Part II : The Crown of Power : Chapter 9 : § 10.2-6

Chapter 9 The Eighth Star or Splendour of the Crown of Power of the MOTHER OF GOD

She commands the Church’s armies

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)

§ 10. The fourth victory of the MOTHER OF GOD : defeating the Blasphemers, enemies of her Son and His followers

 2   In the year 1588[1], a dissolute lecher seduced a poor Indian woman and was spending the night with her. Through thunder and lightning, however, accompanied by rain and hailstones, Heaven showed its disapproval, demanding an end to this sinful behaviour. The woman promptly responded in a prudent and proper manner, urging the old rake to seek help from the MOTHER OF GOD. Despite the violence of the storm around them which seemed to be sounding a warning, this wretched profligate mocked the woman for her fear, telling her that it was ridiculous to believe in help from Mary. He had scarcely finished uttering these blasphemous words when Heaven unleashed its last avenging stroke, hurling down from the clouds a fatal bolt of lightning which struck the wretch and threw him four or five feet from the bed. His distraught companion jumped out of bed and, thinking he was only suffering from shock, went over to him. Finding that that some straw and wood near the man’s body had caught fire, she decided to try and pull him by his feet out of the room but the flames prevented her and she found herself trapped. The only thing she could do was to shout out "Fire!" and call for help. Neighbours came quickly to her assistance and they found the man stretched out on the ground with his mouth open, showing all his teeth which had been broken and his tongue (which had been the main instrument of his blasphemy) torn from its roots. They tried to carry him out of the building but whatever they took hold of seemed to stick in their hands. From all that they had see and heard, they learned how rash and dangerous it is to go against the MOTHER OF GOD.

Footnotes

[1] Franciscus Bencius, in Annalibus Peruanis ejus anni.

 3   It is of course beneficial to learn from others’ mistakes but it is terrible when people find their own sins serve as an example to others. This was the case in an Italian township near the city of Genoa in the year 1198, as is recorded by the faithful English chronicler[1] who says: 

A number of the inhabitants in this town were found to be possessed by devils; this had a great impact upon everybody and large numbers came from the surrounding district to see these people who were behaving in such a strange way, doing and saying the most extraordinary things. Help was sent for, including requests to members of various Religious orders. The best response came from the Abbot of Lucy of the Cistercian Order whose persistence forced these evil spirits to leave the bodies they had entered. He was especially keen to discover the reason for their appearance in this particular town and he learned from the chief amongst these spirits that they were the legion which the Saviour had cast out and had permitted to go into swine[2]. From that time onwards, their power had been limited to tormenting those who blasphemed against the Holy Virgin; as there were numerous such blasphemers in this town, that was why they had appeared there.

Footnotes

[1] Rogerius ab Hovedem, part. II Annal. in Richardo primo, an. 1198.

[2] Mark v. 11-13.

 4   I cannot and must not pass over in silence what pious tradition says happened over three hundred years ago in the noble city of Avignon. 

In the street of Our Lady of Hope, not far from St Didier Square, there is a chapel of the same name with an ancient painting which represents the incident I am about to describe. There was in the same place an image of the Virgin, which can still be seen today through a wooden trellis. The image is called Our Lady of Hope and the people of Avignon, who have always had a great devotion to the MOTHER OF GOD, showed her great veneration at this location. There was a shop opposite where some men were playing cards; one of them lost all his money and left in a furious temper, shouting out blasphemies (although I have been unable to find out exactly what he said). He picked up a stone and threw it at the image of Our Lady, hitting her beneath her breast and the mark can still be seen on the image today. Suddenly, blood started to pour from the wound and the wretched man, totally distraught and as though out of his mind, was at that very instant struck by Heaven and his whole body was disfigured. He later appeared in court, was condemned to death and to make honourable reparation to the Virgin whom he had insulted. He was duly taken back to the scene of his crime but his heart had so changed and he felt such contrition for what he had done that he knelt before the image in order to offer sincere reparation in honour of the MOTHER OF GOD. His sobs and weeping so touched the Blessed Virgin that she was moved to clemency and, to show that she was completely satisfied by his repentance, she restored his body to full health.

