The Crown of Excellence : Chapter 7 : § 4.1

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 Mary is peerless in her graces and merits

§ 4. On the greatness of Mary’s merits

Two kinds of merit

 1   Since it is the case that a simple creature can ascend no higher than to be deemed worthy of being the MOTHER OF GOD, I am inclined to make this subject a priority and explore it fully to see if the Holy Virgin was able to merit such honour. Now this question is on the one hand very important but on the other is by no means easy to approach. For this reason it seems a good idea to clarify some points at the outset, so as to avoid any subsequent misunderstandings. 

In the first place, I will take it as given that Sacred Scripture and the Fathers have provided material from which Theologians are able to make a distinction between two sorts of merit : one may be called condign[1] merit (merit in justice) and the other congruous merit. With the first of these, God is obliged in justice to do or to give[2] something in consideration of a service rendered to Him. Failure to do so would be an offence not only against His goodness but also against His justice. With the second, He recognizes the virtuous actions of His creatures without any obligation in justice but only out of courtesy and propriety. Just as the first type of merit is based on God’s justice, the second relies upon His generosity[3], and each of these in its own way entails an obligation of some sort. Apart from these two kinds of merit, which are taken in proportion to what is found among men, there is a third which attracts far less attention from Theologians and which they also, albeit improperly, call merit. Properly understood, this third merit is based on nothing actually done by a person in consideration of the reward to be given but only on that person’s good qualities. We commonly say, for example, that someone merits the office of Councillor or that he is worthy of being President, even though he might never have done anything with this aim in mind, nor even wanted the role, but solely because he had all the qualities desirable in a person suited for such an office.

 

Footnotes

[1] condign : 3.a. 1413–1683 Worthily deserved, merited, fitting, appropriate; adequate. Complete OED. con-dignus, a, um, adj., wholly deserving, very worthy, LewisShort.

[2] D. Th., I-II, q. 114, art. 2, et 161. DD.

[3] D. Th., in II, dist. 27, art. 2 ; D. Bonav., in IV, dist. 15, p. 1.

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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