook as of right in all the particular joys of the Saints, without mentioning those which came to her privately.

Footnotes

[1] For a discussion of this and related terms, see Ch.VII HEAVEN—HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN—ESSENTIAL AND ACCIDENTAL GLORY OF THE BLESSED, from The Last Things, by Abbé A. Michel, Translated by The Rev. B. V. Miller, D.D.(1929) 

 6   The other increases in accidental glory are given according to state, being granted to particular orders and conditions of the Saints, and reserved for outstanding services performed for God in this life. Such are those privileged rewards that we refer to through the imagery of haloes and laurel crowns[1] 

associated with Holy Martyrs, Doctors and Virgins. I have already said more than once that the MOTHER OF GOD holds the keys to all the privileges and that she has full access to them. When we come to bring forward the proof, the matter will soon be settled. No-one has any doubt, for example, that she deserved to be awarded virginity’s garland. As for the crowns worn by the Doctors, I explained earlier that she performed this teaching role and acquired this mark of recognition. The Angelic Doctor[2] teaches that to obtain this award it is not necessary to preach in public by way of profession but it is sufficient to have taught and explained to others the mysteries of Religion. It might be more difficult with regard to the Martyrs’ crown since she did not pass from this life as a result of a violent death, but let us consider what certain others have to say on this, writers such as St Anselm[3] who wrote that:

all the torments of the Holy Martyrs were moderate in comparison with the suffering endured by the Mother of God and that she would never have been able to bear them without extraordinary help from Him for whom and with whom she suffered;

or St Ildphonsus[4], who observed that:

Her body may not have been struck with a physical blade but her soul was pierced by the spiritual sword of love and tenderness which was worse, for wounds to the soul are penetrate more deeply than those in the body. If death’s executioner did not come into her life, she did not flee him when she was at the foot of the cross, her station keeping;

or the venerable Abbot Guerric[5] who said that:

from the time that she gave birth to the Saviour, she underwent a martyrdom of continual languor and distress : in fear, because of the snares prepared for her Son by His enemies; in pain because of the indescribable torments she saw Him endure; in love, as she saw herself removed from the unique object of her love;

or St Bernard[6], who remarked that:

the nails which dug into the feet and hands of her Son penetrated Mary’s soul; the lance which was plunged into the Saviour’s flesh after His death pierced the glorious Virgin’s spirit, opening such a painful wound that she would never have survived it if were not that she might suffer still more. 

Or St Lawrence Justinian[7], who sums this up when he says:

Throughout the passion of her beloved Son, her heart was a true mirror of all the sufferings He endured and a perfect image of death.

Having considered what they have written, can we disagree with these same Doctors when they call her Martyr, more than a Martyr and Queen of Martyrs? 

All these privileges of glory will become more visible when we discuss the splendour of the throne upon which she was raised.

Footnotes

[1] For a discussion of the term aureola, see Ch VII in The Last Things, by Abbé A. Michel, Translated by The Rev. B. V. Miller, D.D.(1929) 

[2] In IV, dist. 49, q. 5, art. 5.. 

[3] Lib. de Excellentia Virg., c. 5.

[4] Serm. 2 de Assumpt.

[5] Serm. de Assumpt.

[6] Serm. in Signum magnum, etc.

[7] Lib. de Thriumphali Christi agone, c. 21.

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The Vladimirskaya Icon. >12th century.

SUB tuum præsidium confugimus, Sancta Dei Genitrix. Nostras deprecationes ne despicias in necessitatibus, sed a periculis cunctis libera nos semper, Virgo gloriosa et benedicta. Amen.

 

 

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam. 

© Peter Bloor 2024

The Crown of Excellence : Chapter 11 : § 4.3-4

Chapter 11 : The Tenth Star or Splendour of the Crown of Excellence of the Mother of God

Continuing our translation of the 1845 reprint of Fr François Poiré's Triple Crown of the Mother of God (1643 French edition).

Notre Dame des Grâces, Cotignac.(Poggi, 2020)

§ 4. The peerless qualities of her holy soul

The second peerless quality

 3   The second splendour of her glory is more tailored to our capacities inasmuch as it concerns those effects which, having their origin in God as the first cause and sovereign idea of all things, are the ordinary steps by which we make our way to Him. 

