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).
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| 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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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.
The Vladimirskaya Icon. >12th century.
Totus tuus ego sum
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam.
© Peter Bloor 2024
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