Part IV : How to give thanks to the Mother of God : Chapter 4 : § 6.21-22

Chapter 4 : Love – a third feature of the gratitude we owe 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)

§ 6. The sixth sign of love: loving for love of Mary all those who belong to her, whether through family, marriage, or election ; wherein special mention is made of St Joachim, St Anne and St Joseph 

God’s first plan for St Joseph : to make him the Spouse of the holy Virgin 

 21   Just as in the Holy City (as described by the beloved Disciple in chapter 21 of the Apocalypse) God laid foundations of rubies, sapphires, emeralds and other precious stones so that He could erect walls over them built of jasper and porphyr, along with gates of pearl of prodigious size; in the same way, the great Architect of the universe laid foundations in Blessed St Joseph of outstanding virtues on which He was to build three wonders He had planned that would redound to His own glory, to the honour of this Saint and the astonishment of the whole world. The first of these was to make him the Spouse of the Mother of His only-begotten Son and by this means to present us with the idea of the most holy and honourable marriage that there has ever been. 

In the first place, this marriage was between two people who were the most celebrated that could be found in terms of their nobility, their natural perfections, their graces freely bestowed, their merits, their purity and their possession of every sort of virtue. In the second place, the marriage came about through the sovereign Wisdom of God inspiring the priests (in whose power the most sacred Virgin found herself at the time) with the means of making it happen and contributing through His own agency certain miraculous occurrences, as we shall see later[1]. In the third place, this was a true, unshakeable and perfect marriage which was declared to be such by the Holy Spirit at various places in Holy Scripture, in Sacred Councils and in the writings of the ancient Fathers[2]. In the fourth place, it was accompanied by every conceivable blessing it is possible to imagine within a marriage. It was blessed with fecundity, which is one of the first fruits of conjugal union. Even though the Saviour might not have been born through the ordinary use of marriage, the great St Augustine nevertheless has no difficulty in calling Him the fruit of virginal marriage. The marriage was holy in its perfection, holy in the person of the Spouse, more holy in the person of his Bride, and most holy in the person of the Son who was Jesus. It was truly exemplary in the mutual love and understanding of the parties, for they loved one another with a chaste love which was the holiest and most total there has ever been. They loved one another with a natural love which had for its foundation the exceptional qualities of both and the wonderful closeness they enjoyed in terms of nobility, their family (being the issue of two brothers), in physical beauty, in their gentle dispositions and in every other sort of perfection. They loved one another with a love acquired and honed through long association and continual service to one another, through the intimate communications of their hearts and through everything that flows from a noble and sincere friendship. They loved one another with a supernatural love, in consideration of the extraordinary graces they perceived in each other (following on from the choice God had made of them) and for the love of Jesus, the honour of their marriage, along with the sacred bond and indissoluble ties of their reciprocal affection. This marriage was more of Heaven than of earth and more angelic than human!  

“Do you want me to tell you in one word what Gorgonia’s husband was?” St Gregory of Nazianzus[3] once asked his brother. “He was the husband of Gorgonia[4] – that says it all, for these few words are a short eulogy containing the essence of everything I could want to say about a man of outstanding merit.”

Do you want to know who St Joseph was? asks the pious Abbot Rupert[5]. You will know him by a single word that the Evangelist St Matthew mentions, almost in passing: he was the husband of Mary[6]; do not ask for anything more than that: since in hearing it said that he is the Husband, the Head and Superior of the MOTHER OF GOD, and consequently the reputed father of the Saviour, you have all you need to form the most elevated idea your mind could conceive.

    

Footnotes

[1] Chap. 11, § 4.

[2] V. Suar., t. II in III p., d. 7.

[3] Orat. 11.

[4] St Gorgonia (died c370). Wife and mother, sister of St Gregory of Nazianzus.

[5] Lib. I de Gloria et honore Filii hominis, in c. 1. Matth.

[6] Matt. i. 16.

His second plan : to make him the father of His Son 

 22   Without thinking, I have just introduced the second plan that God had for St Joseph : to make him the reputed Father of His beloved Son. When I call him the reputed Father of the Saviour, I am not suggesting that he was Father only according to the opinion and estimation of men. In fact, the Holy Spirit[1] and the Holy Virgin[2], who were not governed simply by public opinion, had no difficulty in giving him the name of Father. I should stress that I have no wish to prejudice in any way whatsoever the more than angelic purity of the most immaculate Mother of Jesus, may God forbid! But I want to follow what St John Chrysostom[3], St Augustine[4] and several other Doctors have stated that, with the exception of physical generation alone, he was Father in all the other ways which are associated with this title.  

