The Crown of Excellence : Chapter 11 : § 1.3-4

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)

Mary is the Miracle of Glory

§ 1. The great privileges of the death of the MOTHER OF GOD

The second privilege of her blessed death

 3   The second privilege of her death is the proximate cause of the separation of her blessed soul from her body. I am going to suggest this was the result of a most powerful act of love. In order to proceed in the right manner on a subject of such importance, it must be understood that there is a very great difference between the following three expressions:

    • to die in love;

    • to die for love; and 

    • to die of love or through love.

To die in love, correctly understood, means nothing other than to die in the habit of charity, or at most, to die whilst practising an act of love. To die for love is to die in defence of the love of God or of thy neighbour, so as to give one’s life for this love. Now, some risk death for the defence of the faith, others to preserve their own or others’ chastity, and so on with the other virtues–which we properly call dying for the sake of justice, since that includes all the other virtues generally. If this is the case, why should there not be found those who willingly risk death in order to preserve the virtue of charity, either in themselves or others? Now why would this not refer to those of whom the Saviour of the world was speaking when he said greater love hath no man than to lay down his life for his enemies [sic]? To die of love or through love means to have no other proximate cause of death than love itself; it is not only to die in love’s embrace, but through love’s efforts and ruses, so as to die at love’s hands. This is the privilege which I am saying was granted to blessed MOTHER OF GOD. In this, I am not suggesting readers accept my personal opinion on this but rather that of a goodly number of Doctors and irreproachable witnesses. This was the opinion of St John Damascene[1], Abbot Rupert[2], Abbot Guerric[3],  Albertus Magnus, Denys the Carthusian[4] and the greater number of Theologians[5], who are supported by the Revelations[6] of the Blessed St Bridget.

I call this a privilege because in the first place, it is my estimation this death was the sweetest, the most honourable and the most enrapturing that may be imagined. I confess that I personally cannot go along with those[7] who are so fearful of allowing that the physical body of the Blessed Virgin could suffer any change that they almost make it impassible. Far from her those emotions of impatience and irritation that encourage the growth of vices! Far from her those feelings of fear and dread, of venomous hatred, of tragic anger; those frenzies of desire, those explosions of fury, those moments of enraged despair and other similar monstrosities of nature which can not only twist and disfigure the face but can also shatter the heart! But why would we find is strange to hear her say with the Prophet[8]: My heart and my flesh have rejoiced in the living God? Why would we make any difficulty in accepting that her body, through its natural affinity with her soul, experienced the powerful attraction and tender forcefulness of holy love? How could we imagine anything immodest in the feelings aroused by these innocent and divine flames which are sometimes aroused in the pure hearts and sacred breasts of Saints? What could be more worthy of undoing the link between the soul of the glorious Virgin and her body than divine love?

In the second place, I call it privilege because although this favour may not have been unique to Mary, it was at the very least shared with very few other persons. The words found in the Septuagint version of the book of Proverbs[9] may not apply uniquely to Mary but they are extremely applicable to her : For my outgoings are the outgoings of life. This is not only because she has departed this life to enter into a better one, which generally applies to all the Saints, but also because her death was brought about by a true principle of life, namely divine love. The following words are taken from the original text of the first chapter of the Lamentations of Jeremiah and they apply most aptly to Mary in this context: From above he hath sent fire into my bones, and in this way He hath separated me and drawn me to Himself. It was through the tender impetus of a holy love that her soul was separated from her body.

Footnotes

[1] Orat. 2 de Dormit. B. Virg.

[2] Lib. V in Cantica.

[3] Serm. 1 de Assumpt.

[4] Lib. IV de Laudibus Virginis.

[5] Suarez., t, II in III p., disp. 21, 1, etc.

[6] Lib. VI Revelat., c. 62..

[7] Peza Elucidarii B. Virg., trac. XVI, c. 2.

[8] Ps. LXXXIII. 3.

[9] αἱ γὰρ ἔξοδοί μου ἔξοδοι ζωῆς  Prov. VIII. 35.

 4   When we go more deeply into the proof of this truth we find that, all things considered, there are two ways that death can assail us: of necessity, the attack must either come from within ourselves or from the outside. Concerning the first, I well remember reading in St Isidore[1] and the venerable Bede[2] that there have been people so rash as to teach that the MOTHER OF GOD died a violent death; but I am also aware that this has been rejected by all. They may have sought to rely on Simeon's prophetic reference to a sword, but this can in no way support a doctrine with such an extreme conclusion. Now, concerning attacks from the inside, they can all be grouped under three possibilities: illness, violence attributable to some passion, or the natural process of ageing and growing weaker. 

With regard to illness, I am confident that anyone 

    • who recalls what we said earlier about the sound constitution of the most sacred Virgin’s body; 

    • who reflects on the fact that there is no mention of any illness in the account of her life and her death, and that all the Doctors hold that she was exempt form such; and 

    • who recalls how Moses[3] and his brother Aaron[4] went to their graves only at the command of God, never having suffered from any illness or disease during their lifetimes, 

    then such a person will have no difficulty in accepting that the same favour was granted to the MOTHER OF GOD.

Similarly, we cannot claim that she died of old age for there is no reason to suppose that a body constituted like hers would have become worn out and weak by the age of 63 or 72, which the most commonly accepted estimates5 of how many years she had on earth.

The story is told of the Cumaean Sibyl who was uniquely beloved of Apollo and was invited one day to to ask for any favour she wanted. As they were at the seaside, she grabbed a handful of sand and asked that she could live for as many years as there were grains of sand in her hand. This favour was immediately granted her, but on condition that she never look upon the land of her birth, otherwise she would lose her life before the time was up. Having obtained her request, she returned to Cumae where she lived for such a long time that her life started to become a source of suffering. Then she received a letter on which someone had put chalk from her native land. She had scarcely begun to open the letter when her soul escaped from her body where it had been forcibly detained as in a prison. Now I know this is only a gracious courtesy such as Poets use, meaning here that this virgin who had a sound constitution and lived a healthy life-style had finally arrived at extreme old age. This would have been a privilege that the most holy Virgin would have enjoyed too had not Heaven, patiently awaiting her arrival, authorised the fixing of her final day, so as to grant the fervent desire she had to be swiftly united with her sovereign good. 

Concerning the possibility of dying as a result of some disordered passion, it is sufficient to recall what we have said earlier. 

All that remains to say now is that holy love won the day and this beautiful soul was infused with such a sweet yet powerful attraction that, unable to resist, the soul flew to her Beloved.

Footnotes

[1] Lib. de Vita et Morte sanctorum, c. 68.

[2] In c. ii. Lucæ.

[3] Deut. xxxii, xxxiv.

[4] Num. xx. ; Deut. x.

[5] V. Christophorum a Castro, in Hist. Deiparæ, c. 20, nº 18.

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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