Chapter 2 : The high esteem in which the Mother of God is to be held – the first motive for showing our gratitude
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) |
When speaking of the Gratitude which is due to the Queen of Heaven, I am going to name the first motive as being the high esteem in which we must hold her, this being a rule and measure for the rest. Just as gratitude is what causes the faculties of our soul to spring into action, it is the esteem we hold for something which governs the affection we bear towards it. It is not difficult for us to love and honour that which we highly esteem; on the contrary, in such cases we often need to be reined in rather than spurred on, so to speak. To show passion, however, for something we hold in little esteem seems to be in many ways beyond men’s capacity. This is why God, desirous of binding our hearts and affections to Himself with bonds of love and hope, has before everything else shone a ray of His celestial light into our minds. We call this light Faith and it has the property of revealing to us the greatness of His infinite perfections, prompting within us sublime thoughts of His divine Majesty. By means of these thoughts, He attracts our hearts and influences the movements of our wills according to His good pleasure.
The principal aim of everything written so far in this work about the great dignities and privileges of the MOTHER OF GOD was to provide our minds with an elevated conception of her outstanding qualities. This notwithstanding, I feel obliged to present them again in the form of an abridged summary here in Part IV which I offer as an aide-mémoire for those desirous of learning to show their gratitude to our Holy Mother.
§ 1. The high esteem in which the Saints and God Himself hold the most sacred Virgin
1 Whom do men say that I am? the Saviour asked his disciples[1] one day in a private conversation with them. Some John the Baptist, they replied, and other some Elias, and others Jeremias, or one of the prophets. The Saviour then asked them: But whom do you say that I am? Then St Peter, acting as spokesman for all, made his oracular response which deserves to be written in letters of gold : Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God.
Behold, says Victor of Antioch[2], the difference in judgement between the common people and the disciples concerning the Son of man. Although they all held Him in great esteem, it was natural enough that those who had been a longer time in His company and knew Him better than the others should have a higher opinion of him.
This is why the Saviour, according to St Jerome’s commentary[3], differentiated between His disciples and the ordinary people when it came to asking this question, as though they were more than men when it came to this judgement, and were not following mere external appearances but the Eternal Father’s revelation.
In my opinion we would find a similar response if we were able to ask the majority of Christians how they felt about the Holy Virgin. Even though they all might have a high opinion, experience would nevertheless show that only those would form an estimation worthy of her greatness who, because they had showed more devotion towards her, had also received special enlightenment from Heaven.
Footnotes
[1] Matth. xvi & Mark viii.
[2] In Comment. in hunc locum.
[3] In Comment. in hunc locum.
2 There are some whose custom it is to measure greatness by external dignities and splendour. They picture her to themselves as a Princess resplendent with glory and majesty, seated on the throne of honour at the side of her beloved Son, surrounded by thousands of courtiers who acknowledge her as Queen of Heaven and earth, offering her every honour. This is a noble thought and it helps them to show respect when they are speaking to her or performing services for her.
3 Others consider simply that Holiness alone matters and, following the image of the Sanctuary[1], their idea is that she has the purest of all the interior perfections possible in a soul. Their conception is of a plenitude of grace and blessings from Heaven surpassing anything that can be found in mere creatures. This idea, apart from imbuing them with feelings of respect and honour, imperceptibly draws into their souls through love and imitation the virtues which they most highly esteem and which they find embodied in the Queen of virtues to perfection.
Footnotes
[1] Sanctuary : Lat. Sacrarium. See e.g., templum domini, sacrarium spiritus sancti : “The temple of the Lord, the sanctuary of the Holy Spirit,” [Benedictus antiphon from the Little Office of Blessed Virgin], quoted in The Angelic Salutation by Thomas Aquinas (tr. 1939).
4 There are others who are struck more by the dazzling splendour of the great privileges flowing from her Excellence – as set forth in Part I of this work. They contemplate her as the first-born of simple creatures in the order of eternal predestination; as a true creation of grace, formed with her Son and untouched by any of Adam’s corruption; conceived that she might be included in his descent in order to sanctify the line; becoming the hope of Patriarchs, the object of prophecies, the one who was prefigured of old and the treasury of Heavenly graces. They never cease to marvel at her fruitful Virginity, her virginal Motherhood and at thousands of other miracles of nature, grace and glory. They use these like so many precious gemstones to conceive of her as the pearl of great price, the wonder of all wonders and the foremost prodigy in all the world.
5 Some may be found who base their high esteem for her on the Greatness of her Power. They look upon her as the Princess and Sovereign Lady of the Universe, whose domain incorporates the whole order of nature and of grace; as being All-Powerful (after her Son) and as one who works great miracles; as Ruler over the Church, as Commander of God’s armies, as source of strength for Princes, as protecting people, bringing victory and triumph for Christians, casting Satan into confusion and terror. They never cease to praise her power of vanquishing death, penetrating hell, healing the sick and and injured, appeasing divine Justice and providing effective intercession and mediation so that all those she has taken under her protection may attain salvation.
6 Those who have had particular experience of her mercy and her gentle heart have higher thoughts and more tender feelings about her goodness. They would like there to be no one who did not know that she is in truth the Mother of fair love and of eternal mercy; that she is a bottomless fountain of love and affection for everyone, at all times and in all their necessities; that there is no sinner so great he will not find in her a safe refuge, nor so desperate that he will not find consolation with her; that she has never turned anyone away and never ceases to do good; but that most especially that there is no one like her when it comes to looking after her children, even in the smallest of things; that she draws them out of the snares of sin and misery in despite of hell; that she rears them, teaches them and guides them to perfection in an altogether wonderful way; that she comes to offer them protection, consolation and reassurance at the hour of their death; finally, that she leads them into Heaven with her own hands.
Praise be to God! How blessed these souls are with thoughts so gentle as these, not only filling their hearts with consolation but also helping them to honour with such worthy esteem the privileges and gifts of the most sacred Virgin’s Greatness! It seems that, just as amongst the attributes of God it is His goodness which best expresses for us the perfection of His nature, in the same way the Virgin and the Saints feel a special desire for us to esteem in them the goodness and the charity that God has communicated to them.
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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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