He was the Saviour’s Father, says St Augustine[5], not only according to the belief of men but also in reality inasmuch as Jesus was the natural Son of his true and lawful wife, over whom he had power according to the words of St Paul the Apostle[6] who said that the woman is not mistress of her body but the husband to whom she transfers the right. This is all the more true since she had conceived this Son after contracting marriage and after her spouse most chaste had acquired rights over her body.

Footnotes

[1] Luke ii. 33.

[2] Luke ii. 48.

[3] Homil. 4 in Matth.

[4] Lib. II de Consens. Evang., c. 1.

[5] Ibid.

[6] The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband. 1 Cor. vii. 4.

© Peter Bloor 2025 

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The Virgin of Tenderness. >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.

He that hearkeneth to me, shall not be confounded: and they that work by me, shall not sin. They that explain me shall have life everlasting. Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) xxiv. 30-31.

Part IV : How to give thanks to the Mother of God : Chapter 4 : § 6.18-20

Chapter 4 : Love – a third feature of the gratitude we owe 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)

§ 6. The sixth sign of love: loving for love of Mary all those who belong to her, whether through family, marriage, or election ; wherein special mention is made of St Joachim, St Anne and St Joseph 

Purity of heart

 18   It is inconceivable that his purity of heart should be less than that of his body, since not only would the latter be of little value without the other, but also because his daily lot was to have familiar dealings and conversation with the word Incarnate and the most holy Virgin in the world. They were in consequence all in harmony with each other, their voices offering praise to God, their sighs being holy aspirations and any intervals in conversation being filled with holy peace and tranquillity, in this way becoming like unto God.

Humility

 19  Neither are there any reasons to doubt his humility, for if we have been considering his other virtues and the exceptional graces and favours he received as a result of the role he had been called upon to perform and his close involvement with the most sacred Virgin, who could fail to see that these same reasons would have the effect of imbuing him with a most deep humility, as someone who would spend the rest of his days in the company of a God incarnate and the most humble of human creatures – in other words, with a continual awareness of his own humility? There are in fact several great Doctors who state that his wondrous humility was the reason he was minded to put his most chaste Spouse away privately as soon as she was found with child. They say it was through his humility that he felt totally unworthy of staying any longer with a God incarnate and with a Virgin who had become the MOTHER OF GOD, of being taken for the father of one and the husband of the other, and of having power over those whom even the Angels in Heaven did not merit to serve. Accordingly, he preferred to withdraw quietly rather than to be mortified in his humility and be constrained to take on the burden of such a huge honour. Apart from the revelation made by the glorious Virgin one day to St Bridget[1], this was also the view of Origen[2], of St Basil[3], of Theophylact[4], of the Author of the incomplete work on St Matthew[5], of St Bernard[6] and of many modern Doctors[7]. Consider how the Apostle St Peter, after he suddenly perceived the divinity of his Master following a miracle He had performed, was seized by an extraordinary feeling of fervour and humility which prompted him to call out : Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord[8]. Compare this to the reaction of St Joseph who withdrew into himself and felt an awareness of his own nothingness when confronted with the miracle of a Virgin whom he could see was with child, which was a thing which had never been seen or heard since the beginning of the world. He judged it was far above anything he could have merited : to contemplate with his eyes and to hold in his hands a God incarnate, and to have dealings with her whom the Seraphim honoured as Mother of their Sovereign Lord.

  

Footnotes

[1] Lib. VI Revel., c. 59 ; lib. VIII, c. 25.

[2] Homil. 1 in diversos.

[3] Homil. de Christi humana generatione.

[4] Homil. 1.

[5] Matth. 1.

[6] Homil. 2 in Missus.

[7] Canisius, lib. II de B. Virg., c. 14 et 15 ; Gonsalv. Durant., in c. 59 citat. lib. VI Revel. S. Brigittæ.

[8] Luke v. 6-9.

His Justice

 20   n conclusion, to avoid speaking at length on his other virtues, it will be sufficient to use the words of praise coming from the Holy Spirit and to say that he was a just man[1], using the word justice like Clement of Alexandria[2], as including generally the perfection of all the virtues. Perhaps if I may be be permitted to quote the Angelic Doctor[3] who teaches that: 

the closer that each thing comes to the principle of some perfection the more advantageously it takes of it,

then I would proceed to point out that St Joseph, having been closer to the Author of grace and the principle of all virtue then all the Fathers in the Old Testament, he obtained in consequence more graces than all of them and that he alone inherited all their blessings. Accordingly, we may believe that in him may be seen the innocence of Abel, the purity of Enoch, the justice of Noah, the patience of Job, the faith of Abraham, the obedience of Isaac, the strength of Jacob, the chastity of Joseph, the kind-heartedness of Moses, the trust of Joshua, the piety of Samuel, the sincerity of David, the wisdom of Solomon, the longanimity of the Patriarchs, the faithfulness of the Prophets and the holiness of all the great friends of God. In short, all these virtues and qualities scattered amongst others will be gathered together and united in him, which is altogether fitting for the Spouse of her in whom is found all the holiness of human creatures.  

