The Crown of Excellence : Chapter 12 : § 5.106-107

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).

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

She has been and is still recognized and called blessed by all generations in the world

§ 5. She was recognized  and honoured by all Nations everywhere in the world

Italy

OUR LADY OF THE ANGELS, OUR LADY OF TEARS & OUR LADY OF THE PEOPLE

 106   In the Duchy of Spoleto, there is a very famous Church some six hundred paces from Assisi  which is called Our Lady of the Angels. It is also known as the Portiuncula and is the first Church associated with the Order of the Seraphic St Francis.

In this great Church is a small chapel, enclosed like the one in Loreto. It was the third that this great servant of God restored at the very beginning of his conversion, following a secret motion of the divine spirit which guided him and urged him to prepare a lodging place for his growing family, without knowing yet what he was doing. The number of those being drawn by God to imitate St Francis’ way of life was increasing daily and he felt duty-bound to find a place for them. The site belonged to the Benedictine Fathers and once he had spoken to them they kindly acceded to his request and allocated the chapel to him without more ado. A small house and plot of land adjoining the chapel were included in the arrangement. They told him that if it pleased God to bless the Congregation and for it to grow in the future, any house built there would belong in perpetuity to the head of the Order. St Francis was most happy to accept this condition and right up to the end of his life he remained grateful to the Benedictine Fathers for their help. He would often say later that in this land of the dying he wished only to have this little Chapel as his portion, which some say is the reason it was called Portiuncula or little portion. Others say that this name predates the arrival of St Francis by a long time and refers to the little plot of land adjoining the Chapel and meant to serve for the upkeep of the Chaplain.

There was a very devout priest of Assisi called Peter Mazencole who was unable to conceal his delight at seeing this place where he lived fall into such worthy hands. The first time he learned of the conveyance the Benedictine Fathers had executed in favour of St Francis, he embraced him warmly and rejoiced with him at the gift he had received. He told Francis how wondrously holy the site was and explained how it was one of the places in the world dearest to the glorious Virgin. He also brought along the man who looked after the plot of land and he added to what his master had said, explaining that on numerous occasions he had seen bright lights shining through the windows of the Chapel and had heard sweet, Angelic harmonies. This is why it had become known as Our Lady of the Angels.  

Saint Francis could scarcely contain his joy at hearing of so many wonders. He resolved immediately to spend the night before the altar of the Queen of Angels, commending his tender charges to her care. Whilst he was deeply engrossed in his prayers, the chapel was suddenly filled with a heavenly brightness. The Saviour of the world along with his holy Mother appeared on the altar, surrounded by thousands of blessed spirits. The humble servant of the Son and of the Mother prostrated himself on the ground with equal feelings of confusion and joy at having received such an extraordinary favour. He asked of both what reason they had for granting him such an extraordinary blessing. In answer to his question, the Saviour replied that they had come to assign this place to him, for it was singularly pleasing to them.

It is impossible to describe the love that Saint Francis had for this little spot from that moment onwards. According to Saint Bonaventure, it was here that Francis began in humility, here that he persevered in a holy manner, and here that he received hundreds of favours and graces from heaven. It was here that he convoked the first general Chapter of his order, attended by five thousand Religious, according to the testimony of Saint Bonaventure. This required all the inhabitants of Assisi to go to work in the surrounding fields, building little huts or cabins made from battens of wood, branches from broom plants and reeds so that the visitors had somewhere to sleep. This is why throughout Italy whenever they refer to this Chapter, they call it the Chapter of Reeds. It was here that Francis cut off the hair of the blessed St Clare, the first of the Order that came to be known as the Poor Clares. Finally, it was here that he happily commended his spirit to God. While he was dying, he commended the place so insistently to his Friars that he could not have said more. He ordered that it should in perpetuity be directly subject to the power of the General of the Order who would personally select the Religious to be employed there in service of the Holy Virgin. His wish was that :

    • these should be chosen from the holiest and best qualified of the Friars;

    • no vain or idle words were ever to be spoken there, but those who were admitted were to utter only praises of God and the Holy Virgin, working to their utmost in service of their Majesties;

    • they should be ever mindful they were to lead the lives of Angels and servants of the Queen of Angels; and

    • if perchance they found themselves put out by one of the doors, they should come back in by another, never consenting to leave the place. 

Three years before his death,, he had obtained from Our Lord a plenary Indulgence for all those who would visit this chapel on the Feast of St Peter-in-Chains. This Indulgence was confirmed shortly afterwards by Pope Honorius III and later by several of his successors. God wished to show in various ways the esteem in which he held this place and the love He had for his humble and fervent servant.

In the same valley of Spoleto, near a town called Trivio[1], there is a Church called Our Lady of Tears. The name comes from something that happened in the year 1494. An image of the Holy Virgin which was painted on the wall of a little chapel here began to shed tears and continued to do so for a long time, as if to warn of the misfortunes which were to overtake Italy. There was no-one in the district who did not witness this miraculous phenomenon and many people came even from Rome to see it. This resulting increase in alms-giving made it possible to build a large and strikingly beautiful Church. 

Footnotes

[1] Gabriel Pennotus, Canonicus Regularis, lib. I Hist. sui Ordinis, c. 34.

 107   Let us travel a short distance to Venetian territory and there in a remote marshy area is a village known as Plebe di Setti where the following incident took place.

In the year 1486[1], two brothers had come to an amicable arrangement over sharing the inheritance left to them by their late father. They were not able to agree, however, about an image of the most glorious Virgin because each of them wanted to have it and neither wished to give it to the other. Their disagreement eventually led to a fight and they were ready to slit each other’s throats when one of their little children, who was not yet one year old, stopped them and told them to lay down their arms in the name of God and of the glorious Virgin. God was commanding them through his little mouth to cease quarrelling. The Virgin whose image was the source of their dispute ordered them to place the image in a little chapel which was near there, where she wished to be served and honoured from that moment onwards. This miracle immediately calmed their spirits and the hatred that they had been feeling was transformed into respect and astonishment. They could only speak now of putting into effect as soon as possible the commandment they had received from the most sacred MOTHER OF GOD. Once the image had been carried to the little chapel, it was a wonder to behold the crowds of people that began to arrive and the miracles that were performed there. After a short while, there was so many visitors and the alms that they gave were so generous that it became possible to build a beautiful church on the site of the little chapel which had been there previously.

Footnotes

[1] Felix Astolphus, lib. X Miraculorum Deiparæ.

👑       👑       👑

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