Tuesday, 21 January 2025

The Crown of Excellence : Chapter 13 : § 5.3-6

Chapter 13 : 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).

Notre Dame des Grâces, Cotignac.(Poggi, 2020)
How she is the honour of earth and of Heaven

§ 5. She is the Sun of the World


She is as the rising Sun in her birth and in the progression of her life 

 3    Her second state starts with her birth and includes her infancy and the period she spent being reared in the Temple. In this we can see that she bore a very close resemblance to the Sun rising and ascending with growing momentum above the horizon. In this second state, she gave off four rays of light, as before.

The first was a ray of beauty, a beauty of the body and a spiritual beauty, for which reason she was called completely beautiful: It was a signal beauty, attractive to those with a love of virtue and chastity; it was a signal beauty, in every aspect surpassing that of the morning stars. The second ray reflected her freedom from all sin, an exemption proceeding not only from the plenitude of grace that she had received but also from her spiritual peace which mastered disorderly passions and from the external perfection deriving from God and the Angels. The third ray was the contemplation of heavenly things, filling her with an indescribable sweetness and holding her attached by an unbreakable link to the principle and source of all satisfaction and fulfilment. The fourth ray reflected the example of her life, so clear and dazzling that henceforth she became lovable in the eyes of all who saw her and most worthy of admiration to those who considered carefully the beautiful signs of her royal virtues.


She is as the Sun at its noonday zenith, in the conception of the divine Word

 4    The third state was the conception of the divine Word which was the true noonday zenith of our mystical Sun, namely the Holy Virgin, with which she truly filled the world with rays of eternal splendour. The most excellent of these were the four that I am now going to mention.

The first was the plenitude of Grace that she received in an ineffable manner, of which she was henceforth to become a living source and principle conjointly with her son. The second ray removed everything that could stop or hinder however little the development of her most excellent virtues and a certain impeccability about which I have spoken earlier. The third ray was, an adhesion to the sovereign good by means of union with and transformation in Him who divinized all her actions and gave them and inestimable merit. The fourth was a spirit of calm and confidence that she enjoyed in her present state and would enjoy in the future, with reference to the abundant promises given to her from on high.

I have followed the Holy Fathers in calling this third state of the glorious Virgin the noonday zenith of our mystical Sun, by reason of the holy fervour which set her blessed soul on fire with flames of love. It seems to me that I hear this state referred to in chapter xliii of Ecclesiasticus where we read: At noon he burneth the earth, and who can abide his burning heat? As one keeping a furnace in the works of heat: The sun three times as much, burneth the mountains, breathing out fiery vapours, and shining with his beams, he blindeth the eyes.  Great is the Lord that made him, and He did this by breathing a simple word to set the Sun in a motion that has always been kept. 

A miracle unheard of then came to pass which would need the pen and the mind of an Angel to describe. This divine Sun, in the midst of her fervour and more than Seraphic rapture, produced another Sun which, according to King David the Prophet[1]arose as a bridegroom coming out of his bride's chamber; this was the incarnate Word, who is the true Sun of Justice, who enlighteneth every man that cometh into this world. To appreciate the beautiful thought of the Psalmist, you need to have contemplated the Sun rising in the morning from the sea, as though from the couch of his beloved Tethys, as the poets say. For indeed there is nothing in the world more beautiful or overwhelming than to see the Sun rising from the sea in the morning, causing the dissipation of the early mists which begin to rise. The Sun appears in the midst of these as in an embroidered tent, causing bejewelled sparks of light; drawing insensibly towards itself these morning vapours, the Sun seems to rise to the sound and rhythm of lutes and violins. Even having considered all that, it would still be as nothing, bearing in mind that what we have described is a material image of something supernatural : the rising of the Sun within our souls. Nevertheless, if the sight of a material object is capable of producing such delight in those who see it from the summit of mountain, what must the pleasure of the Angels be like when they are present at the rising of the unique Sun of the world, which they see emerge from the nuptial couch and from the womb of the blessed Virgin – who is both His Mother and His Spouse? Consider how those Saints who received an imaginary representation of this ineffable mystery were overwhelmed with sweet feelings they were never able to explain; what could conceivably be said of those who had the joy of contemplating the scene, not figuratively but in reality, not in their imagination but as it actually was?