For a better understanding of this, we need to remember what we learn from the teachers of Theology[1]  that the blessed who enjoy the presence of God see not only His interior perfections since – as He is a like a clear mirror that shows all that which has been, which is now and which shall come to be – they also discover through the fertile essence of God things which happen outside of Him. There is truly a big difference between this divine mirror and the sort of mirror we use here on earth. What we see in the latter is like a still-life, inanimate and without freedom, necessarily reflecting with due proportion everything placed in front of the glass. Things are very different however with God where the divine mirror includes intellect, will and liberty of choice in the representations He provides. Because of this, He makes visible to those who are admitted into the joyful vision of His glorious face whatever He pleases and conceals things when it seems good to Him to do so. Now this may all seem like a closed book to us and when we speak of these hidden mysteries we are like the blind when they discuss colours. 

Nevertheless, we are permitted to try and penetrate the meaning of these secrets with the help of Sacred Scriptures, the magisterium of the Church and the power of reason. On that basis, we can say that the fulfilment of happiness for each of the blessed requires God, as a matter of what is right and fitting (particularly on high where He distributes the treasures of His glory to His faithful servants), to ensure that they know everything that pertains to their state. If this were not so, then they would still have a reasonable desire that had not been satisfied and, consequently, their happiness would be defective. Now this is done in such a way that in order to give a blessed Prince, for example, satisfaction in all things pertaining to him, God shows him everything going on in his state. Similarly, in the case of the Founder of a Religious Order, He reveals everything pertaining to his Order; and to a father, things touching his family, and to all in particular the prayers that are addressed to them, and any successes in undertakings which He wishes to bring about by their means. Now, if we consider how the extent of their charity is increased in ways we are unable to describe, together with the power they have to do good for us, then reason requires them to have knowledge of what is happening around us so that by this means they will be encouraged and enabled to bring us the support we need in our trials here on earth. They will be able, moreover, to receive the satisfaction which comes to them from successful outcomes to their intercessions and interventions.

In saying this, I have no intention of downplaying the part played by God’s magnificence which does indeed touch the condition of everyone. I wish only to let it be known that there is no-one among the blessed to whom He does not grant this increase in satisfaction and contentment.

Footnotes

[1] S. Th., I p., q. 12, etc.

 4   This opens the way for us to say with confidence that the Holy Virgin discovers more things in God than any of the Saints in Heaven, and that she sees more than all of them together. In short, she sees everything[1] that God Himself sees with the knowledge that we call vision. This is the knowledge that God has of what has been, what is now and what is to come, whatever the time difference may be. The reason for this lies in what I have just said – everything that has been, that is now and that is to come, is interconnected with the eventual fulfilment of what was predestined for the chosen. All of this falls within the domain of the MOTHER OF GOD who, as I shall explain more fully in the second Part[2], was chosen as Mediatrix of salvation for all men, as an instrument of their predestination, and as Queen and Sovereign Lady for all in God’s domain. I am honour and duty bound to except from this the interior actions of the Saviour because, since He is incomparably superior to His Mother in glory and perfection, it would not be reasonable for her to proceed so far into the secrets of the Prince’s privy chamber without His permission. This alone excepted, I say once again that all which is present to the immutable eternity of God is known to the glorious Virgin but with a slight time difference, inasmuch as she absorbs it through gazing on the sovereign essence of God. This is what I think must have been expressly meant by St Germanus, Patriarch of Constantinople, when he said to Mary[3]:

Most holy Lady, thy spirit liveth in all eternity; to thee all is revealed and in thy knowledge thou seest all things.

Let us not leave this subject without considering the happy consequences of all this for ourselves, for it cannot be a matter of indifference to us knowing that we are seen by our loving Mother who is aware of what is happening around us. She knows all our needs and understands the effects her merciful interventions have on us. Since she will always watch over us with a Mother’s heart, we should pray on the one hand that she will be ever favourable to us in our needs, whilst by the same token that we will never in her presence do anything that could offend her.

Footnotes

[1] Suarez, t. II, in III p., dist. 21, sect. 3, etc.

[2] The author uses the word Traité or Treatise for the four major divisions of his work. Depending on the method of publication, a more suitable translation would be Part or, if printed separately, Volume.

[3] Serm. de Assumpt.

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The Vladimirskaya Icon. >12th century.

SUB tuum præsidium confugimus, Sancta Dei Genitrix. Nostras deprecationes ne despicias in necessitatibus, sed a periculis cunctis libera nos semper, Virgo gloriosa et benedicta. Amen.

 

 

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam. 

© Peter Bloor 2024

The Crown of Excellence : Chapter 11 : § 4.1-2

Chapter 11 : The Tenth Star or Splendour of the Crown of Excellence of the Mother of God

Continuing our translation of the 1845 reprint of Fr François Poiré's Triple Crown of the Mother of God (1643 French edition).

