The Author’s Plan for his Work
Continuing our translation of the 1845 reprint of Fr Poiré's Triple Crown of the Mother of God (1643 edition). Footnotes are located after the main text
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| Notre Dame des Grâces, Cotignac.(Poggi, 2020) |
1 The Holy Spirit inspired the plan at two points in the Sacred Scriptures. The first is in Chapter xii of the Apocalypse where we see a woman surrounded by several mysterious symbols and wearing on her head a crown of twelve stars,1 which are the source not only of light but of wondrous miracles. The woman is a figure for the Mother of God. This was recognized by St Epiphanus,2 St Ambrose,3 St Augustine,4 St Methodius,5 Saint Bernard,6 St Bernardine of Siena,7 St Anthony,8 Denis the Carthusian9 and others.
2 The second is found in the book of Ecclesiasticus. Chapter xxiv sets out the various privileges of Wisdom uncreated and incarnate, a title of Jesus Christ. These privileges are also attributed by the Church and the holy Fathers to the Blessed Virgin by right of participation as Mother of the Word incarnate, who shares all His prerogatives with her. Chapter xxv verse 1 says in the Greek version: Three things have made me beautiful and pleasing in the presence of the Lord.10
3 In these two admirable images it seemed that the Holy Ghost had supplied me with an idea for the structure of this work. In order to provide a fuller introduction, I need to make use of the eloquent writing of St Ambrose in his book Concerning Virginity.11 There he comments on the these words from the Canticle of Canticles: Go forth, ye daughters of Sion, and see king Solomon in the diadem, wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the joy of his heart.12 He says that the Virgin crowned her Son as King of Glory when she conceived Him for in clothing Him with our humanity she placed at the same time on His head a crown of eternal goodness by which, as a result of the faith of nations, He was acclaimed as head of our race. Guerric of Igny says much the same as St Ambrose.
Now, unless I am mistaken, St Bernard13 (who was master of this priest) develops in a striking way the beautiful thought of these two remarkable men. He says that the Prince of heaven, seeing Himself crowned in this way, did not wish to be outdone and so at the same time He placed on the adorable head of His most immaculate Mother a Crown that He had fashioned with His own hands and which was incomparably precious and uniquely rare in its design. I feel duty-bound to cite his beautiful words. Here is how he addresses the Queen of Angels:
How to estimate your worth, most Holy Lady Mary, since you have such an unshakeable union and intimate closeness with the Lord? What must it be like, this divine favour that is yours? What must your happiness be like? God dwells with you and you with Him. You clothe Him with your own flesh and He enrobes you with the glory of His Majesty. You swaddle the Sun with a little cloud and you are arrayed by this same Sun. God worked a miracle on earth, causing a woman to enwomb a man who was in His totality a Sun; in the same way, God worked another miracle in heaven by causing a woman to be enwombed by God Himself, who is brighter than a thousand suns. You crowned Him and you yourself were crowned by Him. Come, ye daughters of Jerusalem, come to hail your Queen and behold how her Son has honoured her by placing a Crown upon her head. Admire the beautiful richness of this Crown and tell us if this Royal Prince does not deserve such a Crown of Stars since He by Himself is brighter than all the Stars in the Firmament. These stars receive a thousand times more honour from Him by serving as His Crown than they confer upon Him. But why should the most holy Mary not wear the Crown of Stars as well since the Sun Himself serves for her robe? How many many marvels does this starry Crown contain, and who is there that can answer this question for us? With humility, I suggest these twelve Stars represent in a simple way the twelve Splendours or prerogatives of the Mother of God.
4 St Bernard, that redoubtable French Doctor of the Church, says all this and much more on the subject in a way so close to my theme that I have kept it in mind at all times. It is indeed true that I have relied on the authority of the Virgin Mother herself when she said that her perfect beauty consists of three things. I am not, however, relying on special favours such as these to determine the outline of my work but it is my aim to set out her great Dignities in three categories. These are manifest in her like so many pieces of incomparable beauty, captivating the astonished gaze of Citizens in heaven and on earth.