 5   The Patriarch Sophronius, in a book he called The Spiritual Meadow[1], relates a story which confirms what I have just said, namely that the MOTHER OF GOD even in her punishments does not forget her natural gentleness.

In the city of Heliopolis in Phoenicia, there was a man who enjoyed entertaining people with stories he would make up about the MOTHER OF GOD, interspersing his jokes with a number of blasphemies. One night, the Holy Virgin appeared to him saying:

“Cajanus, (for such was his name), in what way have I wronged thee or deserve to be treated like this by thee in the presence of so many people?

Far from taking note of this warning, the man was actually worse the next day. The tender-hearted Virgin warned him again as she had done on the previous day and urged him not to bring misfortune upon himself by making people laugh in this way. This warning had no more effect than the first one but she gave him a third opportunity. This too had no effect and on the fourth day, whilst he was resting at noon, he saw in his sleep this same Lady who was now angry and she seemed to do no more than touched the heel of his foot with her hand. When he awoke, however, he found that he had not been dreaming and that his feet had been cut and in this way he was prevented from returning to resume his blasphemies. From that moment onwards, he became a Preacher who spoke of the wondrous qualities of this gentle Lady Magistrate, telling everyone who came to see him about what had befallen him.

Footnotes

[1] Ch 47. Spiritual Meadow : Pratum Spirituale: generally attributed to Johannes Moschus (550-619), who was accompanied in his travels by Sophronius. See The Spiritual Meadow (Cistercian Publications), a 1992 English translation by John Wortley.

 6   In addition to these historical examples of punishments administered to people who blasphemed the MOTHER OF GOD, I have two more from our own day which were witnessed by the inhabitants of two entire towns, proving that blasphemers can pay a high price for such insults and mockery. 

This account is based upon what was told me by an honourable and virtuous man who learned of it at the very place where it happened and who knew personally the man who features in this story. The incident took place on the feast of the Nativity of Our Lady in the year 16O4 or 16O5, (he could not say precisely in which of these years it took place). A man from the town of Trignac (in Limousin) called John but known to all as the Cellarer because of his trade, had gone to sell wine and other goods to a Chapel called Our Lady of Bessière (which was about a league and a half away from his town). John, who was a Huguenot, saw a peasant saying his prayers in front of two images in the Chapel, one of which was old and the other had been placed there quite recently. In a mocking tone, John asked him which of the two would be more favourable to his requests, the old one or the younger one. The peasant replied simply that it would be much better if he were to join him in the veneration of Our Lady, whom these images represented, rather than making such mocking comments.

“Venerate her?” said the Huguenot; “I would sooner God or the devil burn my whole house down.”

No sooner had he uttered these words than, clear and sunny though the day had been, a terrible storm suddenly arose with thunder and lightning so terrible that everyone fled to seek shelter. At that same moment, (as people later remembered), a flaming torch was seen coming through the centre of the blasphemer’s town; it went through the door of the his house and burned the building to the ground along with all its contents; this was seen by more than five hundred people. The wretched man died shortly afterwards in a desperate state, having lost all his wealth and fallen into extreme poverty and misery. This punishment caused the conversion of a goodly number of persons away from their false and heretical religion, as is known by the inhabitants of this region.

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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.

© Peter Bloor 2025 

Part II : The Crown of Power : Chapter 9 : § 9.16-17 > § 10.1

Chapter 9 The Eighth Star or Splendour of the Crown of Power of the MOTHER OF GOD

She commands the Church’s armies

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)

§ 9. The third victory of the MOTHER OF GOD : defeating the Heretics, enemies of her Son and His followers