For my part , says the pious Saint Bernardine[4], I hold it for certain that this man was most outstanding in his purity, most deep in his humility, most ardent in his charity, most elevated in his contemplation and most assiduous in working for the salvation of the world ; all this in imitation of her to whom he was to have the closest likeness possible.  

But why am I searching around for proofs from outside when I already have the irreproachable testimony of the Virgin herself who, whilst speaking confidentially with St Bridget[5], revealed to her in a few words the qualities of her blessed spouse St Joseph?

Joseph’s mouth, she told her, was like the gate of a Temple, so carefully did he set a watch before it[6]. He never spoke any words even slightly suggestive of mockery, anger or complaining. He was more than happy with his poverty, extremely diligent in his work, most patient whenever reproached and most assiduous in his services to me. He was just as courageous in defending my virginity against and in the face of all as he was faithful in making known the wonders of God when occasion required it. He was entirely dead unto the world and vanity, being someone whose heart was set on Heaven. He was deeply attached to God and His promises, being someone whose only desire was to see them fulfilled. He lived as in a holy retreat from the world and was always deeply recollected within himself, being uninterested in the things of men and whose every thought was rather on how to please God, the unique love and sovereign good of his heart. 

Footnotes

[1] Whereupon Joseph her husband, being a just man… : Matthew i:19.

[2] Lib. VI Stromatum.

[3] III p., q. 27, art. 5.

[4] Serm. de Joseph, art. 1.

[5] Lib. VI Revel., c. 59.

[6] Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth: and a door round about my lips. Ps. CXL. 3.

 

© Peter Bloor 2025 

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The Virgin of Tenderness. >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.

He that hearkeneth to me, shall not be confounded: and they that work by me, shall not sin. They that explain me shall have life everlasting. Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) xxiv. 30-31.

Part IV : How to give thanks to the Mother of God : Chapter 4 : § 6.15-17

Chapter 4 : Love – a third feature of the gratitude we owe 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)

§ 6. The sixth sign of love: loving for love of Mary all those who belong to her, whether through family, marriage, or election ; wherein special mention is made of St Joachim, St Anne and St Joseph 

His confirmation in grace

 15   Secondly, I am going to mention his confirmation in grace, which is something taught by the Doctors whom I cited above. In fact, St Augustine long ago opened the way for this opinion[1] by declaring that St Joseph never lost the grace of God through any actual sin. The later writers, however, went further than this and declared that his freedom had been strengthened by a grace which was so powerful and extraordinary as to focus him unchangingly on the good. This did not mean that he would never commit any sin, even venial (for confirmation in this sort of grace was reserved to the MOTHER OF GOD and no one else), but rather that through no accident or disaster could he ever incur the loss of God’s grace. It would seem that this second favour is a necessary consequence of the first and that when God grants the sweet blessings of His prevenient grace so liberally to His friends, He is in consequence obliged by a certain sort of necessity arising from propriety to communicate the whole grace to them and to restore them to an immutable possession of such a great good.

Footnotes

[1] Lib. de Nat. et Gratia.

The extinction of concupiscence

 16  The third favour is the extinction of concupiscence, which St Paul refers to the law[1], or calls the licentious liberty of our bodies’ members and disordered movements[2]. I would hesitate to make any comment on this subject without the help of those persons who can provide a sure hand such as the Doctors I have cited above along with several others[3] supporting their conclusions. All things being considered, however, reason appears to be on their side. God never fails to equip those whom He has appointed for a particular office with the graces they require in order to discharge that office in a worthy manner. In the case of St Joseph, we may note how he was chosen to accompany, to serve and to support a young woman who was the most beautiful and the most accomplished there has ever been; to spend time alone with her at home and also outdoors, to share the same table and chamber as well as the same work – and all this in the presence of the visible God incarnate. In view of this, it was altogether fitting that his heart should have been bathed with the sweetness of heavenly grace and that his body should have been restored (at least to a certain degree) to the state of original justice. The actual graces of God would have been more than sufficient to prevent any disordered movement of concupiscence and the mystical beauty of the Holy Virgin, moreover, would have been a guarantee of chastity rather than an enticement to incontinence. Despite the truth of this, however, it is more reasonable to say that the admirable restraint of St Joseph came from a solid interior principle and not only from an exterior principle or a passing grace. This is particularly the case in view of the close relationship between this privilege which we are discussing and the prevenient sanctification added thereto and serving as a foundation for all these other qualities.