Notre Dame des Grâces, Cotignac.(Poggi, 2020)

§ 4. The peerless qualities of her holy soul

 1   Hincmar was the Archbishop of Rheims and wrote a biography of his predecessor St Remigius in which he describes how the day came when the great Clovis, first Christian King of the Franks, was to be baptized. 

The venerable Prelate wanted to put in place a most noble spectacle so as to arouse in French hearts a love for the Christian Religion. From the Royal Palace to the Church, he caused the streets to be decorated with the richest tapestries that had ever been seen; on high were silken drapery, exquisite cloth and other rich materials; below was a profusion of flowers and greenery, the whole route being scented with heavenly fragrances. As the King was leaving the palace with His Royal retinue, he was accompanied by the venerable old Archbishop whom he supported with his arm. The King was so impressed by the magnificent decorations that he could not forbear from asking:

“Father, is this the kingdom of which thou hast spoken so much to me and which thou hast so frequently promised?”

To which the Saint replied:

“Sire, there is much more to say, this is but the beginning of the path leading to our destination.

Concerning the subject we are discussing, I have reason to echo the Saint’s reply because readers who have already heard so much about the greatness of the MOTHER OF GOD might easily conclude that there was nothing more to say now and that we had already reached the high point of her excellence. There is indeed much more, however, since all we have discussed so far takes us only as far as the Temple of her glory where she is to receive everlasting honours in their fulness. The Saint who was Archbishop of Candia wanted to prepare his listeners for the speech he was to give on the Virgin’s great qualities. He said first[1] that they should not stop outside but enter into the Holy of Holies, giving them a firm hope of finding therein something much greater that what they had seen at the entrance to this mystical Temple. He said to them that:

before anything else, they should purify their lips with a live seraphic coal, their understanding by raising their thoughts and by a courageous rejection of all earthly attachments; and without a most special favour from the same Virgin, they cannot hope to be admitted so as to deepen their knowledge and understanding of her greatness.

Accordingly, Holy Mother, I shall need thy favour to enter into this Sanctuary in order to consider the splendours of the glory that hath been communicated to thy holy soul. I am full keenly aware that my words will be inadequate to the task of conveying the brilliance radiating therefrom. Perhaps this will prove too much for me and I should rather choose to prostrate myself at thy feet, but without losing the confidence to raise my eyes towards thy face. 

Footnotes

[1] Andr. Cretensis, Orat. 1 de Dormit. Deiparæ.

The first peerless quality

 2a   The first splendour of the glory of the Mother of God consists in the union of her blessed soul with the most holy Trinity, originating source and fount of glory. Scarcely had Mary set foot inside Heaven when God, drawing aside the veil that had previously hidden Him, revealed to her in the secrets of His divine face the incomprehensible wonders of His power, His wisdom and His goodness.  I would have much more to say on this if our previous discussions on His grace had not saved much of the time I would otherwise need to have devoted to the subject. Now, it may be supposed that the grace we receive in this life and which we turn to profit in our virtuous actions is nothing less than seed for glory, and that glory is given on high in proportion to grace in the recipient. This being so, we must of necessity conclude that because Mary’s grace was immeasurable, then her glory must have been on the same scale. Consequently, when she sees God, then although she may be far from comprehending Him, she nevertheless discovers more greatness and perfection in the divine essence than do many of the highest of the Cherubim and the most exceptional of the Seraphim. This is what St John Chrysostom means when he says in his Liturgy that she is incomparably more glorious than the Seraphim, and when St Lawrence Justinian[1] says that:

all the exaltation we admire among the blessed may be found to a much greater degree in Mary, and from this comes the astonishment of the Angels when they ask who she is.

St Ephrem, disciple of St Basil, says[2] along with St John Chrysostom that–

peerlessly she comes before all the blessed in glory; she is the wonder of the world who surpasses every other miracle; finally, she is the crown of all the Saints, but so resplendent that she dazzles the eyes of those who look upon her.

Blessed Peter Damian is quite clear on this point and says[3] that–

she not only surpasses each one in particular but all of them in general; this means that she in herself has more essential glory than all of the blessed together.

Indeed, since this has already been concluded and settled in the matter of grace, it must be taken as a decided question in respect of glory. This is the opinion of blessed St Ildephonsus when he says that[4]

just as what she has done is beyond compare, and what she has received is ineffable, then in the same way the value of the glory she has merited is incomprehensible.