 16   Can you now understand why I asked the devoted servants of the Virgin to hold back the anger and indignation they felt rising in their hearts against these wretches ? Do you remember how I promised them that they would soon see these miscreants dealt with by the justice of God? Where are these arrogant rodomonts[1] now who in their insolence presumed to take on heaven and earth, and who gave free rein to their lying tongues when they disparaged and attacked the honour of God and His Holy Mother? What has become of the hopes they seemed to have not only of tarnishing the lustre of the most Holy Virgin, but also of preventing people from offering service to her, and completely extinguishing her name? Desirous of scaling the heavens, they were cast down into hell; presuming to blacken the reputation of our Princess, they have themselves suffered the darkness of eternal dishonour; showing contempt for her to whom they owed all respect, they have made themselves deserving of all scorn; their insolent attacks have been turned back upon themselves, piercing them to the heart; and when they foamed at the mouth with their hateful insults, they succeeded only in covering themselves with filth. By attacking her who is the Mother of all the children of God, they consigned themselves to infamy and public hatred; in short, the result of all their effort has been to bring them to an execrable end, being tormented by countless horrors which never go away. This is the fate of all those who are so rash as to go against the MOTHER OF GOD, turning against themselves her whom God gave them to be their principal protectress.

Footnotes

[1] rodomont: A vain boaster. After Rodomonte, the boastful king in Orlando Innamorato by Matteo Boiardo and the sequel Orlando Furioso by Ludovico Ariosto.

 17   Out of all the victories, however, that this valiant woman gained against heresy, the most outstanding and the most glorious one was the way she decimated her enemies by winning over men’s hearts. Whole groups of people who had gone to war against her were defeated by her gentleness rather than by her severity. Drawn by her to leave the enemy’s ranks, they threw themselves at her feet, rallied to her colours, fighting under her command and for her cause with a courage a thousand times greater than any they had shown for hell. History is full of conquests such as these, and every day we experience how the ranks of the Church Militant and the Church Triumphant swell with the reinforcement of the precious spoils she brings – to the glory of the God of armies and to the honour of her who leads His troops so successfully in battle.

§ 10. The fourth victory of the MOTHER OF GOD : defeating the Blasphemers, enemies of her Son and His followers

 1   Of all the enemies of God and His Holy Mother, there remain only these to defeat. We shall soon see their end, however, for I hear the words of the warrior Virgin saying with David[1]: I will pursue after my enemies, and overtake them: and I will not turn again till they are consumed. Because, moreover, they deserve the hatred and indignation of all creatures, there is a nothing in nature that will not answer the summons of the Queen of the universe and fall upon them to annihilate them. I could easily confirm this with examples if we had the time to contemplate God’s justice and all the remarkable punishments he administered to these wretches, but I am hesitant about making the reader spend too much time on such an unpleasant subject. It will suffice to provide one or two examples by way of demonstration. It seems I really have only to show how many times the Holy Angels have been used to execute God’s judgement in such cases since no one is unaware that they carry the sword of God to execute His vengeance on sinners and that they in particular are most jealous of the honour of their Princess. I do not even wish to spend too long on the punishments decreed in such cases by Princes who were devoted to the service and honour of the Holy Virgin. Readers may discover for themselves the ordinances of Charles VII, Louis XII and Charles VII on this subject. They can study the exceptional example of the zeal of Philip VI (de Valois) who issued the following decree: Anyone blaspheming against the Holy Virgin for the first time would be placed in the public stocks for a month, every day from 9:00 o’clock in the morning until 3:00 o’clock in the afternoon; all passers-by were permitted to throw mud, dung and such like into the faces of the blasphemer, who would be required to spend a second month fasting on bread and water. For a second offence of blasphemy, on market day his upper lip would be cut open so as to expose the teeth; for a third offence, the same would be done to the lower lip; for the fourth offence the two lips would be cut off completely; and if someone were so rash as repeat the offence after this, all power of speech would be removed by cutting out the tongue.

Footnotes

[1] Ps. XVII. 38.

[2] The high praise of God shall be in their mouth: and two-edged swords in their hands:  To execute vengeance upon the nations, chastisements among the people: Ps. CXLVII. 6-7.

[3] Tit. de Maldic. et Blasphem., c. 1..

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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.

