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
§ 3. That the Holy Fathers say that the MOTHER OF GOD was incapable of sin, and how this is to be understood
The third principle, namely the external protection provided by God
19 Do not however believe that the King of Heaven, who had chosen Mary for His Mother and His Spouse, was so confident in the garrison troops He had provided that He did not keep a personal watch over her Himself. He had promised this to King Solomon[1] under the figure of the Temple, telling him : I have sanctified this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever, and my eyes and my heart shall be there always. David does not stop there but goes on to say that God[2] in person guards the keep of this fortress and recognizes none except Him as Governor of mystic Sion. If you enquire as to the reason, he will say that God keeps her safe, He personally supervises the changing of her guards, He posts the sentries, He quells tumults, He takes away fear of the enemy and He ensures that she can always enjoy gentle peace. Perhaps you think I could be clearer on this question, but do not worry – just listen carefully to St Bernard and St John Damascene. The former[3] explains that :
God was so obliging to the Holy Virgin, anticipating her needs, guiding her and helping her, that she never had to make a choice – of wanting or rejecting something – before receiving insight from the divine Wisdom. This meant she always loved God with the fervour that she knew He desired from her.
The latter[4] describes how
God’s way was to fill her understanding continually with holy thoughts. The effect of these was such that they were immediately followed by pious inclinations and noble resolutions. In this way, all points of entry to sin were closed off in such a way that :• her eyes were always turned towards her Lord, contemplating the light inaccessible which He inhabits[5];• her ears were open to hearing the voice of God and the harmony of His holy will;• her heart yearned passionately for Heaven
and so it was with all her faculties both physical and spiritual.
The learned Galatin[6] adds a notable comment, and I honestly do not know the source for it but I have read serious-minded authors[7] who find no difficulty in accepting it as altogether worthy of belief. He says that:
the Holy Virgin was endowed with a spirit of prophecy so remarkable that she foresaw everything that could even in the slightest way affect her peace of mind or prejudice the purity of her soul. Because of this, she would shut her eyes at the sight of anything improper or unseemly, she would block her ears rather than hear something she she would not wish to hear, she would turn her nose away from the slightest whiff of anything salacious. The same would be true of all those other things that affect our senses and feelings, which are like the first footholds habitually gained by death so as to infiltrate our souls.
I know well that St Ambrose did not accept the testimony of demons but I also know he sometimes ordered them to speak, in cases where this would confound and defeat them. In fact, we have heard of several instances where demons, speaking through the mouths of possessed people, admit they have no power to launch any attacks on Mary. They have been able to attack all the other Saint except when the Holy of Holies, which is to say the Word Incarnate, has granted them an exemption. I will take up this topic further in the second Treatise[8].
Footnotes
[1] III Reg. ix. 3.
[2] Psal. 45.
[3] Serm. 5 in Cant.
[4] Serm. 1 de Nativit. B. Virg.
[5] Who only hath immortality, and inhabiteth light inaccessible, whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and empire everlasting. [1 Timothy vi.16
[6] Lib. VII de Arcanis.
[7] Canisius, de B. Virg., lib. I, c. 13 ; Salazar, in c. 31 Prov., nº 140, etc.
[8] Cap. 9, § 7.
20 I think that all this should be more than enough to confirm the truth of something which can no longer be doubted, which is that the Holy Virgin never committed any sin.
God raised Mary on high for her glory and for our good; may He make us feel the effects of the prevenient grace which He bestowed upon her, and may He grant us strength to deal with our foes visible and invisible who attack us to the right and to the left, from in front and behind; in our prosperity and in our adversity; in the morning, at noon, and in the evening; through our own selves and through our close friends; indoors and outdoors, without regard to time, to place or activity; with neither respite nor intermission.
Having been thus favoured with the preservation from our enemies of the treasure we bear in earthenware vessels, grant that we may ever gratefully acknowledge Mary as our deliverer – after Him whom she herself acknowledges as her guardian and her Saviour.
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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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