Part III (Introduction)
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) |
Amongst several forms of praise that the Great Archbishop of Crete, St Andrew of Jerusalem, gives to the Blessed Virgin[1], he says that she is Queen in a threefold manner. In seeking to understand why he would say this, my first thought was that he was granting her this title by reason of the threefold dominion she has in heaven, on earth and in hell – an idea we found in the writings of the pious Idiota[2] and Arnold of Chartres towards the end of Part II[3]. Delving more deeply into this question, however, I began to ask myself: might it not be because of the three crowns which she received at three different stages in her life, namely the crown of grace which was given her at the moment of her conception; the crown of maturity with which she was honoured when she conceived the divine Word; and the crown of glory, which he received on the day of her Assumption? I then asked myself whether it might not rather be in consideration of the Triple Crown which (as I have been saying from the outset) was made up of the Crown of Excellence, the Crown of Power and the Crown of Goodness. It cannot be denied that all these reasons could most fittingly apply. I am, nevertheless, going to focus now on the third Crown and I do so happy in the knowledge that we have already had an opportunity to admire the beauty of two of these Crowns and there now remains only the third : the Crown of her Goodness. If this seems to be lacking some the dazzling splendour and majesty of the other Crowns, it nevertheless has many most attractive features, for it radiates her sweet gentleness in a way that makes the Queen of Heaven more lovable and approachable than in the case of the first two Crowns. This gives me every cause to hope that the devoted reader will find the courage to persevere to the end of this work and that the benefits he will derive therefrom will be greater than the labour occasioned him by its length.
Footnotes
[1] Orat. 2 de Dormit. B. Virg.
[2] Generally considered to be the nom de plume of Raymundus Jordanus, a French Canon Regular of St. Augustine writing in the 14th century.
[3] Chap. 12, § 3.
Chapter 1 : Understanding the basis of Part III
The Holy Virgin is the Mother of those who have a particular devotion to her, in a way more special than for others
Up until now, I have focused on representing the power of the MOTHER OF GOD over the Church in general, her good offices towards the Church and the obligations that we have towards her in this regard – but without going any further and without discussing in detail what she does for those who show her particular affection. This discussion has been reserved for Part III, which for this reason is entitled the Crown of Goodness forasmuch as it is for the latter, as for her beloved children, that the most sacred Virgin reveals this Goodness in a singular manner, as she pours over them an abundance of her sweet favours and graces. This discussion promises to be a pleasant one and I am now going to lay the foundations thereof.
1 If a great Sage was able to say of honey that it hath the chiefest sweetness[1], then I feel able to say that the word Mother hath the chiefest goodness. As my aim in the following pages is to reveal the remarkable effects of the Holy Virgin’s goodness towards her beloved children, I am very attracted to the sweet title of Mother that she bears, confident that herein will be found all that the human mind could wish for when it comes to highlighting her incomparable goodness. I do not, however, intend to discuss this particular matter in detail and accordingly I will say only that the Holy Virgin can be called Mother of all the children of the Church, inasmuch as she is both Mother and Spouse of the Saviour – two of her attributes which have already been adequately discussed.
Footnotes
[1] Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) xi. 3.
The first reason the Holy Virgin is called the Mother of the children of the Church
2 With regard to the first reason, it cannot be denied that as Mother of the Saviour she is not at the same time Mother of all the children of this same Saviour. Consider, for example, how the Prophet Isaiah[1] was right in saying that Sarah brought forth all the Jews, forasmuch as she was the mother of Isaac from whom they are descended; consider too how God Himself announced to Rebecca[2] that she bore two entire peoples within her womb who were destined to fight against each other, by reason of the two twin brothers Jacob and Esau whom she was carrying. In the light of these examples, why shall we not say that the Holy Virgin, whilst bearing the Saviour within her womb, was not also carrying the whole of the Christian people? Why should we find any difficulty in calling her the Mother of those who have for their father the Redeemer of the world, whom the prophet Isaiah calls the Father of the world to come[3], or as others read it, the Father of eternity? Why should we find any difficulty here, I ask once more, since we have reason on our side and the Holy Doctors find no difficulty?
At the same moment she consented to be MOTHER OF GOD, says St Bernardine of Sienna[4], she also agreed to be the Mother of all the children of salvation, and from that point onwards she bore them within her womb.
What! says St Bonaventure[5], do you believe that the Virgin, who is in a singular manner the Mother of the Saviour, is not at the same time the Mother of all the faithful?
Elsewhere[6] he says:
The truth teaches us that Mary whilst pregnant was carrying two sorts of child: one is God and man, and the other is simply man; she is Mother of one by nature and physically, whilst of the other she is Mother by grace and spiritually.
Having demonstrated that she should be called with greater reason than Eve the Mother of the living[7], forasmuch as she conceived the substantial life that is the Saviour of our souls, and in Him and through Him communicated this life to all her spiritual descendants, the Abbot Guerric[8] goes on to add these beautiful words:
There was one alone conceived by nature, and the others were regenerated in Him, in whom they were all incorporated. When God gave being to the first man, He gave it by the same means to all his posterity who were contained in him; in the same way, when the Holy Virgin brought forth into the world the second Adam, she produced in consequence a countless multitude of children whom we call the spiritual seed of the Saviour.
St Germanus of Constantinople speaks to her in the following manner[9]:
Thou art the Mother of the Lamb and of the Shepherd at one and the same time. Thou hast gained an honour surpassing that of all the victories in world history, for in the one Son coming forth from thy womb, thou hast given being and birth to the whole Christian people, and hast made those who were thy brethren by nature brethren too of the only begotten Son of God.
With a similar sense, the Blessed Saint Ildephonsus[10] says that:
This Virgin is she in whose womb the Church receives the dowry of the union she contracted with God.
Footnotes
[1] Look unto Abraham your father, and to Sara that bore you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and multiplied him. Isaiah li. 2.
[2] Gen. xxv. 22-24.
[3] Isaiah ix. 6.Isaiah ix. 6. The Fillion Bible commentary includes: a reference to the Hebrew : 'abt-'ad, “meaning Father of eternity, that is to say Eternal Father.”
[4] T. III, Serm. 6, art. 2, c. 2.
[5] Speculi B. Virg., c. 8.
[6] Ibid., c. 3.
[7] Gen. iii. 20.
[8] Serm. 1 de Assumpt.
[9] Orat. de Assumpt.
[10] Serm. 2 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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