© Peter Bloor 2025 

Part II : The Crown of Power : Chapter 9 : § 9.14-15

Chapter 9 The Eighth Star or Splendour of the Crown of Power of the MOTHER OF GOD

She commands the Church’s armies

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)

§ 9. The third victory of the MOTHER OF GOD : defeating the Heretics, enemies of her Son and His followers

 14   As for the Albigensians, I have already spoken about them elsewhere in this work[1]. We have seen how in the past the heretical firebrands from hell left the world examples of the punishment they received. We should not forget, however, those in our own day who renewed blasphemies against the Virgin. Do you not think that there would have been an avenging goddess Adrasteia[2] For them too ? Time and space do not permit us to go into the details here but those who are interested can read what was written by the learned and pious Bosius[3]: 

He says that he saw a man who was in the service of Luther when he was suffering from a sickness in the town of Schmalkalden, who made him kiss his memorial. Having learned from him that his master ended up in such desperate straits, the man wanted to do away with himself. This he would have done without the prompt intervention and help of some of his friends who, to conceal the shame and disastrous fate of their Prophet, made everyone present swear an oath to tell nobody about this.

Readers may also wish to look into what was written by the diligent researcher Tyræus[4]:

On the day of Luther's death, a number of demoniacs in one of the towns of Brabant called Cheol[5] were suddenly freed from the spirits possessing them, causing great astonishment in all who witnessed this phenomenon. Greater still however was their astonishment when the next day the demons took possession once again of the bodies they had left on the previous day. When they were asked where they had been, the demons replied that on the orders of their prince, they had been present for the transfer of the soul of the great prophet Luther, who was their companion. One of Luther’s servants confirmed this account when he told how that very night, having opened a window to allow fresh air into the bed chamber where his master’s body had been laid out, he nearly died of fright when he saw a huge number of phantoms with varying shapes and sizes cavorting and capering in the air. Ravens accompanied the body with their croaking when it was carried from Eisleben to Wittenberg, reinforcing what people had heard about these evil demons and also about the manner of Luther’s death: for he was said to have gone to bed after a heavy bout of drinking and his lifeless body was found the following morning.

Footnotes

[1] Part I. ch. 13.

[2] Adestreia: the goddess of the inescapability of punishment, later identified with Nemesis, the goddess of divine retribution.

[3] P. II, t. II de Notis Ecclesiæ.

[4] De Dæmoniacis, I p., sect. 11.

[5] Possibly Heel in the south eastern Netherlands.

 15   A Doctor Cochlæus says much the same about Johann Œcolampadius, who:

having retired for the night in good health, was found dead in bed the following day by the woman claiming to be his wife. Some believe that she murdered him, others that he committed suicide; in his book on the Private Mass, Luther writes that Satan was his executioner.

John Calvin did not deserve an end any more honourable than the others and here is what Jerome Bolsec faithfully recorded in his biography:

After suffering for some four years with colic, gallstones, gout, haemorrhoids, tuberculosis, breathing difficulties, migraines, violent fluxions with coughing up of blood, when he died his body was infested with lice and vermin all over, but especially in the places where he had sinned most shamefully; before his end came, he could be heard invoking demons, swearing, cursing with spite and damning the day his studies had led him to such a pass.

 

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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.

© Peter Bloor 2025 

Part II : The Crown of Power : Chapter 9 : § 9.11-13

Chapter 9 The Eighth Star or Splendour of the Crown of Power of the MOTHER OF GOD

She commands the Church’s armies

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)

§ 9. The third victory of the MOTHER OF GOD : defeating the Heretics, enemies of her Son and His followers

 11   All the holy writers agree that Julian the Apostate paid a terrible price for the hatred he had shown to the Saviour of the world and His Holy Mother. Whilst he was waging war against the Persians, ignoring the warnings he had received, he was pierced in the side by a spear – but no one could say by whose hand. 

According to the historian Socrates[1], there was a soldier in the Emperor’s bodyguard who wrote it was a devil who did this. St Gregory of Nazianzus[2] believed that it was an Angel. St John Damascene[3] says that he heard from Helladius, a disciple and successor of St Basil the Great, that the same St Basil was praying in a Church dedicated to Our Lady and learned by a revelation that St Mercurius the Martyr was the one who delivered the blow. Sozomenes[4] adds that one of the apostate’s servants saw an apparent miracle where two well-armed soldiers flew through the air to attack the Emperor. Nicephorus[5] says the common opinion was that blessed Artemius, a noble Christian captain, was with St Mercurius. Theodoret adds that Julian died in a state of despair, and that as soon as he realized he had been wounded, he recognised the hand of God’s vengeance and, scooping up a handful of his blood, he threw it up into the sky, shouting out (according to some): Thou hast won this, Galilean, Thou hast won this; or, according to Nicephorus: Drink on this, Galilean, drink on this! Whilst he was dying, he not only showed his spite against the Saviour but also hurled reproaches and insults against his own gods who had shamefully deceived him, he said,  and broken their promises.

