Chapter 4 : Love – a third feature of the gratitude we owe the Mother of God
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) |
§ 6. The sixth sign of love: loving for love of Mary all those who belong to her, whether through family, marriage, or election ; wherein special mention is made of St Joachim, St Anne and St Joseph
Their charity
10 They were great in charity, not only in that which is directed towards God but also in the love for their neighbour. Regarding this, the Doctors speak of the wondrous care they took to help those in poverty, to provide shelter for pilgrims and to assist the needy in every possible way. St Jerome says[1]:
They divided their resources into three : one portion was set aside for feeding the ministers of the Temple, another for pilgrims and the afflicted, whilst only one third was used for the maintenance of their own little family.
As for the charity they had towards God, it is easy to have an idea of it through what has already being mentioned, granted that according to Richard of Saint Victor[2]:
Charity is the essence of the other virtues and the force which puts them into action.
The words of St Jerome[3] make this even more clear:
Their life was simple and innocent, upright in the sight of God and irreproachable in the sight of men.
In short, they lived their lives in a way which made them beloved of men and of God.
Footnotes
[1] Orat. de Ortu Virg.
[2] De Gradibus charitatis.
[3] Loc. cit.
Their names and the height of their virtue
11 To sum up, they were great in every sort of virtue. This then is what we must believe about the father and mother of Mary, and about the grandfather and grandmother of Jesus.
Simply consider their names, writes St Epiphanius[1], and you will see these presaged their holiness. Joachim means the preparation of the Lord and Anne signifies grace. Was this not to make known to the world that they were well-provided with grace and all that customarily accompanies it, and that they had all that was necessary to prepare a dwelling for the Lord of the Universe?
For it was fitting, says St Peter Chrysologus[2], that the dwelling of holiness should be prepared and made clean a long time in advance, in the very persons of the mother and father of the Virgin.
The Angel who instructed Blessed St Bridget[3] revealed to the virtuous widow their exceptional holiness in the following words.
Chaste Spouse of Jesus Christ, try to picture a Royal Eagle seeking to build a nest and prepare a home for its little eaglets. It visits one forest after another and flies over different mountains in search of a tree suitable for its purpose. The Eagle knows no rest until it has found a tree which surpasses all the others in height and beauty, which has the deepest and strongest roots, and which has the best protection against storms and winds. Once the Eagle has found the tree, it then stops and selects the sturdiest branch and the one which is closest to the heavens. There, these little Kings amongst the birds of the air will be raised with meticulous care.
Picture now how God is like this Eagle, not only through the sovereignty He enjoys over all created things, but also by the power of His penetrating eyes which can see all that has been, all that is and all that will come to be. Glancing at all the marriages that were to be, from the first unto the last (just as the Eagle surveyed the trees), He could find none more worthy of receiving that glorious Virgin – who was to form the little nest for the heavenly Eaglet, namely the word Incarnate – than that of St Joachim and St Anne. There He landed as though on a tree from Paradise, lofty in devotion, deep in humility, generous in charity, budding with hope, fragrant with good examples – in short, possessing every virtue and perfection.
Footnotes
[1] Serm. de S. Maria Deipara.
[2] Serm. 91.
[3] Serm. Angelico, c. 10.
12 This makes me believe that the Virgin is particularly pleased when she sees her dear children showing every sort of devotion to those whom she has so much cause to thank, and who are in any event so worthy of honour and respect. It also makes me think that she herself offers her most heartfelt thanks to God for having given her a father and a mother so holy and perfect. She does not consider herself as the daughter of St Joachim and St Anne so much as the daughter of prayer and tears, the daughter of alms-giving, of hospitality, of charity, of temperance, of abstinence, of chastity, of patience, of perseverance, of modesty, of justice and generally of all the virtues which shining through the life and work of St Joachim and St Anne. Perhaps a better way of putting this would be to say that she is the beloved daughter of divine providence who collected all the virtues in her mother and father in order to raise her and make her Queen of the virtues, so as to be a worthy Mother of the King of the virtues. I actually think that all the rejoicing and congratulations on the part of the Holy Fathers who have spoken so highly of both St Joaquim and St Anne, praising them to the heavens with their writings, fall short of what they should have said and that they did not have the wherewithal to make their writings match their conceptions. Consider some of the things they wrote and let us reflect on the heights to which their thoughts and feelings carried them.
“Blessed couple!” cries the devout Saint John Damascene along with others, and he seems to speak for all. “The world is infinitely indebted to you since through you it is offered to God the Creator a gift of inestimable worth, namely a daughter worthy of being made the Mother of His only-begotten Son. How exquisite this favour must be judged and how worthy of being numbered amongst the most outstanding in history!
“May St Anne rejoice and may she invite all the inhabitants of the earth to celebrate with her, since she has borne in her barren womb the first fruits of our restoration and she has nourished with her milk the fruit of all blessedness. May she include the venerable Anne, mother of Samuel, in this public joy and may they both find consolation for having partaken, (although unequally) in the same happiness. May she call next upon the chaste Sarah and after her all the barren women from antiquity to participate in the joy of her wondrous fruitfulness. May all the mothers in the world hasten to honour the daughter and the mother, and to bless Him who gave such a blessing to a barren womb. May everyone, young and old, men and women, flock to offer honour to the noble stem of David, whence this precious branch has emerged, and to the sacred womb wherein the true Ark of the Covenant has been crafted.
“Thrice blessed art thou, oh worthy mother of the MOTHER OF GOD, for having given to the world a daughter whose birth is replete with honour and will lead to the redemption and restoration of the universe. We are all indebted to thee just as we are to St Joachim thy Spouse, forasmuch as we have begun to breathe the sweet air of hope at this beautiful dawning of a new day. We offer our humble thanks to you, Saint Joachim and Saint Anne, accompanied by our desire to honour you for as long as we enjoy the graces Which have come to us as a result of your co-operation.”
© Peter Bloor 2025
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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.
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.
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