Footnotes
[1] Ps. XVIII. 6.

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She is as a setting Sun at her death

 5    If it was possible for me to add something on my own to the rich ideas of Saint Bernardine, I would add a fourth and supplementary state of the Virgin: namely her glorious decease which with good reason I would call the setting of this divine Sun. Following the model of this great servant of the MOTHER OF GOD, I would say that this state gave off four rays of a most adorable brightness. The first was a heartfelt desire to see God and to be united with her beloved; this ray was so powerful and so penetrating that it reached God’s heart and won from Him a holy agreement to grant the most just desires of His most beloved daughter. The second ray was courageous resignation to everything willed by Heaven; this was a resignation very different from that of Saint Martin and other Saints who, desiring death, accepted life as a penance. The third ray was an indescribable ecstasy of love which could find no rest except through an end to her beating heart, and a loss of her life, allowing thereby passage to her blessed soul so that it could bury itself in immortality. The fourth ray was a more than maternal tenderness and care for all the children of the Church; this has continued and increased in the Divine flames of the love of her most holy Spouse, whose fire is in Sion and his furnace is in Jerusalem[1]. There is no question here of the desperate desire of the ancient Eudoxus who, to satisfy the vain curiosity of his eyes and his mind, agreed to be reduced to ashes were he only allowed the time to survey the Sun which is the source of our light and to take all the measurements. Here we are speaking of very different Sun, worthy of being a subject of eternal contemplation. For my part, I proclaim that not only would I not begrudge my life for this, but it would be a privilege to see my soul detached from its body as a result of a similar desire, and through the powerful attractions of such an excellent object of desire, attain the happiness of never being distracted therefrom ever afterwards and focusing my eyes thereon for all eternity.

Footnotes
[1] Isai. xxxi. 9.

 6    If you have found the above thoughts uplifting, I would ask you to keep them in focus whilst I bring this discussion to an end with the words of the pious Saint Bernard, who expresses a beautiful notion which has touched my heart.

Take away the visible Sun from the world, he says[1], and who will bring us the day? Take away Mary from men, and what will they have left other than murky shadows and a darkness like unto the shadow of death?

The Philosophers seek to demonstrate that if there were no longer any Sun in the world, there would be a number of consequences: 
    • the pleasing changes of the seasons which we all appreciate would come to an end; 
    • more than that, there would be a cessation (as though under a general interdict) of all sublunary activities;
    • there would in consequence be a universal overthrow of the beautiful order that God established for His creatures; and 
    • there would be sudden death for those who are alive and terrible harm suffered by those who survive this. 

We may choose to leave the Philosophers to continue their debate about these propositions; for my part, I believe there is not a single created mind capable of imagining what would become of our world were we to be deprived of Mary, the honour of earth and Heaven. There is no need to explain that if she were not there, there would be no Jesus Christ, for He was the only or main reason that she was made, as I will show at the beginning of Part II of this work. 

Were she to be taken from us, in whom would sinners place their trust and to whom would they look for help when they have sinned against the Saviour in their souls and have trampled His precious blood under their feet? What sanctuary and what city of refuge would be left for poor sinners? Who would be the Advocate for those whose desperate causes lead them to fear the extreme consequences of Justice? Who would awaken those who have fallen asleep? Who would animate the languid? Who would stir into action the lukewarm? Who would encourage the fervent to increase their fervour still more? Who would protect the Church? Who would defend her against enemies visible and invisible? What would become of those whose fear of God paralyzes their hearts, and who can be helped only through gentleness and mercy? Who would comfort the afflicted? Who would be a help unto the dying? Who would accompany them after their death to the dread judgement of God? 

I pray that these considerations will help us to understand how deeply indebted we are to our God for having given us this wondrous Sun who confers so many graces and favours upon us; I pray too that they may re-awaken in our hearts a desire to love, honour, and serve her through whom we breathe and from whom we receive so many blessings.

Footnotes
[1] Serm. de Nativit. Virg.




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The Vladimirskaya Icon. >12th century.
S
UB
 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 2025

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