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
§ 7. How she was recognised and honoured in the Regular Orders
The Carmelite Order
14 I have no intention of trying to settle the differences of opinion that writers have concerning the origin of the Carmelites. I know there are some who trace the beginnings back to the time of Pope Honorius III, around the year 1217[1]. Others give this honour to blessed Albert, Patriarch of Jerusalem, and claim it was in the year 1171 that he gave them the rule which they kept until 1431, the year that Pope Eugene IV mitigated[2] the rule. Cardinal Baronius, the Annalist[3], places the origin in the time of Alexander III in the year 1181. Several serious-minded authors go as far back as the year 1141 and say that it was Aimery of Limoges, Patriarch of Antioch and Legate of the Holy See in the East, who brought them together and gave them a Rule of social life lived in common. Others[4] go back as far as John, forty-second Patriarch of Jerusalem, who lived around the year 400 under the Emperors Arcadius and Honorius, saying that he was the one who composed the book of monastic Institutes, taking their origin from the old law and continuing under the new, (all this being set forth in the ninth volume of the Library of the Fathers). There are some who locate the origins of the Order in the time of the Apostles, even going back to the age of Elias and making the members of the Order his children and successors. It cannot be denied that they can trace their origin in some manner to Elias and the other prophets who lived on Mount Carmel, for the Holy Fathers state this explicitly in their Bulls. In the same way, we cannot doubt that all those names I have just mentioned played some part at various times in the regulation of the Order and in the way of life of the hermits of Mount Carmel. It is perhaps for this reason that they have been considered as their founders, or as restorers of the ancient discipline from which they had become detached. Without prejudice, however, to the claims of an ancient origin, I have placed the Order here in my account following the position they occupy in the Papal Chapel and in public possessions, if only because they were the last of the mendicant orders to appear and take their habit here in the west. Be that is it may, to return to the theme of this work, it is certainly beyond question that for several hundred years they have been honoured with the glorious title of Friars of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. John, Patriarch of Jerusalem, recalls in the book that I quoted earlier the remote origin of this devotion and this title.
In his mysterious vision, the Servant of the Prophet Elias, having for a seventh time on the command of his master gone to see what sign would appear in Heaven or on earth, saw a small cloud in the shape of a human foot[5], a figure and symbol of the Holy Virgin coming like a precursor of our happiness in the seventh age of the world. The Prophet understood the secret significance of this vision and left to those who would follow and imitate the life he was leading a hereditary devotion towards the Queen of Heaven and an impatience for her arrival in the world.
The learned Armacanus, Primate of Hibernia, preached a sermon[6] at Avignon in the year 1342 in which he stated that he had learned from reliable authors and from vulnerable tradition:
That when the Apostles had begun to spread the Gospel, the hermits and Mount Carmel were the very first to receive the Faith. In the place where they had their dwelling, they dedicated a Chapel to the Holy Virgin, from whom they took and retained the name of Friars of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
There are other reliable authors[7] who have written:
That the Holy Virgin would visit these fine Anchorites not only whilst her son was living but also after his death and that she would offer her unique consolation to them in their labours; and from this was born that tender devotion that their successors have always shown towards the MOTHER OF GOD.
The Holy Fathers Sixtus IV and Gregory XIII make it quite plain in the Bulls which they published regarding this Order that they acknowledge the Holy Virgin as Mother, Nurse, Promotress and Patroness of the Order. To sum up, here are some of the tokens which are as many authentic proofs of the extraordinary love that she has shown to the Carmelites:
• the institution of the Scapular
• the graces and favours granted to a great number of Saints amongst the religious of this Order
• the fruits that she has produced through them in the Church
• the various discoveries they have made of ways to serve her, and to show honour to her in their gratitude.
I shall bring to a close this evidence of love and devotion by explaining what happened to Pope Honorius III[8], when he was resisting a decision to approve and confirm the rule which these Fathers had presented to him.
The Queen of Heaven appeared to him with a severe look on her face, making it clear to him that when she spoke on a matter there should be no question of temporising or holding back that which she wished to promote; he should remember, moreover, that two of his own ministers had already been taken away, although their ends had been very different, for having shown themselves resistant to promoting something which was dear to her heart.
Footnotes
[1] Paleonidorus, lib. III Antiquit. Carmel. ; Bzovius, Supplement. Annal. Baronii, an. 1217.
[2] Waldens., de Sacramentalibus, tit. 9, c. 84.
[3] So known for having written the Annales Ecclesiastici ("Ecclesiastical Annals"), which appeared in 12 folio volumes (1588–1607).
[4] Pavinus, in Chronico, an. 1141 ; Polyd. Virg., lib. VII de Inventoribus rerum, c. 7 ; Sabellicus, lib. VI Enneadis 9 ; Genebr., lib. IV Chronolog. ad an. 1180 ; Guill. Tyrius, Belli sacri, lib. V, c. 3 ; Tritemius, lib. de Laudibus Carmelit. ; Cyrillus, Epist. ad Euseb., etc
[5] III Kings (I Kings). xviii. 43-45.
[6] Waldens., Doctrin. fidei, art. 3.
[7] Martinus Italus, in Chron., etc.
[8] Paleonidorus, Bzovius, et cæteri auctores cit.
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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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