Footnotes

[1] Lib. III, c. 8.

[2] Orat. in Julianum.

[3] Orat. de Imaginibus.

[4] Lib. VI, c. 2.

[5] Lib. III Hist., c. 20.

 12   It is not for the historian Socrates (whom everyone knows was a Novatianist) to pass off Novatian as a martyr. I might allow this – provided he were to be numbered amongst the Martyrs of the Devil, along with his predecessors. The sad thing is that Socrates could not bring himself to give us details about the kind of death Novatian suffered. According to Jovinian: 

Novatian had become like a cancer, infecting everyone he spoke with, until finally, on the order of the Emperor Honorius[1], he was banished to the island of Boa off the Dalmatian coast. There he continued to lead his customary lifestyle, living like a true Epicurean pig, until death came when he spewed out his soul after growing fat through voluptuous feasting. 

You should not imagine that the detestable Nestorius fared any better; it is enough to recall what was written by several writers including Nicephorus[2], Evagrius[3] and others who say that:

Even though this man had been condemned by the Council of Ephesus, he continued to stir up trouble in the Eastern Church until finally the Emperor Theodosius the Younger realised what was happening and banished him to an Egyptian island called Oasis. There he suffered a miserable death – his body disintegrating and his tongue becoming food for worms. Some say even this was insufficient punishment for the harm he had wrought.

Footnotes

[1] Gennadius, de Viris illustr., c. 75.

[2] Lib. XIV Hist., c. 26.

[3] Lib. I, c. 8.

 13   I imagine that you are still waiting to learn about what happened to the Emperor Copronymus. We have good reason to nickname him the Unclean, not only because of what we have already written concerning the etymology of his name[1], but also because his life was filled with vile deeds and spells, and because of the pleasure he found in horse dung[2] which he would rub on his face, ordering the members of his court to do the same. In view of the scorn he displayed towards the MOTHER OF GOD during his life, it seems fitting that he should suffer dishonour in his death and this would serve as an example for posterity. As in his life he maintained close links with the notorious apostate we have just been discussing, so too he met his end in a similar way. 

Whilst he was making war against the Bulgarians, an invisible hand struck his thigh so powerfully that the wound suddenly seemed to catch fire; but this was no natural fire, says Cedrenus, for it rendered him altogether desperate and he cried out that Mary was burning him alive with an inextinguishable fire and she was forcing him to honour her as Virgin, as Saint and as the MOTHER OF GOD. He was indeed uttering these words – not in a penitent spirit, however, but made to do so by Heaven and he found himself quite unable to resist the force that was drawing these words out of his mouth.

A diligent historian[3] adds the following

Several years later the Emperor Michael, son of Theophilus, ordered the exhumation of his body along with that of John, Patriarch of Constantinople (who had been one of his minions and an iconoclast like him). Michael ordered their bodies to be carried to the amphitheatre where they were scourged until their bones were laid bare, and their remains were then thrown onto a bonfire.

Footnotes

[1] Copronymus: from two Greek roots meaning dung or excrement and name.

[2] Theoteristus, in Niceta ; Theophanes, in Misc.

[3] Georg. Ham., in Chronico. Vide Spondanum, ad an. 775.

 

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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.

