Chapter 12 : The Eleventh 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).
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| Notre Dame des Grâces, Cotignac.(Poggi, 2020) |
She has been and is still recognized and called blessed by all generations in the world
§ 5. She was recognized and honoured by all Nations everywhere in the world
The East Indies and neighbouring Kingdoms
OUR LADY OF MYLAPORE, OUR LADY OF MALACCA, OUR LADY OF TERNATE (or BARRA)
8 As we have ventured so far afield, I think we should now proceed on to the Indies. There we will learn firstly that the Virgin has for a long time been honoured in the town of Cranganor[1]. They say that a King of this country was one of the three who came to adore the Saviour and that on his return he built a Church here. Later, another was built in imitation of it in the city of Calicut[2] where Vasco Da Gama came in 1498, according to Bishop Osorius. We will discover another very ancient church on the coast of Comorin[3], and another discovered at some distance in the port of Goa, dedicated by the Portuguese to the Holy Virgin as to one who watches over sea as well as land.
Mylapore is known as the city of St Thomas and is believed to be built on the ruins of the ancient Salamina on the edge of the Indian sea. Having paid our respects before the tomb of this glorious Apostle, we go on to the little chapel dedicated to the glorious Virgin where the second Apostle to the Indies, St Francis Xavier, was wont to pass whole nights in prayer. It was here that he was frequently to be heard imploring the help of the Empress of Heaven, calling out with all his strength : O Glorious Lady, do thou come unto mine aid! Most kindly Lady, wilt thou not help me?
Malacca is a city founded by the Portuguese in the ancient Chersonese[4] beyond the river Ganges. There we will discover a large hospital with a pretty Church dedicated to the Holy Virgin which was frequented by the same St Francis Xavier. It was in this Church that he obtained from God the victory which the Christians won over the barbarians known as the Aceneses. It was in this Church that he offered three Masses in fulfilment of a vow when, in the course of a voyage to China with the ambassador of the King of Bongo, he saved the Portuguese ship they were in as well as a smaller vessel carrying fifteen persons that had been at the mercy of winds in a furious tempest[5] that lasted three whole days. During this time he was seen among them even though he was in fact with the others on board the larger vessel. He would withdraw into this Church whenever his heart was troubled by anxieties or when he was worried about the success of a great undertaking he was planning for the greater glory of God. Right opposite the port of Malacca, we shall in passing visit a little chapel on an uninhabited island where the same St Francis confined for a space of three days Juan Duro his companion because without telling Francis he had taken some money from the alms box of the Portuguese to help his Father in his needs. This same Juan Duro saw the glorious MOTHER OF GOD seated near the high altar on a beautiful cushion and holding little Jesus in her arms who gently beckoned him to approach. Finally, the Holy Virgin received him, notwithstanding the poor impression his sin had made.
In the suburbs on the island of Ternate, which is situated below the Equator and is the most famous of the Moluccan isles, we come to the Church of Our Lady of Barra. It was here the same Father[6] came to stay when he arrived in the Moluccas and it was from here he would set forth, as though from a fortress, to attack the vice and iniquity that was widespread in that land. In short, the peoples of Salseta, Goulan, Travancore, Madura, the Malabar coast, Pegu, Bengal, the Pearl Fishery Coast and many other peoples who were previously uncivilized pagans, learned to show the MOTHER OF GOD the same honour she receives in the most flourishing countries of Christendom.
Footnotes
[1] Osorius, lib. I de Gestis Emmanuelis.
[2] Kozhikode, and not to be confused with Calcutta.
[3] Navarrus, Tract. de Orat. et horis canonicis, c. 21.
[4] The Golden Peninsula or Malay Peninsula.
[5] Vitæ ipsius, lib. V, c. 2.
[6] Vitæ ipsius, lib. III, c. 1.
China
9 Juan Gonzalez wrote a history of China[1] which shows that the Chinese people came to know about our Religion from its beginning. This was in fact confirmed by the discovery of a stone twenty-four palms in length[2] which was found in the Shanxi province eight years ago in 1625 during the course of excavations. The stone bore an inscription in Chinese characters which was studied by the most learned of the province and explained by the Mandarins themselves (the magistrates). The inscription was made twelve hundred and forty-three years before and begins with the Creation of the world. It includes all the principal mysteries of our Religion and , specifically, it includes a reference which honours the Virgin Mary, the Embassy of the Angel, and the Conception and Birth of the Word Incarnate. This fits in with what we read in the books of the kings of China where it is said that our law was preached there in the year 994, which would be one hundred and forty years before the inscription was made. The Bishop of Japan, moreover, states he discovered in the archives of Mylapore that more than a thousand years ago Preachers were sent from there to China to proclaim the Christian Faith. We learn in fact from authentic testimony that there were Churches founded there from the time of St Thomas[3].
I can indeed truthfully say that since the Religious of the Society of Jesus established a foothold in this flourishing Kingdom some forty-six years ago thanks the Holy Virgin (after God), they have done all they could to ensure she is loved and honoured by all.
The first chapel they built was in the town of Cianquin where they placed on the altar an image of the MOTHER OF GOD which drew an enormous crowd of people. All those who went into the chapel, including the Priests in charge of the Idols, prostrated themselves on the ground, striking the floor with their foreheads in accordance with the custom of this country. In that place they were delivered from committing a terrible and most dangerous offence through the Virgin’s fervour, to whom they had commended themselves. From there, they set off on the very day of the Assumption for Xanceo where our Lady worked the first miracle known to have taken place in China. She obtained a successful delivery for a pregnant mother who was dreading the labour of childbirth. This was on the day of the Presentation and took place after the woman had replaced an idol she had adored with the image of the Virgin, and after she had recited seven times the Pater and the Ave in honour of the seven solemnities of the Virgin. She was so grateful that she received baptism along with her husband and all her family. She never failed to send someone from her family every Saturday with candles and incense to assist at the Mass said in honour of the Virgin. In the town of Scianto, the viceroy and his wife expressed their fervent wish was to have an image of the Virgin and the Fathers found a way of satisfying their holy curiosity, with the result that they both promised to honour her for the rest of their lives and to encourage this amongst their families.
Thanks to the special help they received from the MOTHER OF GOD, they came to the royal city of Peking where they were received by the king and his attendants with extraordinary friendship. The first present they offered him was an image of the Holy Virgin which he found so pure, fresh and majestic that he was scarcely able to resist the brilliant light radiating from the divine countenance. He immediately ordered it to be taken to his mother who was as overwhelmed as her son and ordered that it should kept safe. The king had adored before the image and had offered incense. From that time on, the Fathers were always referred to as those who had brought the king living gods. The Holy Virgin procured for them a building like a palace, about a quarter of a league from the royal city, and there they immediately established a chapel, as they were obliged by a vow they had taken. In short, they had noticed that the majority of their successes since coming into the kingdom had occurred on one of the Virgin’s solemnities. Accordingly, they made an effort so as not to miss any opportunity of drawing into her service the Chinese people, who were most capable of rendering her great honour.
Footnotes
[1] Lib. II, c, 1.
[2] Emmanuel Diaz scripsit Macao eodem anno.
[2] Nicol. Trigantium, Hist. Sinensis, lib. I, c. 12.
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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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