The Crown of Excellence : Chapter 8 : § 1. 8-9

Chapter 8 : The Seventh 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)

Mary’s soul was unique in being totally free of any sin

§ 1. The MOTHER OF GOD was exempt from original sin

Second proof : drawn from the person of the Holy Virgin

 8   Let us now consider Mary in her capacity as Redemptrix, Companion and Coadjutrix of the Saviour in the work of our redemption. I will discuss this at greater length in the second Treatise. 

You may have noticed already that God gave Adam a woman as helper who was made like unto himself[1] and that both possessed original justice. This woman was a preparatory sketch for Mary. Now, Adam and Eve were to be the progenitors of our race in a physical sense but the Creator in His infinite goodness could not allow them to be created other than in a state of innocence and holiness. If this was true for them, then what do we think would be the case with the Saviour and His Holy Mother who came to bring redemption for the sin which Adam and Eve had committed and which at the same time affected us? St Bernardine of Siena[2] considers this is a very powerful argument according to reason. It was put forward by the eldest of the Saviour’s Apostles, Blessed St Andrew, according to Abdias of Babylon[3] who quotes him as saying:

Just as the first Adam was formed from the virgin earth which had not yet been cursed as a result of sin, so too the second Adam was born from the Virgin mother who had never been under such a curse. 

Footnotes

[1] Gen. ii. 18.

[2] T. IV, Serm. 49...

[3] Lib. IV Hist.

 9   But what could be said in response to the Holy Doctors who teach she was chosen with her Son to deliver us from the evils caused to us by original sin; and to bring this about, would it not have been better if she herself had experienced the stain of this sin? 

The ancient poet Sedulius wrote lines so highly prized by the Church that some of his work was included in the holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Here is an example of what he wrote about Mary[1]:

For Mary purest flower from Eve did spring,

From rotten stem came forth a rose of grace,

A Virgin new ennobled all our race

But Eve through sin she death to us did bring.

In this regard, Hesychius calls Mary[2]:

most excellent adornment of our nature, glory of the earth, destined to cover over the shame of our first mother, to clean away the stain of our first father and to take down the pride which had led to the downfall of them both.

I shall say no more now for I aim to cover this specifically in the second Treatise[3]. What response can there be to the teaching of St John Damascene who says that :

the Blessed Virgin began this wondrous work at the very instant of her conception and at this blessed moment she raised our fallen nature and restored it fully?

After this, how could anyone say that Mary suffered from the same illness that she came to cure in us? Now, the Holy Fathers (whom I shall quote later) advance a conclusive argument that Mary was free from all actual sin because it was her destiny and that of her Son to fight against and conquer this very kind of sin. This being admitted, why would find any difficulty in saying the same thing about original sin? St Ildephonsus, a devout Chaplain of the Virgin, understood the power of this argument which he included in the excellent Treatise he wrote to defend our Lady’s honour :

Let the matter be considered settled beyond doubt : Mary was free and unencumbered by any original sin; she not only protects us from the curse but also brings us the blessing.

Footnotes

[1] Lib. II.

[2] Orat. 2 de B. Virg.

[3] Cap. 6.

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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