This causes him to add in the following sermon that–

in order to measure it, we would need to know first what superabundance of grace filled her who received the author of grace and the Lord of Majesty coming into this world.

This why he concludes[5]–

we do not have the means to grasp this.

St Bernard adds[6] that if–

eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that love him, it would be foolish to try and explain what He set in place for her who conceived and bore Him, and who loved Him incomparably more than all others.

The words of these great Saints have given me an understanding of something said by a faithful servant of the Queen of Heaven, blessed Stanislaus Kostka. When he was a novice in the Society of Jesus, he was asked one day by Fr Jerome Platus, his Confessor, what he thought of the feast of the Assumption which was to be celebrated the following day. He replied that God had created a new glory in heaven on that day for His most holy Mother. Indeed, it had to be so because under the most adorable Trinity there was not enough glory to match the merits of the MOTHER OF GOD. In fact, she had a claim to more than had been created for all the blessed and more than would be created in the future until the end of the world.

Footnotes

[1] Serm. 1 de Assumpt.

[2] Orat. de Laudib. Virginis.

[3] Serm. de Assumpt.

[4] Serm. 2 de Assumpt.

[5] Serm. 2.

[6] Serm. 1 de Assumpt.

 2b   Perhaps we can apply to the Virgin, with due respect, the beautiful thought that St Gregory of Nyssa expresses in an Oration on the Ascension:

on the arrival of the Saviour, the angels in His vanguard did not say to those inside: Open your gates, O ye Princes of Heaven, they actually said: Lift up your gates[1], because the Saviour’s Majesty, and we can also say this of His Mother in proportion, was on such a scale that the ordinary gateways of Heaven would have been too small to give access.

 

Here is what St Ildephonsus[2] had occasion to say of this:

If only we had an idea of how overwhelmed with joy and happiness she was on this day! If we could only taste the sweetness of the Paradise where she was received! If we could only have some understanding of the honours given her by the whole of the Heavenly Court! If only we were permitted to enter into the sacred chamber containing all the great dignities heaped upon her – would not our hearts burst with joy and happiness?

In the matter of these wishes, however, all is more easily said than done. Peter Damian says of this[3]: 

Only He who raised her to this glory and she who enjoys it are able to explain it.

For my part, I have no doubt that St Augustine speaks just as candidly on this matter, as he did earlier on a similar question, when he says he is convinced that: 

as for her who received such honour, even she cannot take in its whole extent.

Consequently, perhaps all we need to know is that she is totally engulfed in floods of divine greatness. By means of the light of glory she enters further than any other into the light inaccessible[4] of the divinity, there to contemplate the Father in the Son, the Son in the Father and the Holy Spirit in both; there to recognize the height and the depth of the riches of God’s knowledge; there to discover the mysteries hidden from eternity, especially those relating to our redemption, which for the most part were realized in her and with her; there to be transformed from splendour to greater splendour by the spirit of God; and there to be filled with cascading delights that flow from this blessed possession. 

Footnotes

[1] Ps. XXIII. 7.

[2] Serm. 1 de Assumpt.

[3] Serm. de Assumpt.

[4] I Tim vi. 16.

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The Vladimirskaya Icon. >12th century.

SUB tuum præsidium confugimus, Sancta Dei Genitrix. Nostras deprecationes ne despicias in necessitatibus, sed a periculis cunctis libera nos semper, Virgo gloriosa et benedicta. Amen.

 

 

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam. 

© Peter Bloor 2024

The Crown of Excellence : Chapter 11 : § 3.6-8

Chapter 11 : The Tenth Star or Splendour of the Crown of Excellence of the Mother of God

Continuing our translation of the 1845 reprint of Fr François Poiré's Triple Crown of the Mother of God (1643 French edition).

Notre Dame des Grâces, Cotignac.(Poggi, 2020)

§ 3. The admirable privileges of her sacred body

The fourth privilege

 6   The fourth privilege of this holy body is that it was suddenly reunited with her glorious soul so as to be raised into Heaven. St John Damascene speaks of this in both Orations he wrote in honour of the Virgin’s decease. In the first of these, he says:

Thine immaculate body was not left on earth but was carried up to Heaven, as befitting for the Queen of the Universe and her who was uniquely the MOTHER OF GOD.

In the second Oration, he follows the ancient Writers in attesting[1]:

that this happened three days after her death, and this with good reason. For it was fitting, he says, that she who had received into her womb the Creator of all things should herself be received into the Eternal Tabernacles; that the beloved daughter, moreover, should be admitted into her Father’s house and that the Mother should be recognized Lady and Mistress of her Son’s Kingdom.