    

Footnotes

[1] But if you are led by the spirit, you are not under the law. Gal. v. 18.

[2] See Gal. v. 13-21. generally.

[3] Joann. Ekius, Serm. de S. Joseph. ; Canis., lib. V de B. Virg., c. 13 ; Ribad., in Vita S. Joseph., etc.

His vow of virginity

 17   On top of these free gifts, as though onto a foundation of excellent holiness, Blessed St Joseph added the living colours of all the virtues, especially his virginal purity which made him like the very Angels of Heaven. The pious Cardinal Peter Damian[1] put an end to any doubts about this teaching so that it became accepted as an unshakeable tradition within the Church. St Peter Chrysologus[2], Hugh of St Victor[3], St Thomas[4] and Alcuin[5]. A great many others[6] hold this to be a truth beyond doubt and some authors[7] add that he offered his virginity to God with an explicit vow. Albertus Magnus[8] and St Bernardine of Siena[9] go even further, saying that: 

Just as the holy Virgin and St Joseph were the first who made a promise to God to live in perpetual virginity, so too this vow they had made had been revealed to each of them individually and before plighting their troth in marriage they renewed their vows with a shared consent. 

There are very good reasons for believing this : firstly, the sacred Virgin understood that God had provided her with a helper who was like unto her; secondly she was obliged to preserve inviolate her virginal purity and therefore she could not in prudence or justice consent to give power over her body to someone whom she did not know to have formed the same resolution. From this it is easy to conclude that as a result of the knowledge she had of blessed St Joseph’s purity, she held him in high esteem, feeling as confident in her conversations and dealings with him as she would be with the Cherubim and Seraphim. St Gregory Thaumaturgus[10] confirms this in his commentary on the mysterious vision of Isaiah[11] concerning a book that was sealed and which was to be delivered to one that was learned but who confessed that he could not open it because it was sealed.  

According to our best judgement, says Saint Gregory, what is this sealed book but the most pure and most immaculate Virgin Mary? Who is this man that is learned other than blessed St Joseph, who had a deep understanding of the mysteries of the union of the divine Word with our flesh and of the fruitful virginity of his Spouse must chaste? Who are they who placed this book in his hands other than the Priests and Ministers of the Temple, who entrusted the book to him at Heaven’s express command? But why does he say that he cannot read in this book unless it is because he knows very well that Mary is to conceive without prejudice to her Virginity? 

Finally, the pious Abbot Rupert wrote a commentary on the Canticle of Canticles in which he says[12]: 

If perchance we hear that the Beloved of beautiful souls frolics and rejoices with the lilies, we can immediately picture Jesus in the company of Mary and Joseph who are with very good reason compared to lilies because of their virginal nuptials and their most chaste and innocent life together.

Footnotes

[1] Epist. 11 ad Nicolaum Papam.

[2] Serm. 175.

[3] In Epist. ad Gal., q. 3.

[4] In Epist. ad Gal.

[5] In c. 2 Joann.

[6] Baron., in Apparatu; Bellarm., t. I, controv. V, lib. II de Monarch., c. 22 ; Isolanus, de S.Jo-seph., I part., c.13 et 14, etc.

[7] Abul., in c. 1 Matth., q. 30 ; Gerson, et alii quos refert Canis., lib. II de B. Virg., c. 13 ; Baron., t. I, lib. V, c. 7.

[8] Super Misus est, c. 38.

[9] Serm. de S. Joseph., c. 1.

[10] Serm. 3 de Annuntiat.

[11] Isai. xxix. 11-12.

[12] Lib. II : Vere ambo lilia, videlicet pro virginalibus nuptiis, et cohabitatione castissima.

 

© Peter Bloor 2025 

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The Virgin of Tenderness. >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.

He that hearkeneth to me, shall not be confounded: and they that work by me, shall not sin. They that explain me shall have life everlasting. Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) xxiv. 30-31.

Part IV : How to give thanks to the Mother of God : Chapter 4 : § 6.13-14

Chapter 4 : Love – a third feature of the gratitude we owe 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)

§ 6. The sixth sign of love: loving for love of Mary all those who belong to her, whether through family, marriage, or election ; wherein special mention is made of St Joachim, St Anne and St Joseph 

