Chapter 7 : The Sixth Star or Splendour of the Crown of Power of the MOTHER OF GOD
She rules and guides[1] the Church
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) |
The Apostle St Peter could not have chosen a more fitting name than the one he bestowed upon the children of the Church when he called them the people and the kingdom of conquest[2]. If ever there were a King who acquired his kingdom through valour in battle, then truly it was the Saviour, this mighty conqueror who spared neither His blood nor His life, as we saw a little earlier. Because of this idea, I think it might be useful to deepen our understanding of His kingdom, for if a Prince of such merit purchased it at such a high price, then the kingdom must be indeed truly excellent. I am confident that we shall find great satisfaction in contemplating the Queen who helped in this conquest, playing her part alongside her Son and her Spouse ruling this kingdom.
Footnotes
[1] The French heading here describes Mary as la Gouvernante (lit. the governess). The senses may be as follows : 1. a female ruler (here a Queen co-regnant with her Son): 1548 The Lady Margaret gouernesse of Flaunders; 2. protectress: Queen of heuene... In gostly woundes be ther gouerneresse .J. Lydgate, To Mary Queen of Heaven.(OED) 3. someone who steers or guides. Etym. of govern derives from Latin gubernare, with a sense of steering a ship (cf. Ch. 6 §11.6-7 above).
[2] But you are a chosen generation, a kingly priesthood, a holy nation, a purchased people: I Pet. ii. 9.
§ 1. Spiritual King and Head of the Church : second title of the Saviour of our souls
1 Even though it may seem at first glance that the kingdom of Solomon (whom we have taken for one of the most illustrious types prefiguring the Saviour) was only a temporal kingdom, anyone who weighs carefully the words he speaks of himself in the book of Wisdom[1], namely that God made him sit upon the Royal Throne so as to build him a temple; anyone who gives due weight to considering how the young Prince put this forward as the most compelling reason for asking God to grant him wisdom[2]; any one reflecting upon the great peace which accompanied his reign, or the happiness which ensued, and on the unlimited riches he had at his disposition – I think such a person will find it easy to conclude that the aim or end of this kingdom was more spiritual than temporal, and that God’s plan was not confined to the summit of Mount Moriah nor even to Palestine, but that this material temple prefigured a spiritual building which is none other than the Church of the Saviour. This cannot be demonstrated more vividly than by sketching out the links and parallels between these two. There are nine features of the ancient temple of Solomon which stand out and which are found to a substantial extent in the Church of God, that is to say in the spiritual Kingdom of the Redeemer.
Footnotes
[1] Thou hast chosen me to be king of thy people...and hast commanded me to build a temple on thy holy mount. Wisdom ix.7-8.
[2] Wisdom ix. 9-11.
The End for which the Temple was built
2 The first is the End for which the Temple was built and this is described by Solomon himself in the second Book of Paralipomenon[1]: The house that I wish to build is not a small undertaking, since the God for whom it is planned is incomparably higher than all the other gods of the earth. Who will be the one able to construct a building worthy of his greatness? It is true that there can be no end more excellent than this, but the Church succeeds to a far higher degree and with access to more sublime means than the ancient Synagogue.
Footnotes
[1] For the house which I desire to build, is great: for our God is great above all gods. II Paralipomenon (II Chronicles) ii. 5.
The Builder of the Temple
3 The second is the Builder, and setting aside the design itself which came from God, two peerless Princes employed all the energies and gifts that they had received from Heaven in completing this project. Whilst David put together the plans and gathered the building materials, the glory is specially reserved for his son Solomon, for reasons which are given in the second book of Kings and in the first of Paralipomenon[1]: namely, that David, being a warrior prince leading men under arms on active campaign, his duty was to bequeath a peaceful kingdom to his son rather than to reap the benefits himself of the peace that he had won. Leaving aside this matter, how can there be any comparison between David and Solomon on the one hand, and the Eternal Father with His beloved Son on the other, who are the unique founders of the Church and about whom we can say in truth with the same David, that the most High lay down the foundations thereof[2]? It is indeed true that whilst God the Father from all eternity had in mind the idea of this masterwork, nevertheless because He was the Lord God of armies[3], He was willing to cede the honour of completing this noble project to the Prince of Peace, His beloved son Jesus.
Footnotes
[1] I Paralipomenon (I Chronicles) xxii. 5-10.
[2] Ps. CI & CIII.
[3] Ps. XLV 8 &12.
The Greatness of the Temple
4 The third feature is the greatness of the Temple by which is meant, firstly, its size. This is compared several times in Scripture to that of a city. Next comes the number and variety of the offices, corridors, courts and sections it contains; and then the great number of ministers it had, sometimes amounting to seven or eight hundred. When, however, we turn our gaze towards the Christian Church, the ancient Temple building seems to be like a little shack in comparison. The Prophet Baruch[1] understood this well when he spoke to the Church under the name of Israel, saying to her: O Israel, how great is the house of God, and how vast is the place of his possession! It is great, and hath no end: it is high and immense. Isaiah[2] contemplated it from afar and heard the children of barren Rachel, that is to say of the Church, who were complaining about how little space they had. In another place[3], he gave an early warning to the Synagogue to open up its pavilions and to lengthen the cords so as to receive the nations who were to arrive in great numbers from all the corners of the world; or as he says elsewhere[4], from the rising of the sun in the east, to the setting of the sun in the west, from the north and from the south. The Prophet Zacharias[5] saw in the same spirit a Jerusalem without walls receiving new arrivals in countless numbers, with no end in sight. St John[6] saw the Angel of God pouring his vial into the great Euphrates river to render it dry, so as to allow passage to the Kings who were to go out to conquer foreign nations. As for the number of the Saviour’s officers and ministers of the spiritual state, it is easy to see how these surpass by far the others, so that they may almost be said to equal the stars in the firmament.
Footnotes
[1] Baruch iii. 24-25.
[2] The children of thy barrenness shall still say in thy ears: The place is too strait for me, make me room to dwell in. Isaias (Isaiah) xlix. 20.
[3] Enlarge the place of thy tent, and stretch out the skins of thy tabernacles, spare not: lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes. Isaias (Isaiah) liv. 2.
[4] Fear not, for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west. I will say to the north: Give up: and to the south. Isaias (Isaiah) xliii. 5-6.
[5] Jerusalem shall be inhabited without walls, by reason of the multitude of men, and of the beasts in the midst thereof. Zacharias (Zechariah) ii. 4.
[6] And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon that great river Euphrates; and dried up the water thereof, that a way might be prepared for the kings from the rising of the sun. Apoc. xvi. 12.
The Strength of the Temple
5 The fourth feature is the Strength of this Temple which seems set to resist the passage of time so as to equal the duration of eternity. This is one reason why David[1] compared it to the unicorn which puts in fear all the animals of the earth. This, however, takes nothing away from the Church which is represented by:
• the fourth of the kingdoms referred to by Daniel[2], which was to break and overthrow all the others;
• the rod of iron mentioned by David[3], which was to vanquish all the nations of the earth; and
• the rock mentioned in the Gospel[4], against which the gates of Hell would be unable to prevail.
[1] And he built his sanctuary as of unicorns, in the land which he founded for ever. Ps. LXXVII 69.
[2] And the fourth kingdom shall be as iron. As iron breaketh into pieces, and subdueth all things, so shall that break and destroy all these. Dan. ii. 40.
[3] Thou shalt rule them with a rod of iron, and shalt break them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Ps, II 9.
[4] Matt. xvi. 18.
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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 Virgin of Tenderness. >12th century.
Totus tuus ego sum
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam.
© Peter Bloor 2025
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