The celebrated historian Glycas supports this in the third part of his Annals when he says that:

Now, the holy Virgin was subject to the ordinary laws of nature as far as death is concerned, and she had been laid in the sepulchre. This notwithstanding, she overcame nature and held it in check so that neither death nor the tomb could prevent her rising from its stony confines, and she was able to be drawn from her prison, leaving no token of presence behind other than linen cloths and a napkin, like her Son.

The Emperor Leo, commonly known as the Wise and the Philosopher, was an excellent Panegyrist of the MOTHER OF GOD. In an Oration he composed for her death, which he always refers to as her dormition (in common with other Greek Authors), he addresses her with these beautiful words:

Most holy Virgin, thou who hast carried off the prize of God’s blessings, what didst thou receive today from Him who alone is great in all His works? What do we see? What do we hear? What sight do we have before our eyes? Is it not thou, most holy Lady, as the true ark of sanctification, the nuptial couch of the heavenly Spouse, singular throne of God, who art carried up into the magnificent temple built on high by the hands of the Omnipotent? Is it not thou whom He raised aloft over the choirs of Angels? Thou, I say, from whom He hath taken the robe of our mortality and whom He now doth honour in thy person? Is it not so as to receive thee in due recognition of thy merits that the blessed Spirits have been arrayed in formation?

These are the words of this great Prince who was greatly devoted to the Virgin. They would provide me with the opportunity, if I wished to take it, to describe the second reception Heaven laid on for our princess. Three days after the first, her blessed soul was accompanied by the whole of the heavenly Court and by her beloved Son when coming down to the sepulchre to be reunited with her body. Suddenly, her remains threw off mortality and appeared brighter than an oriental pearl, and a thousand times more dazzling than the Sun. Unknown to those below, she proceeded to the throne prepared for her with a new triumph[2], but I prefer to leave readers here with their own thoughts rather lest I might dim the scene with my inadequate words.

Footnotes

[1] Juvenalis Archiepis. Hieros., in Euthymiaca Hist., lib. III, c. 40 ; Metaphast., Orat. de Vita et Dormit. B. Virg. ; Niceph., lib. II Hist. Eccles., c. 23.

[2] S. Athanas., Homil. de Sanctiss. Deipara ; Sophron., Serm. de Assumpt. ; S. August., Serm. de Assumpt. ; et alii plurimi apud Christoph. a Castro, Hist. Deipar., c. 20, nº 10.

The fifth privilege

 7   Before moving on to consider the remaining prerogatives of this holy body, I need to mention the fifth privilege which pertains to the tomb which the body had just left behind, since all the graces with which this lifeless rock had been honoured by God were granted because of that body which had for a while been contained therein. St John Damascene[1] provides us with a revealing insight when he talks to the sepulchre of the most blessed Virgin as though it were gifted with knowledge and reason.

Well then O Sepulchre, thou who art the most honourable and the most holy of all such that have ever been, after that only of the Saviour Himself – where can now be found that pure gold which the Apostles entrusted to thee? What hath become of the inexhaustible riches thou didst receive?  What news canst thou give us of that living, mystical table of proposition? Where is the new book wherein the Divine Word was written, not with man's hand but in a manner ineffable? What hath become now of those bottomless depths of Heaven’s graces? What now of the source of miraculous healing? What now of the fountain of life? To be quite clear, what hath become of the body most wondrous of the blessed MOTHER OF GOD?

But to what end, asks the sepulchre, dost thou seek in the house of the dead her who is alive? And why dost thou call me to render an account as though it were in my power to go against divine ordinances? Indeed it is with great sadness that I have lost my tenant, but although the body is no longer with me, I have received ample payment for the tenancy. I have inherited the linen cloths which are more precious than all the riches in the world; I have been indued with the balm of a heavenly fragrance; I have been filled with divine virtue, I have been made a temple worthy of every honour and I am guarded on all sides by a garrison of hand-picked troops drawn from heaven. From now on, I am become the terror of demons, a comfort for the afflicted and a refuge for sinners. Come and hasten unto me whoever ye may be, all ye who seek to be delivered from some evil or to rejoice in some blessing, for God hath set no limits to His liberality starting from the moment that the fount of joy came into me and I had access to the rich vein of these heavenly treasures.

Footnotes

[1] Orat. 2 de Dormit. S. Mariæ.