How we are obliged to honour Saint Joseph, Spouse of the glorious Virgin 

 13   It would be taking curiosity too far to wonder whether we owe more to the parents of the most sacred Virgin or to her Spouse most chaste, as it would be to wonder which of them occupies the first place of honour or is loved more by the Queen of Heaven. It should be enough for you to know that they are all great without the need for compromise through invidious comparisons. The mother and father excelled in their merits whilst her holy Spouse had qualities which make him equal to all that is highest in Heaven after her. It would be very difficult for anyone to doubt this who investigated his beginnings, his progress and the dignity with which he was chosen and raised by God. I like to picture him as a beautiful summer sun which, having risen bright and clear at dawn, grows in brightness and heat until noon. The truth of this can be established by anyone who considers him not only from the cradle, but even from within the womb of his mother, whence he came forth reflecting the splendour of the most famous and most ancient nobility on earth, radiating a beauty capable of offering the honour due to his most holy Spouse, that most beautiful of all human creatures, and to be reputed among men as the father of Jesus, the finest and most noble of all the Princes in the world. Were anyone to be desirous of seeing proofs of this, it would be a simple matter to cite several learned Writers[1] who have proposed this before me. Since I do not wish to base my case on their external evidence, I am going to limit myself to saying that he came into the world enriched with three qualities so eminent that I do not know if they have ever been found conjoined in any other person to the same degree.

Footnotes

[1] Justinus mart., dial. cont. Triphonem ; Joann. Gers., Serm. de Nativ., et in sua Josephina ; Isi-dor. Isolanus, IV p. vitæ S. Joseph, c. 9 ; etc.

His initial sanctification 

 14  The first thing I am going to mention is how spotless his soul was, for I believe it was sanctified whilst he was still enclosed within his mother’s womb. This is the teaching of several modern Doctors[1], following the pious Gerson in a sermon which he gave to the Council of Constance on the Feast of the glorious Virgin’s Nativity. He declared that this teaching is contained in the Office of St Joseph which was recited in Jerusalem. Isidoro Isolani, the learned Writer of the life of St Joseph[2], cites in this connection the authority of Theophilus, Patriarch of Alexandria, and of St John Chrysostom whom he maintains held the same view. The main reason they all give is that those who have been sanctified in the womb of their mothers obtained this favour either because of the dignity to which they had been raised or because of the close link they had with the Saviour of the world, who is the principle and source of all holiness. Now, if this grace was granted to Jeremiah so that he might discharge in a worthy manner the office of Prophet of the nations to which he had been appointed by the Holy Spiri ; if this grace was not denied to St John the Baptist forasmuch as he was to be the precursor of the Messiah, is it really necessary to say that the Spouse of the most immaculate Virgin and the Father of the Word incarnate (at least according to the common belief of men), the man who provided for Him, who guided Him and ruled Him, should at the very least have as much holiness and purity as they did? Could anyone be found associated more closely to the Son of God and playing a greater part in the mystery of His Incarnation than him? Is it necessary to point out that for the space of thirty years and more, Jesus, Mary and Joseph lived together and made up the most holy family that there has ever been? Was it not therefore entirely proper that there should be a close resemblance between them and that St Joseph should have a share in the incomparable purity of the Mother and the Son? And to establish between them the order and distinction befitting them, does it not seem reasonable that the Son should have possessed holiness by nature, the Mother through the privilege of immunity (in her Immaculate Conception), and the Father through an anticipated condonation[3] of original sin and by an advance of sanctifying grace?

St Anselm makes this point very effectively, according to the famous Chancellor of Paris[4], when he says that it was entirely fitting there should be no purity beneath God comparable to that of Mary; 

and I say it was entirely proper that the Spouse of the Mother of Jesus should enjoy to a proportionate degree the prerogatives of his Bride. 

Footnotes

[1] Isolanus, ib., c. 9 et 10 ; Jacob. de Valentia, Christopolit. Episc., in Magnificat ; Christofor. Ar-chiepisc. de Capitefontium, lib. de perpetua virginitate Mariæ et Joseph ; Thomas Traxillus Domini-canus, in vita S. Joseph ; Didacus de Vega, conc. de S. Joseph ; Salmeron, t. III, tract. 30 ; Barrad., lib. VI Evang. Concord., c. 3 ; Osorius, conc. de S. Joseph ; Morales, in c. 1 Matth., lib. III, tract. 2 ; etc.

[2] Isolanus, loc. cit.

[3] condonation : the pardoning or remission of an offence or fault; the voluntary overlooking of an offence, and treatment of the offender as if it had not been committed [OED]. 

[4] Jean de Gerson (1363-1429). Loc. cit.

© Peter Bloor 2025 

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The Virgin of Tenderness. >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.

He that hearkeneth to me, shall not be confounded: and they that work by me, shall not sin. They that explain me shall have life everlasting. Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) xxiv. 30-31.

