Chapter 7 : The Sixth Star or Splendour in 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 peerless in her graces and merits
§ 1. On the excellence of the first sanctification of the MOTHER OF GOD
2 Note firstly how David says that the Lord loveth the gates of Sion above all the tabernacles of Jacob. St Anselm[1] clarifies this idea, saying that :
not only is His love for her quite incomparable, but He has shown it in ways that are worthy of His greatness; in short, all the Angels together could not comprehend the love He has for her.
From this, St Bonaventure observes quite appositely[2] that :
it is no wonder that her love is greater than that of all others since she has a better share than all of them in His graces.
This is the powerful consideration that persuades blessed Lawrence Justinian[3] to conclude that :
the Virgin was more loved by God and God wanted more good for her at the moment of her conception than he did for all the great Saints at the hour of their death and for the most sublime Spirits at the moment of their confirmation in grace.
This can easily be understood if we consider that the good He willed for her was a transcendant grace, of an order higher than all others. Now since God is unable to love without doing good and His gifts are always in proportion to His love; and since the Holy Virgin had always occupied pride of place in His affections, it follows that she at the same time won for herself His preeminent graces and His most sublime favours.
3 Note secondly how David declares that glorious things are said of this City of God[4]; let us apply these words to the first grace Mary received. This grace entered her soul accompanied by a cortège and entourage that was quite unheard of. You may choose to wonder at the majestic procession. You will see Mary enriched by all the gifts of the Holy Ghost and all the graces freely bestowed by God, surrounded by all the infused virtues, so exquisitely adorned as to be beyond compare. You will see her accompanied, as it were, by an infallible promise of steadfastness and final perseverance, followed by original justice, treading underfoot all the enemies of grace and rendering the body perfectly subject to a soul which is unquestioningly obedient to God. You will notice the special gift she received at this time enabling the enhanced use of reason, not just for a time but as an irrevocable faculty, and fortified by the assurance of impeccability extending generally to every category of sin (as I shall show in detail later[5]). If it is acceptable to judge the greatness of a Prince by the magnificence of his court and his entourage, can we not say of Mary's grace that processes with such pomp that it is comparable to that which all others have received, at whichever point in their lives you choose to consider?
Footnotes
[1] Lib. de Excellentia Virg., c. 4.
[2] Speculi B. Mariæ, c. 6.
[3] Serm. de Nativit. Virg.
[4] Ps. LXXXVI. 3.
[5] Sub finem capitis, et cap. sequenti.
👑 👑 👑
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
No comments:
Post a Comment