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