Chapter 11 The Tenth Star or Splendour of the Crown of Power of the MOTHER OF GOD
She is an Advocate for men and Mediatrix between them and her Son
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) |
§ 3. How advantageously the MOTHER OF GOD exercises her office for us on high
1 Heaven has always retained the power of modifying or changing earthly decrees and of over-ruling the laws and ordinances of men. To put this another way, there are several things here on earth which, even though they might be well established, nevertheless have no currency in heaven. Human laws, for example, show great wisdom in prohibiting women from appearing as advocates in court; apart from their natural weakness of intellect and the fact that it would never be permitted, their charms and enchanting ways would have too much power over the hearts of men. The Greek woman Phryne was beautiful but scarcely chaste when when she was summoned to defend herself before an assembly of Judges in Greece. Such however was the power of her comely countenance and the appeal of her sweet speech that the Judges could not but acquit her. The ancient Greeks knew better and were determined not to hear the fair Helen lest the same fate might befall them. What may be good on earth, however, does not always apply in heaven where it is impossible for such disorder of the passions to occur. Women are heard there just as much as men and, after the Saviour Himself, no one speaks there with such power and majesty as the glorious Virgin. In order to demonstrate this, we shall in the following discussion show just how perfectly she exercises her office as high Advocate – which is the title we are presently considering.
Jurisdiction and authority : first quality of the judge
2 The first excellent aspect of her intercession is that it is generally available for all creatures under the sun, in such a way that we can say of her what David says about the Sun[1]: there is no one that can hide himself from his heat. This makes me recall something mentioned by the Hebrew Cabbalists who say that there is a certain creature near God higher than all other creatures, whom they call Metatron, meaning the Princess of the faces[2], because she is always before the face of God, communicating the various needs of men and speaking on their behalf with great power. This is an example of their tendency to distort things but if there is a hidden truth here then it must be a reference to Mary who alone among mere creatures can merit this august title. This is what makes the Blessed Bishop Zacharias Chrysopolitanus speak about her in the following manner[3]:
We fly to thee, most holy Lady! And we follow after the sweet fragrance of thy perfume; do thou help those who run after thee, give relief to those who are weary and raise up those who have fallen, so that we may all come to be with thee; for thou hast stretched thy branches like the Terebinth tree over all the earth and we come seeking shelter so that thou mayest protect us from the scorching rays of the Sun, from the driving rain and from the rage of the whirlwind.
Why shall we not say of her what is written in Ecclesiasticus[4] that she shelters under her protection, like a thick cloud, the whole extent of the earth, for fear lest it be harmed by the fierce heat of God’s justice?
The learned Idiota[5] writes well of her as follows:
There is this difference between her and the other Saints, that the latter intercede mainly for individuals who have a particular devotion to them; but when it comes to the Holy Virgin, because she is Queen of all she is also Advocate for all and there is no one whom Her pitying and loving heart will not embrace.
The Saints have taken under their special protection a particular group of people, a particular family or a particular city or province. St Genevieve, for example, chiefly defends the royal city of Paris, St Saturninus the city of Toulouse, St Justus the city of Lyon, St Rufus the city of Avignon and so on. In the case of the Holy Virgin, however, her embrace includes France, Italy, Spain, Greece, the Indies, Europe, Africa, Asia, America – all that is under the sun is safeguarded under her protection. This is what painters have tried to portray when they depict all the nations of the earth sheltered under her great mantle: the great and the small, the young and the old, the poor and the rich, the learned and the illiterate, the just and the sinners, men and women; in short, all that belongs to the jurisdiction and domain of God comes under Mary’s mantle, and everyone has recourse to her as to to their common refuge. Should I say any more? Why not? The Saints who are in Paradise, from the foremost of the Seraphim to the tiniest baby who died with baptismal grace – all need her intercession and they all have recourse to her when they wish to obtain something from God. This shows in a marvellous way the extent of her mediation and the need we have for her to help us with her favours. When we address ourselves to particular saints we do not ask them to intercede for us with other saints; but this we can do when it comes to the MOTHER OF GOD, asking Saints for her intercession on our behalf. Indeed, when the Saints themselves want to obtain a favourable result to their own requests, they address themselves to her as to the world’s high Advocate and God’s own favourite. The pious Patriarch of Constantinople St Germanus[6], addresses her as follows:
As for thee, most holy Lady, thou hast a power and an influence independent of all and everyone other than of God Himself, and thou hast no need to seek the intercession of anyone else when thou desirest to obtain a particular grace from Him.
Footnotes
[1] Ps. XVII. 6-7.
[2] This is a literal translation of the French text : Princesse des faces. Many modern, secular sources use the singular and refer to Metatron as the Prince of the Face.
[3] Serm. de Assumpt. Virg.
[4] I made that in the heavens there should rise light that never faileth, and as a cloud I covered all the earth: Ecclesiasticus (Sirach). Hugo cardin., in eum. locum, de B. Virgine interpretat.
[5] Contempl. de B. Virg.
[6] Serm. de Assumpt.
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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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