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).
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| Notre Dame des Grâces, Cotignac.(Poggi, 2020) |
That Mary is peerless in her graces and merits
§ 4. On the greatness of Mary’s merits
How the Holy Virgin merited to be Mother of God
6 Having set out these truths in the previous paragraphs, I think that we now need to make clear before anything else that the Blessed Virgin’s interior disposition to become the MOTHER OF GOD contained within itself so many graces and extraordinary favours that she would not object if we were to write that she could not have merited them all.
May what we have just said be to the glory of Him who prevented[1] her with so many sweet blessings, who gave her from the beginning her first grace in such great abundance, who freed her from all sin, conferred upon her original justice with a perfect regulation of all the movements of her soul, strengthened her so many times with the stimulus of graces much more efficacious than her pre-existing merits might have warranted, graces which are freely given and come from the generous heart of Him who, as the Church sings[2], elected her, and pre-elected her before any consideration of merit. With this in mind, we can understand the Holy Fathers when they say that the honour of the MOTHER OF GOD went far beyond the merits of our Lady. St Augustine makes it clear that :
in this context she is said to be blessed not through her own merit but through the goodness of Him who chose in her His dwelling.
St Fulgentius[3] maintains that :
she merited to be the abode of the Word incarnate not through human merit but only through the dignity of God whom she conceived and bore.
7 Following on from the above proposition, I am able to say[4] that the freely given graces I have just mentioned had for their aim an increase in the value of her actions by means of her co-operation. Accordingly, she merited in strict justice her admirable disposition to become one day the MOTHER OF GOD. The reason is not difficult to understand, granted that all her dispositions are part of her own sanctification and consequently they do not in way surpass the principle from which they take their origin, to which they are indebted in terms of their value – which is the grace and the holiness found in this blessed soul.
8 Insofar as we need to go further in our discussion and draw closer to the glorious title of MOTHER OF GOD, I say that in absolute terms Mary did not merit this title in strict justice[5]. Condign merit cannot subsist without the particular favour of God requiring and accepting our good works as meritorious actions, as has been said. Because of this, we find that He would not have granted them if they were not worthy of an increase in graces and of all that is necessary to lead the soul to enjoyment of the sovereign good, which is the crowning reward promised for all our merits. Because the status of Mother of God is completely in excess of the value that His Majesty attaches to actions of holiness, we cannot say that it may be sought, or given, as a requirement of justice.
Footnotes
[1] prevent: I.3. c1450–transitive. Theology. Of God, God's grace, etc.: to go before (a person) with spiritual guidance and help; (a) So as to anticipate a person's actions or needs; (b) so as to predispose (a person) to repentance, faith, and good works. Complete OED.
[2] Elegit eam Deus, et præelegit eam. God elected her, and pre-elected her.
[3] Dial. 1 contra Pelagianos.
[4] De Incarn. et gratia, c. 7.
[5] D. Th., III p., q. 2, art. 11 ad 3 ; Suarez, t. I, sect. 27, vel puncto 8, q. 2.
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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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