© Peter Bloor 2025 

Part II : The Crown of Power : Chapter 9 : § 9.8-10

Chapter 9 The Eighth Star or Splendour of the Crown of Power of the MOTHER OF GOD

She commands the Church’s armies

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)

§ 9. The third victory of the MOTHER OF GOD : defeating the Heretics, enemies of her Son and His followers

 8   The first way she vanquished them was by imposing silence on them and she knew no rest until she had heard the last squeak from them, so that they no longer knew what to say or to do. Tell me if you can what has become today of the Cerinthians, the Ebionites, the Priscillianites, the Anti-Marianites and others such as these – have they not become names of ill omen for these heretics who now suffer eternal ignominy? What has become of all these Giants who seemed as though they would shake up the whole world and force everyone  to conform to their point of view? What is left of them now, other than an unpleasant memory, like the smoke left when a candle has been snuffed out, or the smell from a stinking midden, offensive to those who catch wind of it? Who would even know anything about them now if God’s Providence had not allowed their names to be preserved in the writings of the holy Doctors commemorating the victory won by the Saviour of the world, by the Holy Virgin commanding His armies and by so many valiant warriors who were immortalised in the battle, confounding for all eternity the forces of hell that brought forth these monsters, and teaching a lesson to those who might follow after them that they can expect no other outcome for their heretical teachings since they will suffer the same fate as their predecessors. 

I have always admired the achievement of St Gregory of Nazianzus who fought so successfully against the heresy of the Arians under the auspices of the Holy Virgin that he was able to bring back the true Faith to his city of Constantinople and to the Church dedicated to her there. After restoring the ancient piety of the Church, he bestowed upon the Virgin who had given him her support, and upon the place where he had preached his thunderous sermons, the title of Anastasia. This he did in an address he gave to one hundred and fifty bishops who had gathered in Constantinople. Anastasia[1]: as if to say: She who raised the true Faith from the dead, causing Arianism to die. As I said, I am grateful to this great Prelate for this way he found of showing his gratitude to the holy Virgin; but I wish that something like this had been done in all those places from which she succeeded in banishing error and wickedness so as to restore the true Faith and the ancient Religion. The world would be full of monuments and triumphal arches acknowledging her victories, all raised to the immortal memory of Mary the Protectress of the Faith and the destroyer of all heresies.

Footnotes

[1] From anastasis [ἀνάστασις] meaning resurrection.

 9   The second way she vanquished them was by casting down all these standard-bearers of condemned doctrine. Every single one of them met with a miserable end and the Holy Virgin’s victories were added to the growing volume of miracles that she performed. I should make it clear, however, that the role of the MOTHER OF GOD is not to cause fear in people; her great glory does not come from her strictness but rather from her gentleness and clemency. Now it is of course true that the principal duty of a judge in criminal cases is to protect the innocent; nevertheless, if there were no penalty acting as a deterrent for those who attack the innocent, this would be made impossible and for this reason the judge must be able to inspire fear in criminals. Although properly speaking the MOTHER OF GOD is known essentially for her gentle and kind-hearted nature, there are nevertheless occasions when, in order to protect her children from malefactors, she needs to demonstrate that she can administer punishment. To speak more precisely, we should explain that vengeance has no part in her but that God Himself will be a strict judge of those wretches who go against His beloved Mother, whose only wish is to win over the world by her loving goodness.

Footnotes

[1] Serm. in Signum magnum.

 10   If we were only to follow the history of heretics through the centuries, I am convinced we would find that they all met with a tragic end, worthy of the life they had led. 

St Irenæus, following Saint Polycarp, writes that Cerinthus had gone the public baths where he began to hold forth on his heretical errors. St John, contrary to his custom, told his followers to make ready for they were to accompany him to the baths. Once he arrived, he asked who was inside and he was told that it was Cerinthus with his supporters. The holy Apostle then turned towards those who were with him and said:

“Come on boys, we must hurry up and leave this place in case the building collapses on us.”

Scarcely had he set foot outside the entrance when they heard a terrible crashing noise and then they learned that the avenging justice of God had buried Cerinthus and his followers under the ruins of the building. 

St Epiphanius[1] tells the same story with the same details about the heresiarch known as Ebion. This led the great Cardinal and Chronicler[2] say that there were grounds for believing these two were companions in misfortune as they were in evil. Eusebius, speaking about Carpocrates and the other disciples of Simon Magus[3], says they all shared the same dreadful fate as their master, even though he does not give details. Nichephorus[4] writes that:

Mani, the notorious deceiver, arrived in Persia with his twelve disciples (whom he called his Apostles). There he found the King’s son was dangerously ill and, trusting to his own dark arts, he dismissed all the physicians and undertook to heal the young prince personally. This turned out very badly for him because the young man died soon afterwards and the King was so angry that he ordered Mani to be skinned alive and to be left in that condition to be eaten by dogs.