Part IV : How to give thanks to the Mother of God : Chapter 4 : § 6.10-12

Chapter 4 : Love – a third feature of the gratitude we owe 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)

§ 6. The sixth sign of love: loving for love of Mary all those who belong to her, whether through family, marriage, or election ; wherein special mention is made of St Joachim, St Anne and St Joseph 

Their charity

 10   They were great in charity, not only in that which is directed towards God but also in the love for their neighbour. Regarding this, the Doctors speak of the wondrous care they took to help those in poverty, to provide shelter for pilgrims and to assist the needy in every possible way. St Jerome says[1]: 

They divided their resources into three : one portion was set aside for feeding the ministers of the Temple, another for pilgrims and the afflicted, whilst only one third was used for the maintenance of their own little family.  

As for the charity they had towards God, it is easy to have an idea of it through what has already being mentioned, granted that according to Richard of Saint Victor[2]:  

Charity is the essence of the other virtues and the force which puts them into action.

The words of St Jerome[3] make this even more clear:  

Their life was simple and innocent, upright in the sight of God and irreproachable in the sight of men. 

In short, they lived their lives in a way which made them beloved of men and of God.

 

Footnotes

[1] Orat. de Ortu Virg.

[2] De Gradibus charitatis.

[3] Loc. cit.

Their names and the height of their virtue

 11  To sum up, they were great in every sort of virtue. This then is what we must believe about the father and mother of Mary, and about the grandfather and grandmother of Jesus.  

Simply consider their names, writes St Epiphanius[1], and you will see these presaged their holiness. Joachim means the preparation of the Lord and Anne signifies grace. Was this not to make known to the world that they were well-provided with grace and all that customarily accompanies it, and that they had all that was necessary to prepare a dwelling for the Lord of the Universe?

For it was fitting, says St Peter Chrysologus[2], that the dwelling of holiness should be prepared and made clean a long time in advance, in the very persons of the mother and father of the Virgin.

The Angel who instructed Blessed St Bridget[3] revealed to the virtuous widow their exceptional holiness in the following words.

Chaste Spouse of Jesus Christ, try to picture a Royal Eagle seeking to build a nest and prepare a home for its little eaglets. It visits one forest after another and flies over different mountains in search of a tree suitable for its purpose. The Eagle knows no rest until it has found a tree which surpasses all the others in height and beauty, which has the deepest and strongest roots, and which has the best protection against storms and winds. Once the Eagle has found the tree, it then stops and selects the sturdiest branch and the one which is closest to the heavens. There, these little Kings amongst the birds of the air will be raised with meticulous care.

 

Picture now how God is like this Eagle, not only through the sovereignty He enjoys over all created things, but also by the power of His penetrating eyes which can see all that has been, all that is and all that will come to be. Glancing at all the marriages that were to be, from the first unto the last (just as the Eagle surveyed the trees), He could find none more worthy of receiving that glorious Virgin – who was to form the little nest for the heavenly Eaglet, namely the word Incarnate – than that of St Joachim and St Anne. There He landed as though on a tree from Paradise, lofty in devotion, deep in humility, generous in charity, budding with hope, fragrant with good examples – in short, possessing every virtue and perfection.

 

Footnotes

[1] Serm. de S. Maria Deipara.

[2] Serm. 91.

[3] Serm. Angelico, c. 10.

 12   This makes me believe that the Virgin is particularly pleased when she sees her dear children showing every sort of devotion to those whom she has so much cause to thank, and who are in any event so worthy of honour and respect. It also makes me think that she herself offers her most heartfelt thanks to God for having given her a father and a mother so holy and perfect. She does not consider herself as the daughter of St Joachim and St Anne so much as the daughter of prayer and tears, the daughter of alms-giving, of hospitality, of charity, of temperance, of abstinence, of chastity, of patience, of perseverance, of modesty, of justice and generally of all the virtues which shining through the life and work of St Joachim and St Anne. Perhaps a better way of putting this would be to say that she is the beloved daughter of divine providence who collected all the virtues in her mother and father in order to raise her and make her Queen of the virtues, so as to be a worthy Mother of the King of the virtues. I actually think that all the rejoicing and congratulations on the part of the Holy Fathers who have spoken so highly of both St Joaquim and St Anne, praising them to the heavens with their writings, fall short of what they should have said and that they did not have the wherewithal to make their writings match their conceptions. Consider some of the things they wrote and let us reflect on the heights to which their thoughts and feelings carried them.  

“Blessed couple!” cries the devout Saint John Damascene along with others, and he seems to speak for all. “The world is infinitely indebted to you since through you it is offered to God the Creator a gift of inestimable worth, namely a daughter worthy of being made the Mother of His only-begotten Son. How exquisite this favour must be judged and how worthy of being numbered amongst the most outstanding in history!

