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).
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| Notre Dame des Grâces, Cotignac.(Poggi, 2020) |
Mary’s soul was unique in being totally free of any sin
§ 2. That the MOTHER OF GOD was free of all actual sin
3 There is no shortage of Holy Fathers who have devoted much time and energy to drawing parallels between Mary's soul and her body, aiming to show that her soul was as unstained by sin as her body was free from every sort of blemish. The learned Rupert[1] makes use of this comparison when he says:
sin had no more access to the Holy Virgin’s soul than any man had power over her body.
Venantius Honorius[2], who lived around the time of St Ildephonsus, made use of the same idea and so did St John Damascene[3] whose comments bear repeating. Referring to the words included in the Angel’s greeting, full of grace, he says:
Mary had the good fortune to find herself on an immense sea of graces which recognized the treasure she bore within her and kept safe the barque of her double virginity, namely the virginity of her body and of her soul.
What more is there to say, since the Saints give her no less exemption from sin than the Angels? On this point, St Gregory Thaumaturgus[4] makes a very insightful observation:
in this regard, Mary was indeed worthy of receiving the embassy delivered by the Angel for she was his sister-german in purity.
St John Chrysostom grants her pre-eminence in his Liturgy, raising her in his own terms far above the Angels. St Thomas places her near to God and here perhaps we should stop since it is not possible to go any further than this. His discussion may be found[5] in the Third Part of his Summa. He states it is accepted that the nearer a thing is to the principle, the greater the part which it has in the effect of that principle. After this he continues:
Our Lady was nearer than any other creature to Our Lord Jesus Christ, the true source of all purity. It is therefore no wonder that she received a greater fullness of grace than others.
Footnotes
[1] Lib. IV in Cant.
[2] In Expos. Symb.
[3] Orat. 1 de Dormit. B. Virg.
[4] Serm. 3 de Annuntiat.
[5] Qu. 27, art. 5.
The reasons give by the Holy Fathers
4 When considering who they are and how numerous they are, the authority of these Fathers should really be enough for anyone. I am sure, however, that they will have no objection if I lay aside their authority so as to examine their reasons at greater length. They make use of several in confirmation of Mary’s privilege and I will focus on some of them here. It is not unreasonable to go straight to the source of all her exemptions, namely her title of MOTHER OF GOD.
St Eligius, bishop of Noyon[1], lived in the sixth century. He made so bold as to say:
There is no reason whatsoever which would allow stains to besmirch her who, having received the plenitude of the Holy Ghost, merited the honour of being the Mother of the Author of all purity.
Peter, Abbot of Cluny, refining that same thought, adds[2]:
Mary had the honour of being the Sanctuary of the Holy Ghost, the resting couch for the Saviour and the throne for the whole Divinity. As such, reason cannot allow that she should ever be overshadowed by any cloud of sin, howsoever small it might be and even if only passing or of fleeting duration.
Hesychius of Jerusalem speaks of the Holy Virgin in the following terms[3]:
Inasmuch as thou hast preserved the purity of thy body and kept free from all blemish the Temple and Tabernacle of thy soul – just so will the Eternal Father make a covenant with thee, the Holy Ghost will protect thee and the only-begotten Son of God will be made flesh in thee.
Richard of St Victor goes further in the second book of his Emanuel[4] and makes it plain that:
If Mary had not been just as I have said then it would be madness to claim she enjoyed such an extraordinary favour.
This is the powerful consideration which the redoubtable St Augustine[5] uses to halt and cast down one of the Holy Virign’s professed foes, saying:
Hear me, O Manichaean, hear me. Here are the words addressed to thee by the great God, Creator of man and at the same time Son of man : I am the one who made the Mother who gave birth to me, I am the one who prepared the way by which I arrived. She of whom thou dost speak with so little respect has the honour of being my Mother.
Footnotes
[1] Homil. 2 in Purif.
[2] Lib. III, Epist. 1.
[3] Orat. 2 de S. Deipara.
[4] Cap. 26.
[5] Orat. 1 de quinque hæresibus, c. 5.
5 What is there left to say after this? The dear son of this venerable Mother, St Bernard[1], adduces a another reason and says:
It was altogether reasonable that the Virgin should lead a life free from all sin by virtue of a most singular privilege : she was to be the Mother of life and justice, which she was to obtain for all.
Finally, St Bonaventure gives a brief summary of several reasons, writing:
As Advocate for poor sinners, as the crowning glory of the just, Spouse of God, privy chamber of the holy Trinity, mystical couch of the true Solomon, our Saviour and Redeemer – she merited this grace, that sin could not come nigh to her.
These reasons call for further elaboration but it is perhaps better for each to reflect on them individually.
Footnotes
[1] Epist. 174.
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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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