Chapter 12 : The Eleventh 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) |
She has been and is still recognized and called blessed by all generations in the world
§ 4. She was recognized and honoured by the great
1 Over 2,600 years ago, king David made a prophecy about this, saying[1]: All the rich among the people shall entreat thy countenance. These words were understood in this way by St Athanasius[2], St John Damascene[3], St Andrew of Crete[4] and many others. The universal Church, moreover, applied the verse to the Holy Virgin at the beginning of Mass on the eve of the Assumption. Now, true greatness may be said to be that which brings us close to God, the first principle and final end of all greatness. In this regard, I would have to place in the first rank the Saints and friends of God, for these alone have come into contact with true greatness. Because identifying these would entail making a list all the Saints (since all had a great affection for the most sacred Virgin), and because I shall have an opportunity to discuss them later on in this work, I shall mention here only those esteemed great in the judgement of the world.
Footnotes
[1] Ps. XLIV. 13.
[2] Serm. de S. Deipara.
[3] Orat. 1 de Nativit. Virg.
[4] Orat. 2 de Dormit. B. Virg.
Popes who were devoted to the Mother of God
2 Reason requires us to start with God’s Vicars on earth, the Popes, since all the world’s grandees must concede to them in precedence when it comes to greatness. It is not my plan to expatiate here on the praises of these men who by duty and as a matter of fact have been Fathers of the Christian religion, since this would delay us unduly at this point. Their singular devotion to the Mother of God has been demonstrated on numerous occasions, notably in building or rebuilding a goodly number of Churches in her honour.
Leaving to one side St Sixtus whom I shall discuss in the next paragraph, the Church of Santa Maria in Trastevere is evidence of the devotion and generosity of St Callistus as well as of Gregory III who renewed the building when it was falling into decay.
Santa Maria dell'Anima attests to the devotion of Adrian VI;
Santa Maria in Portico, to that of Gregory VII;
Santa Maria de schola Graeca, to that of St Dionysius;;
Santa Maria in Domnica alla Navicella, to that of Paschal I;
Santa Maria Novella, to that of John VII;
Santa Maria del Lago, to that of St Sylvester;
Santa Maria in Aquiro, to that of Anastasius;
Santa Maria in Camposanto in the valley of Vatican, to that of Leo IV;
Santa Maria della Pace, to that of Sixtus IV;
and there are other examples I have not included here.
The zeal of Pope St Celestine led to the final and definitive condemnation of the heretic Nestorius whom we shall discuss later[1]. The Pope did not cease until he had totally discredited the heresiarch and re-established the MOTHER OF GOD in the enjoyment of all her titles. God demonstrated how pleasing He found the devotion of St Gregory the Great towards His Holy Mother when, during the public procession in Rome at the time of the Resurrection, He stayed His vengeful arm, whilst causing the music of Angels to be heard – something I will cover in another context[2].
St Gregory III revealed plainly enough his devotion to the Virgin by a magnificent golden statue that he offered her in the Church of Nostra Signora del Presepe. The exceptional feelings of Gregory VII are reflected in his letters, especially those addressed to the Countess Mathilda. When we consider the Sermons of Innocent III for the Feasts of the Blessed Virgin, we see in them irrefutable evidence of his exceptional devotion. St Leo, the fourth with this name, did many things to honour the Holy Virgin, including the introduction of the Octave of the Assumption which the Church has always observed since his time. The deep-seated affection of Urban II appears in his approval of the Office of the Holy Virgin; whilst that of Sixtus IV, Paul V and Gregory XV is shown by the way they upgraded the honour of the Immaculate Conception. In short, from this have sprung up all the Congregations and Associations erected in divers places, and all the devotions approved in the Church which in this matter as in others could not advance without the ratification of the Holy See, the primum mobile of all true devotion. We only have to run through the history of Loreto to see clearly the devotion shown by the Popes to the Queen of Heaven.
Now why I have focussed on all this, seeing that the great wonder is not that they should have been so devoted to her, but that anyone would think they could have subsisted without having a particular devotion to her.
Footnotes
[1] Tract. III, c. 7, § 7.
[2] Ibid.
Prelates who were devoted to the Holy Virgin
3 I do not intend to list other prelates of the Church since we have already noted above that though their care and hard work devotion to the Mother of God has been spread all over the world. They have been responsible for the most part in providing the singularly rich and exquisite praises with which we adorn the Princess of Heaven throughout the pages of this work.
Great Princes and Princesses who were devoted to the Holy Virgin
4 The filial desire to love and honour our Holy Mother may be more worthy of admiration in the persons of great Princes and Princesses, granted that it is more difficult for piety and devotion to flourish in the midst of military undertakings or the affairs of state than for it to be preserved among those charged with managing holy and divine things. It is nevertheless truly wonderful how many there are in this class who are worthy of admiration. I hope I may have more time and space later[1] to set before you beautiful proofs of the outstanding devotion of people such as the following:
the Emperors Constantine the Great, Theodosius the Younger, Marcian, Leo, Zeno, Justinian, Justin II, Heraclius, Maurice, Charlemagne, Louis the Pious, Basil, Leo the Wise, Henry I, the two named Andronicus, Matthew Cantacuzenus, Frederick III and the others; the following Kings of France: Clovis, Dagobert, St Louis, Robert, Charles V, Louis XI, Charles VIII, François I, Charles IX, and Louis XIII presently reigning; the following Kings of Spain: Alfonso II, Jaime the Conqueror, Felipe II and Felipe III; the following English Kings: St Edward and William, still called the Conqueror; the following Kings of Portugal: Juan I, Alfonso I, Fernando I and Alfonso V; Boleslas V and Wladislas V, Kings of Poland; St Stephen, King of Hungary, and others; the Empresses St Helena, St Pulcheria, Eudoxia the younger and St Cunegunda; the following Queens: St Bathilde of France, St Margaret, St Elizabeth of Hungary, St Elizabeth of Portugal, Joan who was Princess and Regent in the same country; Margaret of Austria, Queen of Spain – and a world of other Princes and Princesses of similar quality and whose souls are in Heaven just as their names are famous on earth. We find in their lives at every turn examples of beautiful and noble actions. For now, it is enough to have brought them to your attention.
Footnotes
[1] Tract. III, c. 7, § 4 et 5.
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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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