Part II : The Crown of Power : Chapter 9 : § 8.4

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)

§ 8. The second victory of the MOTHER OF GOD : defeating the Magicians, Sorcerers and such like enemies of her Son and His followers

 4   After a battle, the principal honour for the triumphant general was to enrich himself by taking from his opposite number the spoils of victory. In the same way, the high point of the triumphs of the MOTHER OF GOD consists in the precious spoils which she seizes after her victories over sorcery, often with the death of some of the enemy leaders. She takes away from Satan’s own hands the pledges they gave of their perfidy – causing them great discomfiture, bringing eternal shame of their dark and hideous practices, and confounding hell itself in an irremediable manner.

The whole of antiquity knew the memorable story of Theophilus and his story was all the more credible because the first account was written by Eutychianus, Patriarch of Constantinople[1]. He was born in the paternal home of the same Theophilus and was an eyewitness of what happened to his close friend. The story was also reported later by Metaphrastes[2], by Peter Damien[3] Archbishop of Ostia, by Honorius, Bishop of Autun, by St Antoninus, Archbishop of Florence, and by several other learned authors.

During the time of the Emperor Justinian, Theophilus was a churchman so highly regarded that he had been judged worthy of being made a bishop. He was unwilling, however, to agree to this appointment and so he was made Bursar or Principal Archdeacon of the Church of Adana in Cilicia. There never seems to be a shortage of troublemakers wishing ill to good men, and after a short while he was accused of embezzlement in his role as Bursar. The charges against him were so serious that he was removed in ignominy. The evil one, however, never sleeps and took advantage of this situation by leading him to an old Jewish sorcerer who practised his dark arts on him so successfully that he decided to seek vengeance for the wrong he had suffered. Accordingly, he engaged the help of hell and, by a written pact signed by his own hand, he surrendered himself into the power of Satan who had appeared to him in person. Before very long, the unfortunate man began to be troubled in his conscience by the interior reproaches of God and his Holy Mother who asked him why he had deserted them in such a cowardly manner, bringing eternal damnation upon himself. He could not put up with this for long but, in the end, what could he now do, to whom could he devote himself, and from whom could he expect mercy? From the most blessed Trinity? Alas! He had shamefully betrayed the Trinity. From the Saviour of souls crucified for sinners? He had trampled under foot His precious blood and renounced the fruits of His passion. From the Saints? He had scorned them. From the Virgin? He had turned his back upon her – but this is the refuge where he stops, for He remembers the stories of her bountiful mercy published by so many writers and experienced by countless people. In the deep distress of his troubled heart, he takes himself to a chapel dedicated to the Mother of goodness and there, in front of her image, he prostrates himself on the ground and addresses the following words to her, which were recorded by the author:

“Most Blessed Lady, defender and protectress of mankind, safe haven and assured refuge for those who have recourse to thee : I confess that I have sinned greatly against thee and against thy beloved Son and that I do not deserve forgiveness. Nevertheless, through this humble confession that I make to thee of my betrayal, and through thine own mercy, I implore thee to present me to thy Son and not to reject in horror a poor man who was miserably deceived by the enemy of mankind and to whom there remains no other hope of salvation than through thee alone. I know well enough, dearest Lady, that my only hope is in thee and, were I to be rejected by thee, then I would indeed be truly lost; but since thou hast never refused the prayers of a contrite heart nor sent away a penitent sinner, I entreat thee by all the witnesses both ancient and recent of thy tender mercies, not to turn away one who promises before God never to forget thee or abandon his devotion to thee for anything in the world.”

After he had said these words, with sighs and sobs he lay face down on the ground weeping for the space of forty days. This so touched the heart of this gentle Mother that she could no longer hold herself back and she revealed to the humble penitent that she had granted his request. On the fortieth day, whilst he was in the same position and uttering the same prayers, he suddenly saw before him the paper that he had given to the devil and shortly after this he was by reconciled by his Bishop with the Church and with God. The Holy Virgin is never known to do things by halves, and from this point on she took this man under her protection and granted him graces and favours, one after another. He eventually came to merit, through the great example of his life, the inclusion of his name in the catalogue of Saints and he is honoured by the church on the fourth day of February.

This triumph is not an isolated example : a similar one may be found in the story of Lorette[4], another one in the general history of the Friars Preachers[5], and there are several other sources which those interested will easily be able to locate. Let the one that we have just studied serve for us as an irreproachable testimony to the power of the MOTHER OF GOD, a power that she is more than willing to use, that shows the exceptional generosity of her heart – inviting sinners to approach her with total trust, revealing the fruits that may be enjoyed by those who are truly penitent, and showing us the dangers of giving free rein to our passions.

Footnotes

[1] Lib. de Poenitentia Theophili.

[2] Serm. 1 de Nativit. B. Virg.

[3] Serm. 1 de Assumpt.

[4] Lib. IV, c. 3.

[5] I part., lib. II, c. 72. Utramque refert Delrio, disquisit. Magic., lib. VI, c. 2, sect. 3, q. 3, littera AA.

👑   👑   👑

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