The Crown of Excellence : Chapter 8 : § 1. 49-51

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

The sixth proof, based on the doctrine that the Mother of God was not only free from original sin but was not under any obligation to contract it

The Doctors in attendance at the Council of Trent were supportive of the opinion

 49   It is in fact by no means an unreasonable conjecture to conclude at the very least that this Council, which included the finest minds in the Christian world, did not distance itself from this opinion. We find that it received explicit support from those who had the honour to speak and to be heard at this great assembly of the Church. These were in a better position than anyone else to know what the Fathers had to say on this subject. Included in their number was the worthy Prelate Cornelio Musso, Bishop of Bitonto. Such was his authority in this noble assembly that he was entrusted with the task of making a redaction into order of the Council’s decrees and statutes. This great man openly supported the proposition that I have put forward in the learned Commentaries he has left us on the Epistle of St Paul to the Romans[1]. We may also number in this group Domingo de Soto of the Dominican Order, one of the foremost Doctors of his day. In his learned work entitled De natura et gratia[2], he cited the Council’s decree and repeatedly makes clear that neither he nor the Council include the Mother of God under the law and the covenant regarding the transmission of original sin from father to son.

 

Footnotes

[1] In c. 5.

[2] On Nature and Grace. Lib. I, c. 7.

 50   Featuring in this group was also Luis de Caravajal of the Order of St Francois. His remarkable erudition and authority were apparent in this gathering of learning and holiness. He composed an excellent piece in favour of the immaculate Conception, wherein the twenty-third article reads : the law on original sin did not include the Blessed Mother of God in any way.  Now although fifteen of his propositions attracted some forceful criticism, nothing was said on this opinion. His paper was sent to two of the foremost Universities in the world, namely to Paris and to Alcalá, where all these propositions were carefully scrutinized. What is remarkable is that not only did they find nothing to condemn but they were unanimous in their judgement that it was in conformity with the rule of Catholic belief and full of doctrine and piety. Included among the supporters was also François de la Tour who had the honour of attending the Council as Theologian to the Holy See before later entering the Society of Jesus. He has left us an excellent Epistle on original sin wherein he supports the proposition I have been putting forward.

 51   Apart from the venerable Doctors who appeared in this noble company, I could point to a goodly number of others who followed them[1], although not every one defended the proposition in the same manner. I will mention only one thing in this regard which is that in the month of January of the year 1616, some Doctors of the Order of the Seraphic St Francis, ever zealous to uphold the honour of the MOTHER OF GOD, proposed a number of theses in the city of Toledo which touched on the mystery of the Conception. The conclusion they drew was that Our Lady not only had never sinned in Adam but furthermore that she had never been under any obligation to contract the stain of original sin. At first they encountered some opposition but their conclusions were later presented for examination by the Tribunal of the Inquisition and afterwards sent to the famous University of  Alcalá. They emerged from this disputation with honour for themselves and even more so for the MOTHER OF GOD since they obtained general approval of all their propositions from both Institutions. This is evident from the public declaration issued on the 22nd of January 1616 by Ferdinand of Villegas (secretary of the Royal Senate Royal in Madrid) and by the declarations of the Doctors of Alcalá, including Doctor Luis de Montez, principal of this noble University.

In this way the first doubts and concerns were resolved when Universities and tribunals so exacting in matters of the Faith were seen to have returned the proposition with approval and with praise. Following this, a goodly number of altogether catholic Doctors were increasingly reassured and they began to promulgate this exemption of the Virgin in the Universities, namely those in Spain and Portugal, in the Churches and in other public places. As a result, today they are able to do so with their heads held high and with no fear from the censors.

 

Footnotes

[1] Clitovæus Carnot. Canonicus, lib. de Puritate Conceptionis, c. 8 et 9 ; Præsentatur Mendez Dominicanus in Mariali, lib. II, c. 34, § 2 ; Loaysa, Tract. de pura Conceptione, puncto III ; Lezana, Apologia pro immaculata Virg. Conceptione ; et permulti alii.

👑       👑       👑

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