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) |
§ 7. The seventh sign of love : personal colloquies with Mary
1 The heart is able to speak with great eloquence, especially when it is a question of love, but it can also display great ingenuity. Sensing the limitations of the spoken word (and even more so of the written word), it can make use of certain characters much more mysterious even than the hieroglyphs of ancient Egyptian where with just a few characters (often with only one letter), more can be communicated than in several lines of script. A heart affected by holy love is no less eloquent nor less inventive than other hearts and, because it speaks the language of Heaven, it is easily understood there.
I am keen to stay within the bounds of my subject and to focus on the servants of the MOTHER OF GOD. These are souls who, as soon as they have once begun to love her ardently, develop a desire to speak to her continually, always conversing with her and never separating themselves from her. Their wish is to love her and honour her endlessly, always sharing with her what they feel in their hearts – but how to do this in life’s mortal coil surrounded by so many pressing concerns? What is the most effective method or practice? Love has in fact found such a method and it involves making a solemn agreement with the Queen of Heaven that whenever a particular word or phrase is uttered, it will have the same effect as if much more had been spoken, depending upon what has been agreed. Forasmuch as this practice is simple enough and no less profitable, I have decided to spend a little more time on it here for the benefit of those seeking to honour the Mother of love with their whole heart.
2 Anyone who wishes to devote himself entirely to her should select a favourable day when he can open up his heart and make an agreement with her in the following manner:
Dearest Mother,
After God, thou art the unique desire of my heart. If my mortal condition and circumstances permitted, I would never wish to depart from thee; but since it is not possible for me to enjoy this happiness without interruption, my wish is to possess it as frequently as possible. To this end, and since our hearts have the benefit of thy foresight and prevenient graces, here is the irrevocable pact which I resolve to make this day with thee.
I love thee
3 For as many times, most Holy Virgin, that I raise my heart and mind to thee and utter simply the words:
My dearest Mother, I love thee...it is my wish and intention that this should be as though I were telling thee:I love thee with my whole heart, soul, mind and strength. I love thee more than anything beneath thee in creation. I love thee more than my body, more than my soul, more than my honour, more than my happiness, more than my health, more than my life, and more than my eternal salvation.
I offer thee
4 Whenever I say :
Queen of great splendours, I offer thee...let it be no more nor less than if I were adding:I offer thee all the honour which hath been rendered unto thee up until now, both in Heaven and on earth. I offer thee all the good intentions I ever had of honouring thee and serving thee; all the desires of the Saints and all the blessings which will be given thee for the duration of eternity. I offer thee all that which hath been created with the same heart as I would offer it to thee if it belonged to me.
I rejoice
5 Each and every time that I utter the following words in my heart or through my lips:
I rejoice...let this be just as pleasing to thee as though I were saying:I rejoice in thy Great qualities and Excellent splendours. I rejoice in that thou art the wonder of all creatures, the paragon and perfect master-work of nature, grace and glory. I rejoice in the happiness with which thou art blessed, the power that is thine and the domain thou hast as sovereign Lady. I rejoice in the honour which is rendered unto thee and especially in seeing thee uplifted so high that no creature can equal thy merits through any services or honour whatsoever.
I would like
6 If in my mind I sometimes say to thee:
Mother most admirable, I would like...may these few words represent the rest of my wishes, so as to tell thee how:I would like to have the means of honouring thee alone amongst all creatures. I would like to have a heart capable of loving thee as thou wouldst desire. I would like to possess all that is great and glorious in the world but only so that I might lay it before thy feet. I would like all the hairs on my head, all the parts of my body and all the faculties in my soul to be given the power of tongues so as to bless thee and make thee loved and cherished by everyone.
Thou art
7 After the following five words:
Mother most faithful, thou art...I pray thou wilt hear those which come next:Thou art the honour of earth and of Heaven. Thou art a protection for the just and a refuge for the afflicted. Thou art my fulfilment, my joy, my support, my strength my courage, my hope, my meekness – my everything. Thou art the fulfilment of my desires, the desire of my soul, the soul of my aspirations, the aspiration of my life, the life of my spirit and the spirit of my affections.
I am
8 If my heart then uttereth only the following words:
Thou Wonder of Mothers, I am...may these few words be as though to say :I am thy most humble servant and indebted to thee, even though I am a most unworthy son for thee, the handmaid of the Lord. I am the least of thy children, far down the line of those who have the confidence to call thee Mother and to keep thee in their minds and hearts. I am entirely at thy disposition, determined to follow all thy directions according to thy good pleasure; only do unto me that which seemeth good to thee; do thou order my life and my all as that which belongeth entirely to thee.
9 These examples should be enough to whet the appetite of any amongst you who feel inclined to try this exercise, since as soon as you start you will find that love’s diligence will produce other thoughts and ideas of your own. All that I would add is that, to prevent the practice from losing its initial vigour, you should from time to time renew your pact and declare your thoughts and feelings in full. After that, you can use the abbreviated expressions in the comings and goings of daily life, whilst at rest and when at work – in short, as frequently as you are able in order to season all your daily activities with these sweet utterances and aspirations.
10 Let our theologians look into the merits of these interior movements of the heart and mind with all the rigour of their reasoning. For my part, I will always be ready to submit my judgement to their conclusions. I am convinced that great favours and sweet graces, along with an abundance of love, are available in Heaven for those whose hearts have rectitude and integrity. There are mysteries involved in all this which do not properly fall within the ambit of the Schools and which personal experience alone can vouchsafe and judge in a worthy manner. At the end of the day, however, even if we grant these exercises are relatively recent in terms of merits pleasing to the Mother of love, what counts above all else is that she likes them and those who offer them to her see their wishes perfectly fulfilled.
[End of Chapter 4]
© 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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