Part III : The Crown of Goodness : Chapter 10 : § 4.1-2

Chapter 10 : The Ninth Star or Splendour of the Crown of Goodness of the MOTHER OF GOD

She is her children’s Teacher

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 love shown by the Holy Virgin in correcting her children : the third office of her teaching role

 1   You should not find the use of the word correction strange since the Great Apostle St Paul declares[1] that those who do not receive correction from their father and mother do not deserve the title of sons; and that one way of being disowned and disinherited is seeking to avoid being subject to the punishment which is the natural lot of children. After bearing witness[2] to the outstanding virtue of Moses, Aaron and Samuel, priests of the most high, and after noting that God granted them everything they asked for, David later added that to the extent they were remiss in any of their duties he would call them to account on the spot and not overlook a single one. This is how they wonderful St Augustine understands the words of the Royal Prophet when he says: O Lord our God: thou wast a merciful God to them, and taking vengeance on all their inventions[3]. I grant you that the Holy Virgin is always a Mother, but with this maternal spirit she does not omit to reprove her children when they err and to correct them when they deserve it. In this, she shows herself to be incomparably better as a Mother than by turning a blind eye to their failings and through this cowardly connivance maintaining their faults and imperfections. This calls to mind something I read in the life of St Catherine of Siena[4]:

One day she was explaining to the friend of her Confessor (blessed Fr Raymond) how she had been receiving a particular grace from heaven when she paused briefly and looked towards a friar she knew who was passing by at that moment. St Paul reproved her severely for this, on the instruction of the MOTHER OF GOD who was present, and Catherine was so overwhelmed with shame and confusion that she was for a time unable to speak another word. Later she would say that there was no punishment in this life which she would not endure more willingly than to receive such a reproach again.

Footnotes

[1] For whom the Lord loveth, he chastiseth; and he scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. Persevere under discipline. God dealeth with you as with his sons; for what son is there, whom the father doth not correct? But if you be without chastisement, whereof all are made partakers, then are you bastards, and not sons. Hebr. xii. 6-8.

[2] Moses and Aaron among his priests: and Samuel among them that call upon his name. They called upon the Lord, and he heard them: Psal. XCVIII. 6.

[3] Psal. XCVIII. 8. inventions is the Douay-Rheims translation of the Vulgate’s adinventiones, for which the RSV-CE has wrongdoings.

[4] pp 130-132 in Ch. V of The Life of St Catherine of Siena by her Confessor Blessed Raymond of Capua.

 8   It would be difficult to describe how another St Catherine[1], the daughter of St Bridget, benefited from the reprimand she received from the Holy Mother. 

She had left her country to go and see her mother who was in Italy at the service of Our Lord and whilst there she learned of the death of her husband. They had both taken vows to preserve their virginity in marriage and events were to show that this was to prove of great benefit.  Henceforth she placed herself at her mother’s service and was an inseparable companion on all her journeys, deriving no mean benefit from this experience. 

It is rare, however for pious plans to be formulated which do not attract the attention of the old enemy and this case was no exception since he quickly applied himself to thwarting Catherine’s holy intentions. Her mother used to go out frequently in order to visit the holy sites in Rome and to visit the Station Churches. This meant that she was forced to leave Catherine in their lodgings, fearing she might be subjected to the unwelcome attentions from men exploiting the absence of the Popes who were at that time based in Avignon. The cunning Serpent made use of this opportunity and one day, when St Bridget had left to carry out her customary devotions, he inveigled himself into Catherine’s soul with such evil artifice and skill that he seemed on the point of successfully ensnaring her. He painted a vivid picture of how she was living the life of a slave, with no opportunity to practise exercises of piety in the way others were doing with such spiritual benefit to themselves and which she could herself be doing if she were only in her own country. These dark thoughts and feelings seized her mind and heart, and plunging her into such a gloomy and stubborn silence that St Bridget could hardly get a word out of her when she came back. She decided to allow this tempest of sadness to run its course and this played no little part in restoring Catherine’s peace of mind. She fell into a sudden slumber and felt that she was surrounded on all sides by fire, the only place free from the blaze being a little corner where the MOTHER OF GOD was standing. Catherine immediately prayed to her, imploring her help in this her hour of need. The Holy Virgin’s countenance, however, had a stern aspect and she said that she did not want anything to do with someone so cowardly as Catherine who had returned to her country notwithstanding the solemn promises that she had made to the contrary. She was scorning the advice of her own dear mother, of her spiritual director and of all those who were concerned for her own good.

Just as sometimes lancing boils can bring relief to sufferers, restoring them to full health, so too in this case the words of reproval spoken by the Holy Virgin to Catherine in her gloomy state did her so much good that she suddenly knelt at the feet of the Mother of fair love, humbly begging her pardon and promising to do what she wanted. The Virgin made use of this wonderful opportunity to remonstrate with her regarding her fault, enjoining her to present herself to her mother and her confessor by way of satisfaction, and exhorting her to to show more courage henceforth in resisting temptations. Catherine obeyed these instructions so perfectly that, after reconciling herself with her mother and her spiritual director, she made a vow of perpetual obedience in the presence of her confessor and promised God and the Holy Virgin that she would never abandon her mother. This proved to be of great benefit to her since her mother served as a true model of virtue for her and guided her on the path to perfect holiness.     

Footnotes

[1] Surius, in ejus Vita, mense Martii.

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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