Part III : The Crown of Goodness : Chapter 2 : § 3.9-10

She is the source of eternal happiness for her chosen children

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)

§ 3. She is in a special way the principle of eternal happiness for her children

 9   The pious Prelate Vincent[1], Bishop of Beauvais, was a bright luminary in the order of Friars Preachers living in the reign of St Louis and, according to Trithemius, there was no one quite like him in those days. Here is what he wrote to the Diocese of Langres :  

There was once a married Lady who would have put to shame quite a few members of religious orders  – so great and fervent were her exercises of devotion, penance and charity. God alone, however, can read into the hearts of men and she had within her a problem which, like an ulcer, affected all the good deeds that she was doing. It was a sin committed in her youth and which she had never felt able to put into words, even though she would finish all her confessions with the following words (normally accompanied by tears and sobbing, attesting to the anxiety which was troubling her soul): 

“For all these sins of mine and any others that I may have omitted, I beg pardon of God and penance and absolution of you, Father.”

Putting this to one side, she had a very special trust in the MOTHER OF GOD whom she honoured through various devotions. Whenever she came across the image of the blessed Virgin or found herself in front of an altar dedicated to her, she would burst into floods of tears, accusing herself of the sin she had committed, begging that she might be forgiven and spared from the damnation it might deserve. Her Confessor noticed the pain she was enduring and suspected there might be some hidden problem that was causing this suffering. Accordingly, he told her one day that she should go and confess her sins to a priest of the Order of St Benedict who lived not far from there, a man reputed to be of great virtue. She went ahead and did this but received no greater relief than she did with her normal confessions.

 

Note here the strange power of guilt and shame which the enemy of our well being can embed within souls – even sometimes within a well-constituted soul, as in the case of those who have acquired something of a reputation for virtue. Finally, the shame which possessed this poor soul seemed to make her less and less able to speak about it and she reached the stage where even the fear of coming death was not enough to make her open her heart and loosen her tongue. She was dying almost paralysed by grief, having no other hope of salvation then a little spark of trust that she still retained in the MOTHER OF GOD.

 

Moving swiftly on towards the end of this story : she died and the Demons immediately surrounded her and set to work. They hurled dreadful reproaches at her, forcing on her attention the double sin she had committed – meaning the sin she committed in her youth together with a great number of sacrilegious confessions and her final impenitence. She could see herself surrounded by these monsters, and amidst this confusion she did not feel bold enough to call upon her Advocate but, with a heart pierced torn apart by contrition, she simply gazed at her. The Mother of mercy, who had obtained up until this point the suspension of judgement for this soul, now arrived on the scene. Here is what she said to these predatory demons. 

“What is this! Are you so bold in your desperation as to lay hands upon my servant?”

“Your servant?” retorted one of the demonic band. “Why would you give this name to someone who throughout her life has followed our advice and even up until the moment of her death has gone along with our suggestions?”

“I have no reason to explain myself to you,” replied the Blessed Virgin. “It is enough that she is my servant. Get out of here.”

 

Having spoken these words, she turned towards her Son and asked forgiveness for this poor soul who was quite overcome with fear and dread. 

“Beloved Mother,” said the Saviour, “Thou knowest only too well that without confession there is no hope of salvation; and this confession must be made whilst a person is still alive. Nevertheless, since I cannot refuse thee anything, I am happy for her soul to return to her body, so that she can obtain absolution of her sins through Penance.”

Once those words had been spoken, the MOTHER OF GOD selected an Angel from her retinue to guide the soul back to her body. When the woman came back to life, greatly astonishing her daughter and her servants, she summoned a priest and confessed her secret sin. After this, word of the miracle spread everywhere and large numbers of people hastened to see this wonder. The woman used her coffin as a makeshift pulpit so that she could explain to everyone the incomparable power of the bountiful Mother, recounting in order all the details that I have just given you. Without this, we would never have known anything about her experience. Having declared publicly the greatness of Heaven’s mercy, she bowed her head gently and fell into the sleep of the friends of God and the servants of the Virgin.

I know well enough that these are special cases but we can draw the following conclusion from them : if the Mother of mercy cannot agree to the loss of those who fly unto her aid of themselves, she will most certainly have a most particular care for those who are her dearest children.

Footnotes

[1] Speculi, lib. VII, c. 117.

 10   We can conclude our discussion by saying that this last seal which the holy Virgin places on their predestination (setting them on the right path to glory) is the grace of perseverance or final penitence, which through her mediation they will never fail to obtain. The decree of their salvation is irrevocable and the words of the Holy Spirit recorded in the first Epistle of St John[1] cannot fail: whosoever is born of God, sinneth not. The decree is further supported by this divine filiation and the power of the evil one can have no power whatsoever in such cases. This is explained very well by St Bernard[2]: 

whosoever is born of God through eternal predestination will never persevere in his sin so as to be surprised by death; the heavenly adoption preserves such souls from this final misfortune; the decree of Him who knows His own through the knowledge coming from this approval cannot fail or be hindered.  

Let us not, however, get ahead of ourselves in this discussion. We will at a later point[3] be considering these wonders of the charity of the MOTHER OF GOD in the way she helps her children at the critical moment for their eternal happiness – which is the end of their life.

Footnotes

[1] We know that whosoever is born of God, sinneth not: but the generation of God preserveth him, and the wicked one toucheth him not. 1 John v. 18.

[2] Serm. 4 de Diversis, de triplici cohærentia, etc.

[3] Chap. 13.

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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