The Crown of Excellence : Chapter 4 : § 1. 1-2

Chapter 4 : The Third Star or Splendour of the Crown of Excellence of 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).

Notre Dame des Grâces, Cotignac.(Poggi, 2020)

That she is the beloved Daughter of the Eternal Father

Diodorus of Sicily recounts in his History[1] that the mother of Simandius, King of Egypt, was represented on her own tomb with a triple crown on her head. This signified she had been a King’s daughter, wife and mother. The praises written about St Pulcheria include the fact that she was an Emperor’s daughter, sister and wife. Gallia Placida went one better in being also an Emperor’s mother. She was in fact the daughter of Theodosius the Great, sister of Honorius, wife of Constantius and mother of Valentinian. But there has never been anyone, apart from her whom we are discussing, who has borne at the same time all the titles: Daughter of God, MOTHER OF GOD and Spouse of God. She receives the honour of this praise at various points in the writings of St Ildephonsus, St Bernard, St Bonaventure and several other Holy Fathers. They call her the daughter of the Eternal Father, the Mother of the Son and the Spouse of the Holy Ghost. This reflects, perhaps, the opinion of the devout Prelate from Ptolemaïda, Synesius[2], when he said of uncreated Wisdom that she is at the same time Daughter, Mother and Sister of the divinity. As these privileges of the Queen of Angels are unrivalled, they deserve to be placed before all the others after her eternal election and before these ancient figures that we have just discussed. I feel duty-bound to say more on this later but as regards the title MOTHER OF GOD, what was said at the beginning[3] will suffice, together with some additional material in the second Treatise.

Footnotes

[1] Lib. II, c. 1.

[2] Hymno 4.

[3] Cap. 3.

§ 1. The first title, whereby the Holy Virgin is called the Daughter of the Eternal Father

 1   Jurists distinguish between two sorts of filiation: the first is true and original filiation (which serves as model for the second) and which may be called natural filiation. The second sort derives only from its imitation of and resemblance to the first and is what they call legal or civil filiation. We commonly call this adoption. Let us start with this idea.

Three reasons our Lord came down from heaven to earth

 2   St Cyril[1] remarks on this very point that there were three principal motives which drew the Son of God to earth. The first was to eliminate sin; the second was to vanquish death; the third was to make children of adoption, whom St John calls children of God, saying:[2] But as many as received him, he gave them power to be made the sons of God.[3] This reflection is full of sweetness and should melt our hearts for the love of Him from whom and through whom we have received this singular favour.

Footnotes

[1] Lib. IX in Joann., c. 47.

[2] Cap. 1.

[3] John i. 12.

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The Vladimirskaya Icon. >12th century.

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.

 

 

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam. 

© Peter Bloor 2024