“May St Anne rejoice and may she invite all the inhabitants of the earth to celebrate with her, since she has borne in her barren womb the first fruits of our restoration and she has nourished with her milk the fruit of all blessedness. May she include the venerable Anne, mother of Samuel, in this public joy and may they both find consolation for having partaken, (although unequally) in the same happiness. May she call next upon the chaste Sarah and after her all the barren women from antiquity to participate in the joy of her wondrous fruitfulness. May all the mothers in the world hasten to honour the daughter and the mother, and to bless Him who gave such a blessing to a barren womb. May everyone, young and old, men and women, flock to offer honour to the noble stem of David, whence this precious branch has emerged, and to the sacred womb wherein the true Ark of the Covenant has been crafted.

 

“Thrice blessed art thou, oh worthy mother of the MOTHER OF GOD, for having given to the world a daughter whose birth is replete with honour and will lead to the redemption and restoration of the universe. We are all indebted to thee just as we are to St Joachim thy Spouse, forasmuch as we have begun to breathe the sweet air of hope at this beautiful dawning of a new day. We offer our humble thanks to you, Saint Joachim and Saint Anne, accompanied by our desire to honour you for as long as we enjoy the graces Which have come to us as a result of your co-operation.”

© Peter Bloor 2025 

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The Virgin of Tenderness. >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.

He that hearkeneth to me, shall not be confounded: and they that work by me, shall not sin. They that explain me shall have life everlasting. Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) xxiv. 30-31.

Part IV : How to give thanks to the Mother of God : Chapter 4 : § 6.8-9

Chapter 4 : Love – a third feature of the gratitude we owe 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)

§ 6. The sixth sign of love: loving for love of Mary all those who belong to her, whether through family, marriage, or election ; wherein special mention is made of St Joachim, St Anne and St Joseph 

Their chastity

 8   They were great in chastity, in which regard we may recall the words of  St Peter Chrysologus[1]  who said abstinence is the banner of chastity, the triumph and trophy of modesty; and according to St Basil[2], it is the it is the guard of honour for marriage and the foster father of virginity. St Vincent[3] is in no doubt about the chastity of this holy couple, adding that: 

as soon as St Joachim realised that St Anne was indeed barren, he did not approach her again until he received the express commandment from Heaven.

The reason he gives is that because marriage was instituted by God for two ends only – namely to bring forth children into the world and to assuage the ardours of concupiscence – the excellent virtues of these great servants of God as well as the calling they had received protected them from those movements of animal passion to which so many others of lesser standing are prey. It followed that, since they had no expectation of any issue, there was no longer any question of their availing themselves of the permission given by their conjugal status. The glorious Virgin explained this one day to St Bridget[4], saying that:

the fires of carnal desire were extinguished in her parents and they would have preferred to die rather than yield to the marital act for reasons of pleasure alone. They were in the end obliged by the command they had received from on high and the love of God had a power over them which sensual love would never have achieved. Accordingly, their daughter's body most chaste was conceived through a pure action of divine love and not through the disordered sensual appetites.

St Ephrem writes as follows: 

God operates in a way contrary to the promptings of the flesh and frequently sows seed in bodies which are dry and cold[5]; and tthe Holy Spirit is attracted by those who cherish chastity[6].

If what he says is true, then reason would require that the bodies from which purity itself was to emerge should be characterised by their spiritual rather than bodily sturdiness and that the vessels which were to receive the operation of the Holy Spirit with such an abundance of graces should have been prepared long in advance with the sweet odour of chastity. The quarry which would supply the stones for the mystical Temple of the most holy Trinity should be most holy and heavenly; and the flower of holy virginity should grow on the stem of the most holy marriage in all the world. In short, it was right and fitting that if God was to give proof of His omnipotence by causing the Virgin of Virgins to come forth from a father and from a mother who was barren, then these should be two persons made worthy of such an outstanding privilege through their perfect chastity. This will become even more evident when we weigh carefully the words of St Peter Chrysologus, the “Golden-mouthed” Bishop of Ravenna[7].

How happy that nature which had proved wanting in a man and a woman should nevertheless have received the honour it had been denied, along with so many blessings, through the person of God Himself! How happy for that nature to have seen the deficiencies of barrenness repaired by the marvellous blessings of a second virginity! How happy to have made more progress through this one conception than in so many woeful pregnancies in the past! How happy for that nature to have become the Mother of life after previously being the Mother of stillborn, who would give birth in pain to little victims of pain and suffering, who would bring forth only amidst tears those whom she would be exposing to a life of ruefulness, who was delivered only at great risk to herself of infants who would have to grow up and live surrounded by dangers, who would threaten her babies at the dawn of their lives with the setting of the sun which would bring them to a close, who would devour the fruit she brought forth knowing full well that she was begetting with many labours creatures who would no sooner be born than find themselves condemned to death!

