Chapter 10 The Ninth Star or Splendour of the Crown of Power of the MOTHER OF GOD
She is in charge of the Church’s resources and Treasurer of the Saviour’s graces
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) |
§ 2. The power the MOTHER OF GOD has over the Saviour’s resources
1 It is now time to turn our attention to the MOTHER OF GOD since the main point of this discussion is to highlight the remarkable power she has been given over the incomparable treasure of graces and favours of her Son. Out of a considerable number of Doctors who pay homage to the holy Virgin because of this very power, I have chosen a small number as witnesses. The pious Idiota[1] in the first chapter of the contemplations which he composed on the Holy Virgin called her the Treasury of Heaven’s graces[2], forasmuch as she is able to dispose of them according to her will. This is a favour which St Bernard[3] calls singularly general, and generally singular.
Singular in as much as it uniquely applies to her in a personal capacity; general because she is granted a general power to use the treasury for the common good of all those who have need of God’s graces, which they are to receive through her hands.
Elsewhere[4] he exhorts us
To honour with our whole heart and soul Her whom God ordained to be the means by which we receive all that we ask for.
In another place[5] he tells us that:
If ever we hope to receive some grace from the Author of all goodness, this grace must first reside in Mary.
All the treasures of the mercy of God are in thy hands, says Blessed St John Damascene[6], and thou alone hast been chosen to keep the keys and to distribute them to men according to thy good will.
St Bonaventure[7], paraphrasing the words of the Angelic salutation: The Lord is with thee, speaks as follows:
Most Holy Virgin! The Lord, who is with thee, is very generous with His riches; and since He is most generous with thee, it must follow that thou art thyself most generously enriched in all the ways that He is with thee.
This is supported by what is said in Proverbs[8]: With me are riches and glory; or, as another version has it: From me come riches and glory[9]; the Saints, who are able to perceive things in ways we cannot, have recognised almost everywhere in the universe the signs of this sovereign power she enjoys.
Footnotes
[1] Idiota in this context means private, simple, or peculiar; there is a consensus that it was a nom de plume used by Raymundus Jordanus. See Idiota in Catholic Encyclopedia.
[2] Thesauraria gratiarum existis.
[3] Serm. 3 in Missus.
[4] Serm. de Nativit. B. Virg.
[5] Serm. in Salve.
[6] Serm. de Nativit. B. Virg.
[7] Speculi B. Virg., c. 8.
[8] Prov. viii. 18.
[9] Cf. Wealth and glory belong to me / πλοῦτος καὶ δόξα ἐμοὶ ὑπάρχει (Septuagint).
2 The Saints have seen that the marks of her sovereign power were engraved on the Sun and the Moon, as I showed in Part I of this work[1]. They have said as much about the elements and St John Damascene make some excellent points on the second Oratio of the Assumption where he astutely observes that:
It is one of the wonders of nature to see how the same rain accommodates itself so well to different terrains that it can bring forth all manner of things. In one place it produces a grape; in another, an orange; here, a pomegranate; there, a lemon or a melon; in one plot of the same parterre it produces a rose; in another, a carnation, a lily or a tulip. In one place, the rain produces stone; in another, wood; in another, metal. In short, you would say that the rain seems as though it were endowed with sense so as to meet the needs of everything in nature.
It is different with the MOTHER OF GOD who, like a cloud replete with a rich store of graces, drops down heavenly dew, showering over all the earth the longed-for favours of her beloved Spouse. In one place she melts the sinner’s hardened heart, moving him to repentance; in another place, she causes the soul of the just man to bud and blossom by advancing in virtue. Sometimes she gives encouragement to those who are struggling, sometimes she awakens those who have fallen asleep; here, she calls upon people to live well and lead a good life, there she helps them to die well, and make a good death; one person she will keep safe from an occasion of sin, to another she will provide an opportunity of doing something pleasing to God; in short, she works everywhere in a thousand different ways, guiding souls on the right path to achieve their end – which is eternal salvation.
Footnotes
[1] Chap. 13, § 4.
3 St Bernard presents a different image[1] when he describes the sacred Virgin as being like a great aqueduct stretching down from heaven to earth, there to provide in abundance the living waters of God’s graces.
This does not mean to say, he writes, that God Himself could not distribute His own gifts; but it pleased Him to grant us the favour of giving us a Mediatrix whom He found so pleasing that she was able to obtain for us what we ourselves would never have deserved. Accordingly, he goes on to say, let us recognise how highly God wishes us to honour her who is the repository of all His graces and favours; so that if there remains for us any hope of obtaining pardon, or if we hope for some share in God’s graces, we can rest assured that it is to her that we should address our requests.
Footnotes
[1] Serm. de Aquæ ductu.
4 It is worth remembering at this point that man, as Sophronius[1] has explained, along with other creatures, bears the image of this same power imprinted deep in his natural faculties. Just as we see how in animals everything originates in the head and then passes through the neck so as to be communicated to all the parts of the body; in the same way, it is from the Saviour, as from the Head of the Church, that flow all the graces which, through the mediation of the Holy Mother, are made available to all the members of this mystical body. This power is of such great import that it certainly deserves to be considered in greater detail.
Footnotes
[1] Serm. de Assumpt.
👑 👑 👑
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
No comments:
Post a Comment