Footnotes

[1] Hæresi 10 vel 30.

[2] Baronius in An. 74 of his Annals.

[3] Lib. I, c. 1.

[4]Lib. VI Hist. Eccl., c. 31.

 

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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.

© Peter Bloor 2025 

Part II : The Crown of Power : Chapter 9 : § 9.6-7

Chapter 9 The Eighth Star or Splendour of the Crown of Power of the MOTHER OF GOD

She commands the Church’s armies

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)

§ 9. The third victory of the MOTHER OF GOD : defeating the Heretics, enemies of her Son and His followers

 6   Might it not be a consequence of her teaching role among the Apostles after the departure of her beloved son, when the enemy of man began to sow the cockles of error and heresy in the Church’s fertile soil? This is the view of the pious Abbot Rupert in his commentary on the fourth book of Canticles where the Saviour in His glory tries to wipe away the tears of His blessed Mother and, with the following words, to give His consoling response to the sighs she was sending up to Heaven and the desire she had to be with Him as soon as possible.

Most beloved Mother he says to her, the condition of this my Church – which is also thine – requires thee to stay a little longer on earth in order to reveal the firm links between the old prophecies and the preaching of my Apostles, to work several great miracles and to provide Religious instruction. I must tell thee that  factious men will arrive to bring division into our house, they will seek to make breaches in our defences, to raise questions about thine own virginity and about my Divinity. Amongst these will be the Carpocratians and the Valentinians, the Apollinarists, the Paulicians, the Jovinianists and other heretics such as these, all of whom will be seduced by the spirit of error which will fabricate hundreds of lies and deceptions. Accordingly, it is most necessary for thee to remain on earth for a time until the heresies of all these monstrous creatures are demolished by the truth that thou wilt speak and by the power of the proofs thou wilt supply, not only for those who write but also for others who preach the gospel.

This is why a little after this[1] the daughters of Jerusalem[2] press her so insistently to give them a description of her beloved and to set out his qualities in full – not so much for their own use (since they already had sufficient knowledge) – but to prevent the any twisting of the truth by unbelievers in the future.

Footnotes

[1] Rupertus, lib. V in Cant.

[2] Cant. v. 9.

 7   Finally, might it not be the case that the same truth which obliged the world to accept her as MOTHER OF GOD at the same time confounded all the errors being spread in opposition to the Saviour of the world during the first centuries of the Church? This is the opinion of St Bernard[1] who speaks of this in the Sermon he wrote on the mysterious vision featuring in chapter 12 of the Apocalypse: 

This woman, he says, is none other than she of whom it was promised to the world that she would crush the head of the ancient serpent, who in hundreds of ways and with hundreds of cunning stratagems kept watch for her heel, but without ever being able to inflict any harm; and whilst he was unable to do anything against her, she on the other hand was able single-handedly to confound the wickedness of all the heretics.

The heretics...

• who declared dogmatically that the Saviour had not taken our nature from the substance of this Virgin; 
• who proclaimed with their infernal hissing that she had not conceived and brought Him forth, but that she had simply encountered Him; 
• who blasphemed against her Son as well as against her saying that, after bringing forth the Word incarnate into the world, she had other children by her spouse St Joseph; and 
• who could not bear to hear her called MOTHER OF GOD. 

At the final reckoning, however, those who laid snares were themselves trapped; those who promised they would defeat her were themselves vanquished; those who wished to undermine and attack her qualities were confounded, and we will find that despite their efforts all generations would call her blessed. So here she now is in honour and in glory, notwithstanding what the Heretics tried to do; and there are all her enemies trampled beneath her feet, despite their every effort. Now can be heard, in all the highways and byways of the heavenly Jerusalem and everywhere in the Church Militant, songs of praise and joy, especially the following words: She hath triumphed! Long live the MOTHER OF GOD! Long live the general of His armies! Long lived the scourge and destroyer of Heresies! Long live Mary, who vanquished them single-handedly!

Footnotes

[1] Serm. in Signum magnum.

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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.

© Peter Bloor 2025