The sixth privilege

 8   Finally, we come to the now glorious body of this triumphant Queen and the last privilege that I have chosen to highlight. Above all the exceptional qualities that we usually associate with the bodies of the blessed and which Mary enjoys in a superabundant way, her own body has a unique splendour which is quite incommunicable to any other, as though partaking of the indescribable brilliance emanating from the Saviour Himself. Hers is a splendour that she possesses through being called MOTHER OF GOD, the insignia of her royalty and the absolute power that she has in the Court of her Son. It is a splendour so gentle and loveable, as I will show later[1], that one of the first features of the glory enjoyed by the blessed is to see the surpassing beauty of Mary’s wondrous countenance.

St Bernard makes this clear in his first Sermon on the Assumption Here are his words:

On this day, the glorious Virgin was assumed into Heaven and there she overwhelmed the inhabitants with joy as they felt an extraordinary surge of happiness in their hearts. The infant John the Baptist was still held in the confines of his mother’s womb when he sensed Mary’s presence; the sound of her gentle voice made his heart melt and he leapt for joy. Try to imagine the rejoicing of those blessed not only to hear her sweet voice but to gaze upon her beautiful countenance and delight in her blessed presence!

The Saint then continues:

As for ourselves, my dear people, it should be realized that we too have good reason to rejoice like them, because the whole world experiences the glory of Mary. This is especially true in Heaven where her dazzling splendour shone all around when her virginal lamp, so to speak, was set in the place of honour on the high table at the feast.

 

O countenance divine and adorable, sought out by the Angels to gaze upon in contemplation! When will that happy day arrive that allows us to see thee face to face, and to partake of the sweet gentleness thy holy presence doth spread throughout all Paradise?

Footnotes

[1] Cap. 13.

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The Vladimirskaya Icon. >12th century.

SUB tuum præsidium confugimus, Sancta Dei Genitrix. Nostras deprecationes ne despicias in necessitatibus, sed a periculis cunctis libera nos semper, Virgo gloriosa et benedicta. Amen.

 

 

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam. 

© Peter Bloor 2024

The Crown of Excellence : Chapter 11 : § 3.3-5

Chapter 11 : The Tenth Star or Splendour of the Crown of Excellence of the Mother of God

Continuing our translation of the 1845 reprint of Fr François Poiré's Triple Crown of the Mother of God (1643 French edition).

Notre Dame des Grâces, Cotignac.(Poggi, 2020)

§ 3. The admirable privileges of her sacred body

The second privilege

 3   The Holy Apostles and those following the cortège finally arrived in the valley of Gethsemani where the Saviour’s sweat had become as drops of blood. There a sepulchre had been prepared for the Holy Virgin and they placed their sweet burden on a stand specially prepared for the purpose. Once this had been done, there was no-one, from the highest to the least, who did not want to plant a last kiss and shed a final tear on the body. This last encounter caused the weeping to break out again and the sobbing grew louder as the realization dawned they would not see her again whom they had loved so dearly. They would all have been happy to stay there for the rest of their lives but finally the time came to withdraw and to place the body in the sepulchre. Once this had been done, they retraced their steps towards Jerusalem unable to speak of anything  except their praises for the Holy Virgin, their memories of the extraordinary example she had left them and the unparalleled favours God had given her and, through her, to the whole world. Perhaps they shared the sentiments of what Andrew of Crete wrote in the first funeral Oration that he left for the blessed Virgin:

What a wonder it is for us to behold her laid within this little coffin who once bore in her womb the God of the universe who could not be contained by any other place in that universe! What a wonder it is that she, who cradled in her arms the very Lord who takes His repose over the Cherubim, is now herself cradled in the coffin’s narrow embrace! What a wonder it is that the Holy Angels should have come down in such numbers to honour the passing on of this Holy Lady, just as once they honoured the incarnation within her of the King of heaven and earth!

 4   While they continue with their heartfelt lamentations and take their leave quite overcome with sorrow, let us now move forward and prostrate ourselves in heart and mind before this holy sepulchre. We shall not have to wait long before witnessing miracles being worked by God, revealing the second privilege granted to Mary’s sacred body. St John Damascene[1], along with the above-mentioned Fathers, attest to what may be found in venerable tradition:

As soon as the news of the blessed Virgin’s death started to spread through the city of Jerusalem, countless people made their way to the sepulchre. The devotion that had brought them there was rewarded by the Saviour with the way His venerable Mother helped each one with her favours. With just one touch of her sacred tomb, as before of her body, sight was restored to the blind, the lame were able to walk, the deaf to hear, and those suffering from any manner of sickness were healed in the body; and sinners immediately felt moved to repentance for their faults and were totally cleansed of their sins. In short, no-one came away from there without a favour received through the intercession of her whom God wished to honour in her body.

