Part IV : How to give thanks to the Mother of God : Chapter 3 : § 2.5-7

Chapter 3 : Trust in the Mother of God – a second feature of the gratitude we owe

[Continuing our translation of the 1845 reprint of Fr François Poiré’s Triple Crown of the Holy Mother of God (1643 French edition)]

Notre Dame des Grâces, Cotignac (Poggi, 2020)

§ 2. The second sign of trust: having recourse to her in every difficulty 

 5   Here is another example of someone who in our own time gave great prominence to this idea of trust, causing countless persons to appreciate it in their own spiritual lives. I am referring to that most devout man, Francis de Sales, who was a model for holy Prelates. We are greatly indebted to those who laboured to gather relics from the life of this beautiful soul, more perhaps than to those who worked to preserve his sacred remains. One of the relics from his life is a little prayer that he frequently addressed to the Holy Virgin and it truly reflects the goodness of his heart. This prayer will provide a motive for trust in the blessed Virgin, at least to those men and women who recite it honouring the memory of this great man.  

Hail Mary, most gentle Virgin and MOTHER OF GOD, thou art my Mother and my Lady; accordingly, I implore thee to accept me as thy son and thy servant because I desire to have thee alone for my Mother and my Lady. Dear, gracious and gentle Mother, prithee console me in all my worries and tribulations – whether spiritual or bodily. Prithee never forget that I am thy son, that thou art most powerful and that I am a poor man, sinful and weak. Dear Mother most tender, be thou my guide and protector in all my decisions and my actions, for I am but a poor destitute beggar in need of thy holy protection. Most Holy Virgin, my gentle Mother, do thou come forthwith to preserve and deliver my body and soul from all evils and dangers; prithee grant me a share in thy blessings and virtues – especially thy holy humility, thy spotless purity and thy fervent charity. Thou canst not say, most gracious Virgin, that thou art unable since thy beloved Son hath given thee all power in Heaven and on earth. Thou canst not say thou hast no obligation since thou art Mother of all poor humans and of me in particular. If thou wert unable, I would excuse thee saying it is true that she is my Mother and she loves me like her son, but the poor lady does not have the power to help me. If thou wert not in fact my Mother, then I would have reason to be patient, saying: she has the means to help me, but, alas,  she is not my Mother and she does not want to help me. 

Accordingly, most gentle Virgin, since thou art my Mother and thou hast the means, how will I excuse thee if thou dost not come to comfort me, bringing me thy help and assistance? Thou must see, my dear Mother, how thou art thus obliged to grant all my requests. Be thou exalted, therefore, in the heavens and on earth, O glorious Virgin and my exquisite Mother; for the honour and the glory of thy Son, do thou accept me for thy child regardless of my sins and failings, delivering me body and soul from all evil, and sharing all thy virtues with me. Prithee grant me all those gifts, blessings and graces which are pleasing to the most holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen.   

 6   We should also honour in this connection the beautiful note written by Martha and Mary (who used to welcome the Saviour into their home) on the occasion of the illness of their brother Lazarus. It said simply : He whom thou lovest is sick[1]. The incomparable St Augustine[2], however was right to find in these words a certain eloquence which, because they came from the heart, were more powerful than anything coming from the lips alone. 

Note carefully, says the great Saint, that they do not try to rush anything, they do not invite Him to come and see their brother to heal him, nor even to heal him from a distance. They know very well that after saying : He whom thou lovest is sick, no more need be said. 

This is a sign of trust quite common amongst those who are the children of the Mother of Love. Since this is a sure way of causing her maternal heart to melt, they only have to present themselves before her and make known to her the need they have for her help ; they can leave the rest to love which will speak powerfully on their behalf, with all the influence love has on their dear Mother’s heart and mind. Love has a power persuasion which has no need for words, as we read in connection with Moses to whom the Lord said : Why criest thou to me?[3] even though the Prophet had not said a single word. If someone sees one who loves him suffering, however, the effect is the same as if could hear him crying out for help.

Footnotes

[1] John xi. 3.

[2] Tract. 49 in Joann.

[3] Exod. xiv. 15.

 7   What are we to think about the person mentioned by Alfonso Salmerón[1] who penetrated so far into the mysterious holy ardours of our God’s loving heart that he became convinced it would be a sin against His goodness to ask for something in particular beyond those things He has expressly required us to ask of Him. He was happy simply to offer Him the twenty-four letters of the alphabet, imploring Him to grant or deny all that could result from combining these letters, in accordance with what He judged would be for his good and for the glory of His majesty? Won’t you agree that this idea sprang from a loving and trusting heart which understood what it means to deal with a goodness that knows no limits? This is in fact the approach which some take towards the Mother of fair love, leaving her to take care of everything that concerns them in time and throughout eternity. Their wish is only for what she wants, when she wants it, through whom she wants it and in the way that she would want it. When it comes to the little good that they are able to do, they are quite happy for her to use it as she pleases and for whom she pleases; they are happy for her to grant or refuse favours, and to rule the course of their life’s journey in the way she judges best. Their approach is based on the confidence they have that, provided she deigns to think of them, then for them that is sufficient. Beautiful souls: worthy of living and dying in the embrace of the Queen of hearts – if indeed anyone can be said to die in the embrace of the Mother of the living. Beautiful souls: who have nothing to fear so long as they keep within the safe refuge of this royal trust.  

It seems to me this point is so sublime that it deserves to be considered at greater length.

Footnotes

[1] John xi. 3.

© Peter Bloor 2025

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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.

He that hearkeneth to me, shall not be confounded: and they that work by me, shall not sin. They that explain me shall have life everlasting. Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) xxiv. 30-31.