5 To be more precise, my plan is to show Mary’s rightful place in the theatre of honour,14 wearing a triple Crown on her head which points to three categories of perfection which she possesses in the highest degree, namely, her dignities of Excellence, of Power and of Goodness. The first Crown will contain the supreme qualities arising from nature, grace and glory. The second will represent her power and influence over the entire mystical body of the Church. The third consists of the exquisite and rare consequences of her peerless goodness. The Crown of Excellence, properly understood, will be crafted from the prerogatives which are uniquely hers, without considering directly their effects on us. The Crown of Power will be like a display case for the authority God has given her over the whole Church and for the wonders she has performed to maintain it and to promote its growth. The Crown of Goodness will focus more on those who have a devotion to the Blessed Virgin. These have a greater share than others in her good graces and hence a greater share in her favours.
6 Each of these Crowns will feature twelve of her supreme Splendours, shining out like twelve stars for her Dignities of Excellence, Power and Goodness. I was all the more attached to this number because the less I deviated from the figure I had chosen, the more I could see that the Holy Ghost was pleased to honour it and, if such a thing may be said, to consecrate it. This appears quite clearly in the case of the twelve ancient Patriarchs, the twelve tribes, the twelve titles15 or altars erected by Moses, the twelve stones taken from the Jordan river bed on the orders of Josue,16 the twelve precious gemstones set in the High Priest's breastplate,17 the twelve oxen that supported the great vase of brass they called the sea18 and the majority of the vessels19 in the Temple, the twelve lions at the sides of Solomon’s throne,20 the twelve Apostles, the twelve full baskets of fragments,21 and still more strikingly in the holy City that St John beheld in the Apocalypse where he saw twelve foundations, twelve gates, foursquare measuring twelve thousand furlongs,22 twelve precious gemstones, twelve fruits of the tree of life,23 and twelve thousand of each tribe signed with the blood of the Lamb.24 These twelve great Splendours are distributed in as many Chapters, providing twelve for each Treatise. Add to these an introductory address written to shed light on what follows, together with a Conclusion which provides a summary of the duties arising for us from these Dignities to love, honour and serve the Mother of God. This means that each Treatise will be composed of fourteen Chapters.
Finally, in the hope of promoting the praiseworthy sentiments of those who feel moved by a deep sense of obligation towards the Queen of Heaven, I have included an entire Treatise at the end containing a practical guide on how to show recognition and gratitude for her great Splendours.
7 I have to confess that I did not feel minded to seek out ways of embellishing this work, insomuch as I felt convinced that a simple presentation of these Dignities and Splendours would be more appreciated by the reader rather than a version embellished with a host of stories. Besides this, I have such trust in the love the reader has for the Mother of God that I would be doing him wrong were I to present reasons for being drawn to Mary other than his own tender feelings, trying to develop a taste for praising her whom he already cherishes deep in his heart. The Queen of Heaven is already too lovable in herself and no-one needs to try and make her loved through artifice.
Accordingly, since there is no longer reason to delay and since the excellence of the subject is of itself sufficiently powerful to win hearts and captivate minds, let us now enter into our presentation of the great Dignities and beautiful Splendours of this peerless Princess.
Footnotes
1 The Holy Spirit inspired the plan at two points in the Sacred Scriptures. The first is in Chapter xii of the Apocalypse where we see a woman surrounded by several mysterious symbols and wearing on her head a crown of twelve stars, which are the source not only of light but of wondrous miracles. The woman is a figure for the Mother of God. This was recognized by St Epiphanus,1 St Ambrose,2 St Augustine,3 St Methodius,4 Saint Bernard,5 St Bernardine of Siena,6 St Anthony,7 Denis the Carthusian8 and others.