The same St John Damascene gives examples but we do not have the time to reproduce them here.

Footnotes

[1] Orat. 2 cit.

The third privilege

 5   The third privilege is the incorruption[1] or incorruptibility of this holy body, worthy Tabernacle of God and true Ark of the Covenant crafted from incorruptible wood. I mean that her body was incorruptible only by grace and privilege, because by nature it was a body like ours and subject to the same limitations.

Besides, says St John Damascene[2], how could it be suggested that corruption could set in where life itself had made its abode?

That would have been contrary to all law and reason, being quite unfitting for this body of the God-bearer[3], which is the expression used by this Saint. Andrew of Jerusalem, a man of exceptional merit, holiness and learning, does not hold back from saying[4] that:

the flesh of Mary suffered no more corruption after her death than it suffered adverse effects from the conception to the delivery of the Word Incarnate.

 

St Germanus, Patriarch of Constantinople[5], addresses her on this point as follows:

Thy spirit liveth on and enjoyeth the fruits of blessed eternity; and despite the laws of the sepulchre, thy flesh hath not seen corruption.

St Augustine devotes a large part of the beautiful Sermon he composed on the Assumption of the Virgin[6] to proving this truth. Here is a short excerpt:

We do not deny that she underwent death like everyone else, but the question is whether the prerogative she enjoyed of being the Temple of God would permit her to be held prisoner by this very death, subjecting her to its enslavement like everyone else, reducing her to dust and making her food for worms. We know that her Son our Saviour did not suffer the consequences of Adam’s condemnation in any way that would be improper for His divine person. In the same way, we have learned from Christian teaching to accord the same privilege to His Mother, whose holiness and grace were such that she alone merited to become the abode for God when he came down on earth. Have we perchance forgotten that she has an omnipotent Son, who said of Himself[7]: All power is given to me in heaven and in earth ? If it pleased Him to preserve the purity and integrity of His Mother when she conceived Him, why would He take care of her in the same way after her death, preventing the putrefying processes with which death would afflict her body? He who was able to preserve the seal of her virginity when He was born of her, would He not have the power or the will to preserve her from corruption after her death? It is a question here of honour for the Son and for His Mother, granted that the flesh of Jesus is that of Mary and He has a legitimate desire for this flesh to be honoured not only in His own person but also in that of His Mother. It is entirely reasonable for His throne and His nuptial couch to be where He is, and for such a precious treasure not to decay in the earth but to be preserved with the greatest care in Heaven. I would never propose this  if I did not have an entirely different conception of this sacred body from my own which has nothing that can exempt it from corruption under the general law.  With regard to Mary’s body, however, not only was it the repository of the most exceptional graces from God that had ever been seen on earth, we also have His own unequivocal promise that where He was, there also should His servants and ministers be[8]. Now, if this favour is promised to those who minister to Him, what are to say of her who fed Him, served Him and gave her help to Him until His death? If she is not near to where He is, where is she to dwell? If He cares so much for his friends that not a hair of their head shall perish, if He preserved the three children in the fiery furnace so that no hurt was in them, and Daniel in the lions’ den, how could He be forgetful of His Mother on whom He had bestowed graces and favours incomparably greater?

There you have a small excerpt from this inspired passage of the great Prelate of Africa.

Footnotes

[1] Freedom from physical corruption or decay. [OED] Cf. I Cor. xv. 42. with its references to corruption and incorruption. incorruptio: freedom from putrefaction and decay, imperishability: a (w. ref. to body, esp. of saint, or shroud); b (w. ref. to general resurrection). [DMLBS]

[2] Ibid.

[3] The French text has corps porte-Dieu, which seems to derive from the Latin Deipara and the Greek θεοτόκος, meaning God-bearer. 

[4] Orat. de Dormitione Virg.

[5] In Homil. de Dormitione Virg.

[6] T. IX operum ipsius.

[7] Matth. xxviii. 18.

[8] Joann. xii. 26.

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The Vladimirskaya Icon. >12th century.

SUB tuum præsidium confugimus, Sancta Dei Genitrix. Nostras deprecationes ne despicias in necessitatibus, sed a periculis cunctis libera nos semper, Virgo gloriosa et benedicta. Amen.

