The Crown of Excellence : Chapter 10 : § 3.3-4

Chapter 10 : The Ninth Star or Splendour of 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 is the Queen of virtues

§ 3. The Holy Virgin possessed to an exceptional degree all the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit, together with the Beatitudes

 3   Finally, these acts may be noble and heroic by virtue not only of the difficulties encountered in undertakings that may be painful and arduous but also because of the generosity which inspires them, such as:

    • freely giving up the material possessions and honours of this world;

    • renouncing the joys and delights of a sensual life of pleasure;

    • choosing the sufferings, mockery and humiliation that go hand in hand with the Cross and the perfect imitation of Jesus Christ; 

    • accepting the rejection, hardship and effort involved in the lives of those who hunger and thirst after justice and the salvation of their neighbour.

We may call acts such as these Beatitudes, whether it is because they are proof beyond question of most fervent charity, in which beatitude or blessedness in this life consists; or because they draw us closer than all others to that everlasting glory which belongs in a special way to generous and magnanimous hearts. We may recall here the words of the Saviour[1]: And from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and it is only those with brave and manly hearts who gain it.

Footnotes

[1] Matt. xi. 12. Fr Poiré’s excerpt ends with a paraphrase of the Vulgate which has: et violenti rapiunt illud. Douay-Rheims has: and the violent bear it away. Knox has : and the forceful are even now making it their prize. Cf. Cornelius A Lapide’s commentary which includes: Because for the kingdom of Heaven’s sake worldly men do violence to themselves by the cultivation of repentance, poverty, continence, mortification.

 4    Please forgive me, dear Reader, if I have detained you unduly in this discussion but it was only to cast some light on a subject which is in itself quite difficult and generally little understood. 

I return now to the MOTHER OF GOD and begin with the gifts of the Holy Spirit she received. Now Mary was the Temple and Sanctuary of this same Holy Spirit and was privileged to enjoy the plenitude of His graces. In view of this, I am confident no-one will need convincing that she received His gifts in the fulness of their perfection. I could undertake to demonstrate this for each of the gifts, but this would make the discussion too lengthy and I prefer therefore to limit myself to one example of something the blessed Virgin did. This will illustrate the wondrous way she responded to His inspiration : how He moved and encouraged her unceasingly to great undertakings, and how she for her part allowed herself to be guided and led in accordance with His wishes. From one example of her action, it will be easy to come to a judgement about others.

I shall therefore speak only of one event: the mission of the Angel Gabriel and the way Mary responded. You will see in her beautiful soul the image of a well-tuned lute which, when played by a virtuoso player, produces wondrous harmonies. I am saying you will recognize that when the Holy Spirit made contact with each of these gifts, which were like strings that he himself had stretched and put in place, they made a most pleasing sound. Beginning in this way, you will be able to judge the sweet harmony produced by these different tones. 

Let us start with the string representing Wisdom, a gift enabling us to perfect our knowledge of God’s greatness, to arouse in us elevated thoughts of things divine, giving us a particular desire to know and savour them. This was the string that was already resonating when the Heavenly Messenger arrived, for the Virgin’s mind was absorbed in the highest contemplation imaginable. Her meditation was focussed on the favour God had promised to deliver men from the misfortune in which they found themselves, achieving this by means of the Word Incarnate as foretold by the Prophets. She was lost in wonder at the thought of God’s incomprehensible graciousness and the self-abasement of His adorable Majesty, discovering therein wondrous treasures of wisdom, strength and goodness which poured into her soul, filling it with sweetness. She felt impelled by this to honour and bless in the name of everyone Him who was the benefactor of everyone.

At the same time, the gift of Knowledge was also resounding. This gift aims to make us perfect in dealing with created things and inspire us with what we need to do in their regard, taking account of what they have of the divine as well as what is their own. By means of this gift, Mary appreciated better than anyone the value of souls made in the image of God, souls whom she could see perishing for want of a Saviour. This made her heart burst with a wave of affection and to call out with the Prophet Isaiah[1]: Send forth, O Lord, the lamb, the ruler of the earth ... to the mount of the daughter of Sion. She sent her cries of love up to the Heavens calling for them to drop down their dew and for the clouds to send the rain on the earth which was so long awaited. She prayed that the same earth be opened, and bud forth the Saviour of souls like a heavenly plant.

On the arrival of the divine messenger, all the other strings started to vibrate, whence arose a most melodious harmony. The gift of Understanding, by which we are enabled to comprehend the interior promptings given to us by God for our own profit, came into operation whilst she waited for the Angel to continue with his message. Before giving any response, she was pondering on his words, thinking with herself what this message might mean. She was troubled at his saying, being seized by a holy fear in mind and body.

She was astonished, says St Ambrose[2], at the sight of a man in her chamber, for it was natural for Virgins in their modesty to blush at the slightest word or the merest glance of a man.

She was astonished, says St Augustine[3] and St Gregory of Nyssa[4], because of the unparalleled love she had for her virginity which she wished to preserve no matter what, without yet understanding how things were to turn out.