1 Serm. de S. Deipara.
2 In c. 12 Apoc.
3 Lib. IV de Symbol. ad Catech., c. 1.
4 Apud Aretam in c. 12 Apoc.
5 Serm. in Signum magnum.
6 T. I, conc. LXI, art. 2, c. 1.
7 IV part., tit. XV, c. 20.
8 Lib. III de Laudibus Virg., art. 29.
2 The second is found in the book of Ecclesiasticus. Chapter xxiv sets out the various privileges of Wisdom uncreated and incarnate, a title of Jesus Christ. These privileges are also attributed by the Church and the holy Fathers to the Blessed Virgin by right of participation as Mother of the Word incarnate, who shares all His prerogatives with her. Chapter xxv verse 1 says in the Greek version: Three things have made me beautiful and pleasing in the presence of the Lord.9
9 Eccles. 25.
3 In these two admirable images it seemed that the Holy Ghost had supplied me with an idea for the structure of this work. In order to provide a fuller introduction, I need to make use of the eloquent writing of St Ambrose in his book Concerning Virginity.10 There he comments on the these words from the Canticle of Canticles: Go forth, ye daughters of Sion, and see king Solomon in the diadem, wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the joy of his heart.12 He says that the Virgin crowned her Son as King of Glory when she conceived Him for in clothing Him with our humanity she placed at the same time on His head a crown of eternal goodness by which, as a result of the faith of nations, He was acclaimed as head of our race. Guerric of Igny11 says much the same as St Ambrose.
10. Cap. 16.
11 Serm. 4 de Assumpt.
Now, unless I am mistaken, St Bernard13 (who was master of this priest) develops in a striking way the beautiful thought of these two remarkable men. He says that the Prince of heaven, seeing Himself crowned in this way, did not wish to be outdone and so at the same time He placed on the adorable head of His most immaculate Mother a Crown that He had fashioned with His own hands and which was incomparably precious and uniquely rare in its design. I feel duty-bound to cite his beautiful words. Here is how he addresses the Queen of Angels:
13 Serm. in Signum magnum.
How to estimate your worth, most Holy Lady Mary, since you have such an unshakeable union and intimate closeness with the Lord? What must it be like, this divine favour that is yours? What must your happiness be like? God dwells with you and you with Him. You clothe Him with your own flesh and He enrobes you with the glory of His Majesty. You swaddle the Sun with a little cloud and you are arrayed by this same Sun. God worked a miracle on earth, causing a woman to enwomb a man who was in His totality a Sun; in the same way, God worked another miracle in heaven by causing a woman to be enwombed by God Himself, who is brighter than a thousand suns. You crowned Him and you yourself were crowned by Him. Come, ye daughters of Jerusalem, come to hail your Queen and behold how her Son has honoured her by placing a Crown upon her head. Admire the beautiful richness of this Crown and tell us if this Royal Prince does not deserve such a Crown of Stars since He by Himself is brighter than all the Stars in the Firmament. These stars receive a thousand times more honour from Him by serving as His Crown than they confer upon Him. But why should the most holy Mary not wear the Crown of Stars as well since the Sun Himself serves for her robe? How many many marvels does this starry Crown contain, and who is there that can answer this question for us? With humility, I suggest these twelve Stars represent in a simple way the twelve Splendours or prerogatives of the Mother of God.
4 St Bernard, that redoubtable French Doctor of the Church, says all this and much more on the subject in a way so close to my theme that I have kept it in mind at all times. It is indeed true that I have relied on the authority of the Virgin Mother herself when she said that her perfect beauty consists of three things. I am not, however, relying on special favours such as these to determine the outline of my work but it is my aim to set out her great Dignities in three categories. These are manifest in her like so many pieces of incomparable beauty, captivating the astonished gaze of Citizens in heaven and on earth.
5 To be more precise, my plan is to show Mary’s rightful place in the theatre of honour,14 wearing a triple Crown on her head which points to three categories of perfection which she possesses in the highest degree, namely, her dignities of Excellence, of Power and of Goodness. The first Crown will contain the supreme qualities arising from nature, grace and glory. The second will represent her power and influence over the entire mystical body of the Church. The third consists of the exquisite and rare consequences of her peerless goodness. The Crown of Excellence, properly understood, will be crafted from the prerogatives which are uniquely hers, without considering directly their effects on us. The Crown of Power will be like a display case for the authority God has given her over the whole Church and for the wonders she has performed to maintain it and to promote its growth. The Crown of Goodness will focus more on those who have a devotion to the Blessed Virgin. These have a greater share than others in her good graces and hence a greater share in her favours.