 

 

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam. 

© Peter Bloor 2024

The Crown of Excellence : Chapter 11 : § 3.1-2

Chapter 11 : The Tenth Star or Splendour of the Crown of Excellence of the Mother of God

Continuing our translation of the 1845 reprint of Fr François Poiré's Triple Crown of the Mother of God (1643 French edition).

Notre Dame des Grâces, Cotignac.(Poggi, 2020)

§ 3. The admirable privileges of her sacred body

 1   Whilst the members of the Church triumphant, in keeping with the privilege of that name, are feasting and rejoicing, 

the little flock of disciples in Jerusalem continue with their mourning and grief, finding what consolation they can, says St John Damascene[1], with the mortal remains of their beloved Mother.

It is as though they are vying with each other as to who will be able to embrace her feet the longest, who will weep more tears, who will kiss her hands the most dutifully and who will be fortunate enough to take away a relic that has touched her sacred body. 

In the end, however, these little consolations need to give way to the requirements of the law for the performance of her funeral obsequies.

Footnotes

[1] Orat. 2 de Dormitione Virg.; Metaphrast., Orat. de Vita et Dormit. B. Virg.; Niceph., lib. II Hist., c. 22.

The first privilege

 2   We shall begin our discussion of her privileges with one of the most remarkable funeral processions ever seen. I shall try to follow closely the account of St John Damascene[1].  After all the Fathers I have cited earlier[2], he says:

After this holy body had been washed and duly laid out in the coffin, blessed candles were lit and people began to chant the sacred Canticles, following the order that the Saviour had given, whilst Angels filled the air above[3] with their heavenly music. 

King David of old wanted to transfer the ark of the covenant[4] to the home he had built for it and he summoned the Priests, the Princes of the people and the most notable men of Jerusalem. The Priests bore the ark on their shoulders and, with all the people following and with sacrifices being offered, the ark was carried to the Temple and placed in the midst of the Tabernacle which David had prepared. In the same way, the first Princes of the Church and the foremost men amongst the laity, bowing their heads, carried the mystical ark of the new Testament to the place prepared for it. The blessed cortege made its way through the middle of the city towards the Mount of Olives with beautiful reverence and in a manner truly modest, dignified and simple. This was also reflected in the way they chanted the Psalms whilst the Holy Angels, above and around them but invisible, paid their respects and showed honour in all sorts of ways to the mortal remains entrusted to them. I read in St Gregory of Tours[5] that:

near the town of Clermont in the Auvergne there was once a maiden of exceptional virtue called Georgia. She died and on the day of her funeral they were lifting up her body so as to carry it into the town’s Church when a flock of doves appeared, flying around the cortege and following it to the Church. There, they perched on the roof and did not leave until the body had been interred and then, as though they had been given permission, they returned whence they had come.

The same Saint also recounts something even more wondrous that took place in the life of St Eulalia[6]:

Around her grave there are three trees and every year in December when her feast is celebrated these trees shed blossoms in the form of doves, white as snow, which fil the air with the fragrance of Paradise. Their appearance is a promise of a good year ahead for all the locals, but their failure to appear is a certain presage of misfortune. 

Now if doves are destined to honour purity and innocence, no creature ever deserved them more than the Virgin of Virgins who, in the words of St John Damascene[7], was that Dove most chaste and most innocent that on this day left her mortal prison and flew up to breathe the pure air of eternal joy and from there to bring us the good news of the peace we shall enjoy when we are reunited with God. 

Footnotes

[1] Orat. 2 de Dormitione Virg.

[2] S. Dionys., lib. III de Divinis nomin. ; Juvenal. Archiep. Hier., in Hist. Euthymiaca, lib. III, c. 40 ; Andr. Cretens., Orat. 2 de Dormit. Deiparæ, etc.

[3] Sophron., Serm. de Assumpt. ; S. Ildefons., Serm. 3 de Assumpt. ; S. Joann. Damasc., Orat. 2 de Dormit. B. Virg.

[4] II Reg. vi.

[5] De Gloria Conf., c. 34.

[6] De Gloria Martyrum, c. 91.

[7] footsOrat. 2 de Assumpt.tool:

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The Vladimirskaya Icon. >12th century.

SUB tuum præsidium confugimus, Sancta Dei Genitrix. Nostras deprecationes ne despicias in necessitatibus, sed a periculis cunctis libera nos semper, Virgo gloriosa et benedicta. Amen.

 

 

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam. 

© Peter Bloor 2024