Chapter 2: The First Star or Splendour of the Crown of Excellence of the Mother of God
Continuing our translation of the 1845 reprint of Fr Poiré's Triple Crown of the Mother of God (1643 French edition).
That she is First or Eldest of mere creatures by virtue of her eternal predestination.
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| Notre Dame des Grâces, Cotignac.(Poggi, 2020) |
A little earlier, we considered the title MOTHER OF GOD as being like the trunk or crown of a great tree, from which emerge the branches representing the great Splendours of the glorious Virgin. Now we need to go further and discover the root from which the trunk and the branches spring. We find this is the eternal predestination of this same Virgin. For this reason, the Church, according to St Cyprian, calls her a vessel of election, that is, a creature uniquely chosen by God to be the chosen instrument for wonders He wills to work on earth and in heaven.
§ 1. That our Lord Jesus Christ has been the true model for the Blessed Virgin
1 To clarify the birth-right of the MOTHER OF GOD, it needs to be said firstly that she does not subsist in God’s plan and the order of creatures other than by virtue of being Mother of the Saviour, (as I shall demonstrate with greater detail in the opening discussion of the second Treatise). In the same way, our Lord Jesus Christ’s predestination, which St Paul addresses at the start of his Epistle to the Romans, includes the Blessed Virgin to such an extent that without her it becomes impossible for Him. This means that Jesus and Mary are inseparably joined together by virtue of predestination. Just as Mary is none other than Virgin and MOTHER OF GOD in the immutable plan of eternity, so Jesus is not found otherwise than as the Son of man, that is to say the Son of the Virgin. Because the predestined status of the Saviour appears to us only through the sacred oracles of the Holy Spirit, we must say with St Augustine:
Whosoever denies that the Son of God is predestined denies at the same time that He is Son of man; consequently, whosoever says with St Paul that He is predestined must admit that He is the Son of man, i.e., that He is the Son of Mary and descended from Abraham and David, to whom the promise of the Messiah was made.[1]
The same assurances we have of the one we also have of the other, with the same witnesses, the same places, from the same Spirit of truth. The sober and ancient Doctor Tertullian wrote of it long ago in these terms:
Whichever way you look at it, you have to accept that He who was the seed of David took flesh from Mary and that He who took flesh from Mary is of the seed of David.[2]
This teaching is echoed by St Justin Martyr,[3] St Ambrose,[4] St Epiphanius,[5] St Jerome,[6] St Andrew of Jerusalem,[7] the venerable Bede,[8] Peter Damien[9] and the generality of holy Fathers, Greek as well as Latin. It is also echoed in the songs of all the Prophets and it is the culminating point for all the ancient figures, as I intend to show in the following chapter.
Footnotes
[1] Tract. CV in Joann.
[2] Lib. de Carne Christi, c. 22.
[3]Apolog. 2 pro Christianis.
[4] Lib. II de Spiritu Sancto, c. 5.
[5] Serm. de Laudibus Virg.
[6] In c. 11 Isaiæ.
[7] Serm. 2 de Dormit. B. Virg.
[8] Lib. IV, cap. 49 in Luc.
[9] Serm. 3 de Nativit. B. Virg.
2 In the second place, we must presuppose that the Blessed Virgin’s predestination is included in that of her Son and that the latter is the model for the former. This is established on the authority of the Church and several learned Doctors who apply to the Mother the same words that the Holy Spirit used to represent the eternal election of the Son, as will be seen shortly. It is further based on reason that Mary must resemble Him, as far as is permitted to a mere creature. Her status demands this, for she is Daughter, Mother and Spouse of God, Companion and Collaborator of the Saviour in the work of our redemption, Governess, Mediatrix, general Advocate and Protector of the Church, Queen of the universe, Mother of all the elect. She enjoys other titles which I will cover later.
God’s plan required Him to make two masterpieces of nature, grace and glory. Apart from this, what most convinces me of this truth is my firm opinion (which I will explain fully at the start of the second Treatise) that Mary would never have been if God were not to have become man. She is, therefore, a work made expressly for the Word incarnate and for no other reason subordinate to that. Once this understanding has been accepted, it follows that Mary’s case is different from other men and women whose production was determined, according to our way of thinking, before God foresaw the fall of Adam and the remedy He willed to supply. They are not in the least dependent on God made man for those things which are of nature, even though they are must acknowledge Him as the principle of grace and glory. The creation of Mary was resolved upon only after the decision was made to redeem the world and with the sole aim that she serve the Redeemer as Mother, Spouse and Companion. It must be said that not only does she owe everything to Him in terms of nature, grace and glory, but that she is drawn from Him as a copy from an original. She bears the greatest resemblance to Him that any mere creature could possibly have. This explains why so frequently in the Canticles He calls her His sister, His perfection and His beloved. This is the reason He reveals that He felt deepest sorrow in His heart for her alone, out of a world of others; she alone drew Him down here on earth. It is the reason why He filled her with so many perfections and great dignities that there was amazement in heaven and earth. We shall find this much easier to understand after we have made a comparison with her prototype, which is what I now propose to do.
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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 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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