Part II : The Crown of Power : Chapter 9 : § 4.7-8

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)

§ 4. The second Legion of the enemies of God and the Holy Virgin : Magicians, Sorcerers and other such monsters of nature having familiar intercourse with the Devil

 7   Now if the MOTHER OF GOD for her part detests these people and spares no effort in hunting them down, who would find that in any way unusual? In fact, would it not be most unusual if this were not the case? This follows on naturally from her incomparable holiness and in fact she is more directly opposed to their evil thoughts and actions than any other person after God Himself. Her involvement also springs from her status and role as Mother for all God’s children who without her would become prey for these wolves in human form and for these execrable harpies who thirst as much for human blood as they do for the destruction of souls. Over and beyond this, she feels a duty almost impossible to describe resulting from the incomparable love she has for her beloved Son whom she knows is the principal target of the continual sacrileges, outrages and blasphemies committed by these accursed pariahs. The case of the wretched Anatolius provides a powerful example of this. It may be found in the accounts of several learned authors[1] and deserves to be better known.

Coming from a very modest background, Anatolius had little by little been improving his position when he came to the great city of Antioch. There he began to ingratiate himself with certain reputable persons and through their friendship he was given the opportunity to enter public offices and positions of power. His entrance into these circles gave him the access he had always wanted to Gregory, Bishop of Antioch. Making use of this acquaintance (which was public knowledge) he made himself a key player in public administration, acknowledged and sought after by the majority of those working in this area. He was unable, however, to manage his own affairs without provoking the envy and hatred of good men and especially among the common people. Eventually, he stood accused of serious offences, along with his followers, for he had brought together a group of like-minded people who were also involved in sorcery and the occult. His crimes included extortion blasphemy and sacrilege, black magic, being found with others offering sacrifices to the devil, and countless other acts of iniquity. It was not unnatural for the public to include the Bishop in their condemnation because of his acquaintance with Anatolius. A network of friends and associates sprang into action, working on everyone and finding hundreds of ruses and stratagems to protect the guilty parties. Their plans would have been successful had not the ordinary people risen up against these enemies of the public good. Anatolius, however, was kept in close confinement and his personal focus was on regaining his freedom.

Inside his prison was a statue of Our Lady with a cord attached; she was venerated as the refuge of sinners and comfort of the afflicted. Anatolius showed his wicked nature by pretending to kneel in front of the statue, even though his heart was far from her. To make his deception more convincing, he tied his hands behind his back so as to give the impression that he was like a penitent criminal coming into the presence of the Virgin. He would pray in this manner on both knees before the statue – but this prayer came only from his lips, for within himself he had a heart like that of Antiochus[2]. This caused the MOTHER OF GOD to turn her back on him in the sight of several other prisoners and their guards who after this could see him only as one hated by Heaven and detested by the Holy Virgin. She herself spoke about him to several devout followers of hers in the city of Antioch, declaring she found him intolerable because of the insults that he would spew in the face of her Son. The news travelled quickly by word of mouth and eventually reached the pious emperor Tiberius, who immediately commanded his judges to summon Anatolius before him.

Closely guarded, he finally arrived in Constantinople with his followers, who were all criminals like him. The Emperor remitted the case to the Bishop and the Ecclesiastical Judges, who in due course handed it over to the secular authorities. The friends of this wicked man immediately tried to influence these so as to win them over. In fact, the authorities dealt with them so lightly that they were content simply to issue decrees of banishment for a number of those accused. On learning of this, the ordinary people of Constantinople were so furious that crowds of them took to the streets. They seized the accused and took them out to sea with a supply of faggots as they planned to make a sacrifice to God of these miscreants who had offered so many sacrifices to the demons. As for the Bishop and the Judges, God spared them the people’s wrath otherwise they would have found it difficult to escape a similar fate. This was not the case for the wretched Anatolius, however, for was firstly scourged and then led to the Amphitheatre where wild beasts were let loose upon him. Before they could kill him, he was taken away and hanged on a gibbet. This was not the end of his woes, however, for wolves were set upon him and they devoured what remained of his body. 

I should not omit to mention here that, during the trial of Anatolius, the Holy Virgin made many interventions, pointing out the cowardice and complicity of several officials. In particular, she showed herself to a certain officer of the Imperial Palace and reproached him for the way he was failing to deal properly with this matter which touched her personally, telling him it it would go ill with him for supporting the case of someone who had spared nothing in dishonouring her as well as her beloved son.

 

Footnotes

[1] Evagr., lib. V Hist. Eccles., c. 17 et 18 ; Nicephorus, lib. XVIII, c. 4 ; Baron., t. VII Annal, ad an-num 580.

[2] Antiochus IV. See I & II Machabees.

 8   There you have the beginning of that tragedy which will work itself out in desperate persons such as these throughout all eternity. We shall have to keep the rest of the story for our discussion of the victories gained by the MOTHER OF GOD over the dark arts and the wicked sorcerers. It is enough for now to say that their iniquity must be truly great since the Mother of Mercy lays aside her gentleness in such cases and she who is the Advocate of sinners is moved by love to speak against them. Accordingly, let those who look to her for mercy realise that they are simply not permitted to have intercourse with persons such as these, any more than they are with Demons. Let those who work in the administration of justice, moreover, remember that God orders them to dispatch these enemies without mercy as plagues of the world and as sworn enemies of God and the Holy Virgin – for fear of being judged accessories to their crimes.

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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