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
28 Can anyone really believe that Jesus would show such a strong inclination to ensure that His father and provider was honoured by everybody on earth and in Heaven, but St Joseph’s beloved Spouse would forget all his past services and a million instances of how they displayed to one another their holy and perfect amity? Who would not be convinced that now she enjoys sovereignty of power she does everything she can to ensure that his merits are recognised and that he receives the glory which is his due? Who can fail to see that, amongst the acts of gratitude shown by her faithful servants, she pays particular attention to all they do to advance the honour of this great Saint?
By way of support for this, I will cite only the instance of what happened to Blessed Teresa of Jesus on the very day of the Assumption[1]. This holy soul had a singular devotion to the glorious St Joseph which she revealed in all the ways that her love could find. Amongst the ideas she had was a strong desire for building the first Monastery of Discalced Carmelites in Ávila and dedicating it to St Joseph – but you would have thought that Heaven and Earth were opposed to her plans because she seemed to encounter resistance on all sides. Finally, on the above-mentioned day of the Assumption whilst she was deep in prayer, she noticed that someone was placing a white robe on her which dazzled with its brightness. To begin with she did not see who was putting it on her but after a while she realised it was the MOTHER OF GOD on one side and St Joseph on the other, who were at the same time caressing her with extraordinary gentleness. What filled her heart with indescribable joy was a tender gesture on the part of the Mother of love who took her by the hand and, squeezing it gently, thanked her for the good will she had for her most holy Spouse and the affection she bore him. She gave her to understand how happy this made her feel and finally she encouraged her not to worry about anything, explaining that they would help her faithfully and constantly so as to overcome all the opposition; that her beloved Son would be by her side as He had promised; that the building would be completed and that all three – namely Jesus, Mary and Joseph – would be greatly honoured and served in the new Monastery. By way of confirming everything that she had said, she made her a present of a golden necklace and pendant Cross that was so brilliant and lustrous that its like had never been seen on earth. Once she had done that, the blessed Virgin made her way into Heaven along with the glorious St Joseph, followed by a great multitude of blessed Spirits, leaving St Teresa replete with consolation and burning with a desire to consume herself entirely in service of her Spouse Jesus, the glorious Virgin and St Joseph – so much so that she was for a long time unable to move or to utter a word.
It is simply not possible to tell you about all the favours she subsequently received through the intercession of this Saint. The best evidence that we have comes from what she herself wrote. Several times she refers to various occasions on which she experienced the effects of the esteem in which he is held in heaven. She came to realise that in Heaven he retained a certain power as a Father in consequence of that which God Himself had granted to him over His Son whilst he was here on earth. She was also convinced that, after the glorious Virgin herself, there was no intercession more powerful than that of her holy Spouse, St Joseph.
Footnotes
[1] Rivera, Vitæ ipsius, lib. I, c. 15.
29 Fr Balthazar Alvarez (S.J.) served for a long time as the spiritual director of St Teresa[1]. One day when he was in Valladolid, he fell ill with a raging fever and a fellow Jesuit Priest showed him an image of Our Lady with the glorious Saint Joseph, telling him he should commend himself to the Virgin’s holy Spouse. Pointing to the image of the Blessed Virgin, Fr Balthazar replied:
“You are right , because Our Lady herself asked me to do this.”
His fellow Priest was astonished to hear this and later spoke to Brother Juan Sanchez who had accompanied Fr Balthazar to Rome, asking if he knew of any special devotion the Priest had towards Blessed St Joseph. The Brother replied that he had a clear memory of one morning after they had finished prayers in the chapel at Loreto, when the Priest had said to him as they left:
“The Holy Virgin encouraged me to have a devotion to St Joseph.”
These few words spoke volumes for a man who was very reserved when it came to talking about himself.
Footnotes
[1] Vitæ ipsius, c. 26.
30 Jean Gerson was the pious Chancellor of Paris and his heartfelt affection for the most sacred MOTHER OF GOD throughout his life was quite remarkable. I agree with others who have said that it was the same Virgin who prompted him to acquire a devotion for St Joseph. He has left us a beautiful poem[1] which he composed in his honour and a sermon replete with praise which he preached on his feast day, for which he also composed a Mass and an entire Office. He wrote various letters to numerous Prelates encouraging them to celebrate his feast and he also wrote on this subject to the Duc de Berry, urging him with powerful arguments to contribute anything he could to establish this devotion. These are so many sure signs of the deep piety of this great man and what stands out particularly is the ardent zeal in his missives which makes them impossible to read without being touched to the heart.
Footnotes
[1] Popularly referred to as “Josephina”: a poem of some 3000 lines in Latin, for which there seems to be no full English translation available.
31 This is how God delights in bringing to our attention those who have rejected worldly honour. This is how the Saviour of the world highlights the glory of His earthly father and provider and how the Blessed Virgin labours to show men the merits of her Holy Spouse. This is how those who wish to honour the one and the other do everything they possibly can to serve him and to make known his great qualities, striving to show others the precious gifts they have received through the favour and help of this Saint.
© 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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