These considerations made her barrenness easier to bear, as she feared her very fruitfulness would have a sorrowful outcome, bringing forth tears rather than children. Amidst all these cries and lamentations, however, the one blessing to emerge was that they were directed to the Author of this very nature who, having made it without these defects, could repair it just as easily as He made it in the first place. This was an opportunity for Him to  construct a new route in nature itself, proceeding with a confidence more divine than human through a virginal conception and birth, following gate path previously unknown, leaving no signs of passage, so as to restore nature by this birth to its first freedom and to cleanse the streams by purifying the source. 

Footnotes

[1] Serm. 12.

[2] Homil. 2 de jejunio.

[3] Serm. 2 de Nativit. B. Virg.

[4] Revel., lib. I, c. 9.

[5] Serm. exhortatio ad fratres.

[6] Parænesi 46.

[7] Serm. 87.

Their faith and hope 

 9   They were great in their faith and in their hope. If faith, as St Ambrose says[1], continues to live and even to work miracles after death, who will be able to deny that the faith of St Joachim and St Anne was so great that, to borrow the words of St Peter Chrysologus[2], 

It brought springtime greenery back to bodies that had grown dry and withered, it rejuvenated people who had become advanced in years and, in a mysterious way, it took life from its sunset to back to its dawn at break of day. 

If the property of hope, in the judgement of Blessed Antiochus[3], is to bring forth wonderful fruit by means of faith which serves to water it, what must have been the hope which brought into the world such beautiful fruit as Mary, the fruit of benediction? If tears are the lifeblood of the soul, as St Anthony of Padua[4] calls them, and if hope is the lifeblood of faith, as Clement of Alexandria[5] says, what then must have been the faith of these Saints who shed so many tears and what must have been their hope which was founded on such a firm faith? How much blood would it have cost them to deliver this precious pledge to the world? Sacred Scripture has praised to heaven the faith of Abraham who is honoured with the glorious title of Father of the faithful[6]. This is even though St John Chrysostom[7] and St Jerome[8] accuse him of a certain lack of trust, based on what is written in the 17th chapter of Genesis where it says that after the Angel had told him he would have a son, he fell upon his face, and laughed, saying in his heart: Shall a son, thinkest thou, be born to him that is a hundred years old? and shall Sara that is ninety years old bring forth?[9] It is true, however, that St Paul seems to defend him vigorously in the 4th chapter of his Epistle to the Romans, saying that he was not weak in faith and against hope believed in hope; and neither did he consider his own body now dead, whereas he was almost an hundred years old, nor the dead womb of Sara[10]. Be that as it may, in order to take nothing away from the merits of the Saints, if the faith of Abraham and Sarah was great then I can state confidently that the faith of St Joachim and St Anne was no less so, granted that St Epiphanius, St Jerome, Saint Gregory of Nyssa, St Germanus, St Andrew of Candia and the other Fathers cited above declare that they never hesitated once in their belief, not even to the slightest degree, in what the Holy Angel had prophesied. If Abraham and Sarah believed that all the nations of the earth would be blessed through the Son who was to be born of them, St Joachim and St Anne firmly believed they would be the parents of her whom St Ephrem[11] calls the hope of the ancient Fathers, source of joy for men of goodwill, a light for the just, the honour of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the glory of Moses and Aaron and the crown of all the Saints. The former were hailing from a distance the rich jewel of Heaven who was to be the honour of their race; the latter had merited to hold in their arms both the Mother and the Son through whom the whole world was to be redeemed. The former learned of the happiness which was to come to them through Isaac only after the Angel brought the news to them; the latter had for a long time felt a presentiment of their joy, whence came the earnest prayers and requests that they made continually to God, as is clear from the writings of the above-mentioned Doctors. To sum up, if faith was in its infancy amongst the Patriarchs and in its youth amongst the Prophets, as Abbot Guerric[12] has said, can I not say that it was in Joachim and Anne, who came so close to the grace of the New Testament, that faith came of age ? 

Footnotes

[1] Orat. in Funere Theodosii.

[2] Serm. 87.

[3] Homil. 2.

[4] Dominica I post. Epiph.

[5] Lib. I Pædagog.

[6] Rom. iv. 16-17.

[7] In cap. 17 Gen.

[8] Lib. I adversus Pelagianos.

[9] Gen. xvii. 17.

[10] Rom. iv. 18-19.

[11] Serm. de Laud. B. Virg.

[12] Serm. 4 de Nativ. Dom.

© Peter Bloor 2025 

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The Virgin of Tenderness. >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.

He that hearkeneth to me, shall not be confounded: and they that work by me, shall not sin. They that explain me shall have life everlasting. Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) xxiv. 30-31.