She was astonished, says Antipater[5], Bishop of Bostra, to find herself taken by surprise whilst alone, in the absence of St Joseph, recalling that the first woman had been caught out in a similar way.

She was astonished on hearing her own praises because, as St Gregory says, praising in her presence someone with a refined soul is like giving her a slap in the face.

She was astonished, says Hesychius[6], by reason of the grandeur and unexpectedness of the Angel’s Mission.

She was astonished, says St Bernard[7], because the Angel said she was blessed among women but she preferred to be among Virgins.

She was astonished, says St Peter Chrysologus[8], at the entry of Heaven’s Majesty, and the Temple of her  body and soul was shaken by the arrival of the great God Himself.

Footnotes

[1] Isai. xvi. 

[2] Lib. II de Virginibus, et in Exhortat. ad Virgines.

[3] Serm. 2 de Annuntiat.

[4] Orat. de Christi nativit.

[5] Orat de S. Joannis nativitate.

[6] Homil. 2 de S. Maria Deipara.

[7] Serm. in Signum magnum.

[8] Serm. 143.

4  Continued

4    The gift of Counsel helps us to make correct decisions not only for the glory of God but for our own, and not only for the active life but for also for the contemplative life. This string could immediately be heard when the angel announced:

    • that this conception would be extraordinary, 

    • that the Holy spirit would come upon her;

    • that the power of the Most High would overshadow her, preserving her from carnal pleasure and forming from most pure blood the glorious body of the Saviour;

    • that the Holy which would be born of her would be called the Son of God, not by adoption like the other righteous but by the union of human nature with a divine person so that He would be Holy not through privilege but by virtue of His holy conception;

    • that her barren cousin had conceived a son in her old age; and finally,

    • that no word shall be impossible with God, who being able do anything He wills and to fulfil all that He promises, will as easily make it possible for the Virgin to conceive as He did for the barren Elizabeth;

and when, having heard all this, with the help of all the maxims of divine Wisdom, Mary made her decision and resolved to throw herself into the arms of His sovereign goodness. 

The gift of Fortitude helps us to undertake things that are difficult and arduous, freeing us from human apprehensions. This gift reassured Mary by assuaging her fears and steadying her nerve so that she was held fast by her attachment to the truth and faithfulness of God. Just as He had once led Abraham with a firm hope through a period of despair, in the same way He enabled Mary to pass over everything she did not fully understand by firmly anchoring herself to the infallible promises of Heaven.

Piety has the property of giving us a mother’s heart in dealings with our neighbour. This gift immediately made her heart tender and filled her soul with compassion for us because of the evils which beset us on all sides. Seeing that God had chosen her to open the door of salvation[1] and by this means to comfort us in our afflictions, she offered with great fervour and with much interior joy everything she could that was hers, even were this to mean giving up her life as well as her Son.

Finally we come to Fear of the Lord which has for its office our subjection to God. This provides the last resonance which with the others makes for a perfect harmony. Mary is able to submit her heart to His sovereign Majesty through total and absolute resignation to His will in every way. She called herself the Handmaid[2] of the Lord–

    • as though not esteeming herself to be her own but rather something properly belonging to God;  

    • as someone totally dedicated to His service;

    • as having no wish to remove herself from obedience to Him, or from His house, but rather to use her life for the accomplishment of His divine ordinances;

    • as ignoring her own will as though she had none, valuing nothing more than her service to Him;

    • as one who had her eyes ever fixed on the hands of her Lord[3] so as to allow herself to be led to Him and to obey Him at the slightest sign He might make to her;

    • as wanting no salary or reward whatsoever, only the satisfaction and good pleasure of her God; 

    • in short, holding herself bound to serve not only Him but all those in His household for love of Him.

With this understanding and subject to this condition, and not otherwise, she concluded that it should be done unto her according to the word of the Angel, as though she were to have said: Even though the consent of a handmaid is in no way necessary, since the master can dispose of such as it pleases him; and even though as a handmaid I am far from deserving such a great good, nevertheless since God wishes it so, let it be so done unto me, for I am to do whatever is pleasing to Him.

Heaven had never ever heard anything so sweet or pleasing as the beautiful harmony arising from this one action of Mary. She was thus able in an instant to draw down the divine Word and to make Him take our nature.

What would it serve if I were to run through the whole life of the Holy Virgin so as to point out the incredible progress she was able to make every day thanks to attracting the graces of the Holy Spirit and to show just what degree of holiness she was able to attain? We would not be able to take it in because our eyes are too weak and our ideas too primitive.

Footnotes

[1] John. x. 9.

[2] The French text has the word esclave (slave) here in place of servante which is in the Fillion Bible. Interestingly, St Louis-Marie de Montfort refers to Fr Poiré's work in his True Devotion to Mary and also makes use of the word esclave in the context of this devotion. The Vulgate has ancilla, which appears as handmaid in the Douay-Rheims translation, which I have followed. Lewis & Short has the following note: ancilla, ae, f. dim. [ancula], a maidservant, handmaid, female slave (com. used as fem. of servus, instead of serva)

[3] Ps. CXXII. 2..

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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