Part III : The Crown of Goodness : Chapter 7 : § 4.15-16

Chapter 7 : The Sixth Star or Splendour of the Crown of Goodness of the MOTHER OF GOD

She is a true model of generosity towards her 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)

§ 4. The gratitude of the MOTHER OF GOD towards certain Emperors and Empresses 

Andronicus the Elder

 15   Andronicus the Elder, although a schismatic, may be mentioned along with the others for his devotion to serving the Queen of Heaven. 

Nicephorus Gregoras[1] relates that Andronicus began to fear for his life when his nephew (Andronicus the Younger) took the city of Constantinople. Because of his fears, he sought help as was his custom from the Mother of Goodness, presenting himself before the image of Our Lady the Guide (or Conductress[2]) which was then kept in the Chapel of the Imperial Palace. He knelt down before the image and implored the Holy Virgin in tears to help him in his difficulties. Later, the younger Andronicus went into the same Chapel and no sooner had he finished his prayers before the image of Our Lady than he felt himself so powerfully moved that from then onwards he seemed to change completely. He began to show respect to his uncle, giving him encouragement and threatening dire punishment to any of his own followers who thought to harm him. 

Sometime before this, he had already experienced the help of this Princess, according to the same Gregoras[3]. He once found himself so seriously ill that his physicians told him he would not live to see the next day. His servants, believing he had only hours to live, made the necessary preparations for his funeral but at this point he remembered the miraculous spring which I mentioned earlier when we were discussing the Emperor Leo. He asked if it would be possible, before he died, to drink once more some water from this golden spring, as everyone called it. By chance, Phaerasina, a lady-in-waiting to the Empress, was in the Emperor’s bedchamber when he expressed this wish. She duly approached his Majesty and told him that one of her servants had earlier brought a bottle of this water and she ordered a Lady in her entourage to go and fetch it. The Emperor drank the water and used it to bathe his whole body before passing a trouble-free night in pleasant slumber. The following morning he awoke early and, as though coming to from a long and deep ecstasy, he called out with a voice stronger than it had been before: 

“May God be praised.”

His chief Physician arrived expecting to find him dead but noted that his fever had gone and he was much better, apart from being very weak. He asked him how he was and the Emperor replied: 

“God alone knows.”

The physician took his pulse a second and a third time but could only find signs of evident good health. He could scarcely believe what he was seeing and was altogether astonished that the patient had recovered from such an extreme condition. He summoned the Emperor’s other physicians who were alike all amazed and they could scarcely believe their eyes. A few days afterwards, the Emperor could be seen back on his feet to the delight of all his followers who did not cease to offer thanksgiving to God and His most Holy Mother for the health and life that had been restored to their master. The Emperor had taken the habit of a monk during his illness and he continued to wear it in thanksgiving for two years more, that is until the end of his days. 

Footnotes

[1] Lib. IX Hist.

[2] The English is a literal translation of the French which seems to refer to icons called Hodegetria, from the Greek ὁδηγός, meaning a guide. The Virgin Mary gestures toward the infant Jesus in this style of icon, indicating that He is the Way to find salvation. The name “Hodegetria” in the title of such icons is therefore a reference to the Virgin Mary and means “she who points the way.” Cf. § 4.18 below.

[3] Lib. V Baron., an. Christi 1328, nº 42.

 

Matthew Cantacuzenus

 16    I have already mentioned Heraclius[1] emerging with honour from the battlefield under the guidance of the Virgin whom he served. I shall wait for other opportunities to speak of Emperors such as John Tzimiskes, John Comnenus, Frederick III and others who were noteworthy for their devotion to the Virgin and who received many graces and favours from her. Let us draw our discussion about Emperor's to a close with a few words on the wise Matthew Cantacuzenus. 

He was the son of John Cantacuzenus, Emperor of Constantinople, and brother-in-law of John Palaeologus, also Emperor. I find it difficult to say what brought him greater glory : the courage and skill that he showed in arms or the talents he displayed as a writer. Despite all this, his father is said to have been won over by the persuasive words of his daughter Helena, wife of John Palaeologus, and accordingly he promised the Empire to his son-in-law, which upset Matthew greatly for it was his by right. Later, however, he came to his senses and acknowledged the wrong he had done which he wanted to make good whilst he was still alive. Accordingly, at the request of all the great Lords in the Empire, he surrendered his own crown in favour of Matthew his son, who received it from the hands of Philotheus the Patriarch of Constantinople. He was hailed by all as Emperor with a rejoicing that matched the disappointment felt by his subjects when he had been passed over. 

 

Notwithstanding all this, the desire to reign is often associated with trampling on justice and equity, and John Palaeologus left no stone unturned in seeking the fulfilment of his own ambitions. He ordered his brother-in-law to be seized and thrown into prison, placed in chains and threatened to have his eyes put out if he would not abandon any claims he might make for the crown. Matthew persevered in his resolution to lose his life rather than to renounce in a cowardly way the rights he had to the crown. In the end, his father (who had brought about this sad state of affairs), decided to resolve the situation. He managed to persuade his son not only by good arguments but much more by the weight of his paternal authority, to prove his courage not by a selfish pursuit of worldly honours but by displaying a disdain for them. Matthew had always behaved as a loyal son despite the coldness experienced from his father and he made it clear that he would not disobey his own father, even for an empire. Accordingly, he opted for an honourable withdrawal which enabled him to fulfil his filial duties rather than a sceptre which he could retain only by violating these same duties. 

This Prince was not only most learned but had a great devotion from an early age to the MOTHER OF GOD and she was for him a most dear Mother. She it was who prepared his heart to respond not only with patience but also with gentleness to all the trials he was to face. She rendered his solitude more pleasing than life in all the courts of the world; she held him tight in the embrace of her maternal providence and she enabled him to taste the fruits of the peace she granted him in such a way that one hour with her was for him dearer than centuries of the tempestuous life of the great and the powerful. This worthy Prince felt infinitely obliged to his Liberatrix ; like the ancient Themistocles[2], he confessed to her that he would have been lost if he had not been lost. He showed this with his feelings, through the colloquies he had with her, offering her hundreds of little actions to prove his tender affection; and he dedicated his vigils to her as well as all his writings. He felt a strong desire that everyone should love her and know her as he did and this made him take up his pen to write a commentary in her honour on Solomon’s Canticle. In this, he shows not only a desire to show how lovable she is but also a mind most insightful concerning this encounter.

Footnotes

[1] Chap. 6.

[2] “We had been undone if we had not been undone.” : Life of Themistocles (29:3), by Plutarch.

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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