14 The theatre of honour and knighthood. Or A compendious chronicle and historie of the whole Christian world. : Containing the originall of all monarchies, kingdomes, and estates, with their emperours, kings, princes, and gouernours; their beginnings, continuance, and successions, to this present time. The first institution of armes, emblazons, kings, heralds, and pursuiuants of armes: with all the ancient and moderne military orders of knight-hood in euery kingdome. Of duelloes or single combates, with their originall, lawes, and obseruations. Likewise of ioustes, tourneyes, and tournaments, and orders belonging to them. Lastly of funerall pompe, for emperours, kings, princes, and meaner persons, with all the rites and ceremonies fitting for them. Written in French, by Andrew Fauine, Parisian: and aduocate in the High Court of Parliament. M.DC.XX.
6 Each of these Crowns will be feature twelve of her supreme Splendours, shining out like twelve stars for her Dignities of Excellence, Power and Goodness. I was all the more attached to this number because the less I deviated from the figure I had chosen, the more I could see that the Holy Ghost was pleased to honour it and, if such a thing may be said, to consecrate it. This appears quite clearly in the case of the twelve ancient Patriarchs, the twelve tribes, the twelve titles15 or altars erected by Moses, the twelve stones taken from the Jordan river bed on the orders of Josue,16 the twelve precious gemstones set in the High Priest's breastplate,17 the twelve oxen that supported the great vase of brass they called the sea18 and the majority of the vessels19 in the Temple, the twelve lions at the sides of Solomon’s throne,20 the twelve Apostles, the twelve full baskets of fragments,21 and still more strikingly in the holy City that St John beheld in the Apocalypse where he saw twelve foundations, twelve gates, foursquare measuring twelve thousand furlongs,22 twelve precious gemstones, twelve fruits of the tree of life,23 and twelve thousand of each tribe signed with the blood of the Lamb.24 These twelve great Splendours are distributed in as many Chapters, providing twelve for each Treatise. Add to these an introductory address written to shed light on what follows, together with a Conclusion which provides a summary of the duties arising for us from these Dignities to love, honour and serve the Mother of God. This means that each Treatise will be composed of fourteen Chapters.
15 And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord: and rising in the morning he built an altar at the foot of the mount, and twelve titles according to the twelve tribes of Israel. Ex. Xxiv. 4. "Titles": That is, pillars.
16 Josue iv. 1-3.
17 Exodus xxxix
18 2 Chron. iv.
19 2 Chron. v.
20 2 Chron. ix.
21 Matt. xiv. 20.
22 Apoc. xxi. 16.
23 Apoc. xxii. 2.
24 Apoc. vii.
Finally, in the hope of promoting the praiseworthy sentiments of those who feel moved by a deep sense of obligation towards the Queen of Heaven, I have included an entire Treatise at the end containing a practical guide on how to show recognition and gratitude for her great Splendours.
7 I have to confess that I did not feel minded to seek out ways of embellishing this work, insomuch as I felt convinced that a simple presentation of these Dignities and Splendours would be more appreciated by the reader rather than a version embellished with a host of stories. Besides this, I have such trust in the love the reader has for the Mother of God that I would be doing him wrong were I to present reasons for being drawn to Mary other than his own tender feelings, trying to develop a taste for praising her whom he already cherishes deep his heart. The Queen of Heaven is already too lovable in herself and no-one needs to try and make her loved through artifice.
Accordingly, since there is no longer reason to delay and since the excellence of the subject is of itself sufficiently powerful to win hearts and captivate minds, let us now enter into our presentation of the great Dignities and beautiful Splendours of this peerless Princess.
👑 👑 👑
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 Vladimirskaya Icon. >12th century.
Totus tuus ego sum
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam.
© Peter Bloor 2024
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