Chapter 13 : The Twelfth 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) |
How she is the honour of earth and of Heaven
§ 7. She is the Temple of God
1 Have you noticed how our thoughts have become more elevated as we discuss symbols that draw us more closely to the Divinity than when we began our discussion? The earthly Paradise was indeed a masterpiece of nature, but it was to witness profane actions as a result of man’s fall and the baseness of his mortal condition; but this is not the case with Temples, which are the Palaces of the great God and contain His royal Chambers where men are granted an audience, where the affairs of eternity are dealt with and where it would be out of the question to do certain things which elsewhere would be acceptable.
Let this be said at the outset so that we may have an idea of how it was no small honour to the holy Virgin for her to have been called commonly by the holy Fathers the Temple of God. I use the word 'commonly' inasmuch as this was the title that the majority of them gave to her. Saint James in his Liturgy called her the sanctified Temple; Saint Epiphanius[1], the Temple of the Divinity; Saint John Chrysostom, the living, breathing Temple of God; Saint Germanus, Patriarch of Constantinople[2], the Temple of the common Spouse of the holy Church; Saint Cyril of Alexandria[3], the indissoluble Temple; the blessed Proclus, Archbishop of Constantinople[4], a living Temple; Saint Andrew of Crete[5], the magnificent Temple of God’s glory; Saint Peter Chrysologus[6], the great Temple of Divine Majesty; Saint John Damascene[7], the holy Temple, magnificent and worthy of God’s greatness; Saint Ambrose[8], the Temple of modesty; Hesychius[9], the Temple which is greater than the heavens. Saint Ildephonsus[10] may have called her the heavenly Temple not only because of the life she led which was altogether heavenly and divine, but also out of consideration for the King of Heaven whose Temple she is. I am fairly certain, however, that what he had in mind, along with the other Doctors mentioned above, was the Temple of Solomon which they all recognised as being one of the most illustrious figures or symbols of the Blessed Virgin. Saint John Damascene teaches this in explicit terms[11], and the blessed Saint Bridget draws many parallels in a prayer[12] she addressed to the Mother of God.
For my part, I shall focus on five points of comparison:
- the parts of this peerless Temple,
- its magnificence,
- its dedication,
- the consecration of the High Priest and
- the end for which it was built.
I shall cover these five headings fairly briefly rather than delaying the reader unduly.
Footnotes
[1] Orat. de S. Deipara.
[2] Orat. de Nativit. B. Virg.
[3] Homil. 6 contra Nestorium.
[4] Orat. de Nativit. Domini.
[5] Serm. de Annuntiat.
[6] Serm. 149.
[7] Lib. IV de Fide orthod., c. 15.
[8] Lib. de Institut. Virg., c. 15.
[9] Orat. 2 de S. Deipara.
[10] Serm. 9 de Assumpt.
[11] Orat. 1 de Nativit.
[12] Lib. III Revel., c. 29.
The three parts of Solomon's Temple and their links to the Holy Virgin
2 Starting with the first of these, I remember what Socrates once said:
The mouth of the wise man is a temple; when it opens, you can see wonders of virtue and holiness.
These words are in fact highly suited to the MOTHER OF GOD, for when she opens her mouth we never fail to see precious signs of her modesty, her prudence, her pious faith, her charity, and the other outstanding virtues hidden within her soul.
Let us now leave the entrance to the Temple and consider the three main parts into which the sacred writers tell us the Temple was divided. The first was called the Outer Court; the second was the House, the Temple or the Holy Place; and the third was the Sanctuary, the Oracle or the Holy of Holies.
In the same way, you will see that the Queen of Angels has a Court which is known as the Court of the Gentiles, where she receives under her general protection all the nations of the earth, not excluding the infidels and barbarians. You will also see the Court of Israel where she welcomes the Christian people and where her faithful servants are always given pride of place. You will note too the Court of the Priests where the sacrifices were offered every evening and every morning. This may be understood as a reference to the exceptional way she practised continual mortification so as to keep her body and her sensitive appetite under control. As for the inner part of the Temple which they called the Holy Place, the blessed Archbishop of Florence[1] develops the link with the Holy Virgin, saying:
On one side could be seen the golden table with the twelve loaves of proposition, representing the strong faith that she had in the twelve articles of our Creed; on the other side was the altar of incense, representing her sacred heart which offered up to Heaven unceasing acts of adoration, both internal and external; the candlestick with seven branches represents the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, and the veil woven of four different colours represents the four cardinal virtues which she possessed to perfection.
The Holy of Holies was part of the Temple which the High Priest alone was permitted to enter, and this only once a year. We need not dwell here too long because it is clear this represents the chaste womb of the Blessed Virgin which no-one had ever entered except the High Priest Jesus alone, at the time of His Incarnation.
Footnotes
[1] III part., tit. 31, c. 4, § 2.
The magnificence of the Temple
3 As for the magnificence of Solomon’s Temple which was to be a figure for the Holy Virgin, we can form a judgement about it on the basis of what King David himself said, as written in the first book of Paralipomenon[1]: He offered of his own proper goods 100,000 gold talents and 1,000,000 silver talents, which would be the equivalent in our currency[2] of 2,123 million pieces of gold, without including what the people generally offered[3], which amounted to 71,000,000 pieces of gold and 880,000 écus[4], which adds up to 2,194 million gold pieces and 880,000 écus. This expenditure will seem to be beyond belief when we consider it was just to cover what had to be worked in gold and silver for use in the Temple, without taking into account either the construction of the Temple or the materials that were employed, nor all the other metals, precious gemstones, materials in purple, silk and fine linen, and a thousand other things which would be included in this wonder of the world. But there is no doubt that people’s astonishment will be even greater if I start to show details of how this massive sum of gold and silver was used and if I say, along with the historian Josephus[5], that there were up to 80,000 hanaps[6] for wine, 10,000 golden fioles[7] and 20,000 made of silver; 80,000 golden plates, and double this made in silver; 60,000 cups of pure gold, with a further 120.000 in silver; 20,000 assarons[8] or hins[9] of gold, which were particular measures used in the Temple, and twice this quantity in silver; 20,000 gold thuribles for incense and 50,000 other vessels used only for carrying fire from one altar to another; 200,000 silver trumpets and 40,000 other musical instruments, all fashioned in gold or silver. I am not including the accoutrements for the Priests and the Levites, such as albs and surplices of fine linen, numbering 10,000 with as many purple cinctures and countless numbers of similar objects and ornaments.
I must not forget to mention what is recorded at various places in Sacred Scripture[10] which says that the whole Temple, from top to bottom and including the ground, was covered with gold panels, all held in place with golden nails which each weighed 25 ounces[11]. Some have written that the heads of the nails fixing the gold panels to the wall of the Temple, were studded with precious stones. They conclude from what has been written by Josephus[12] that the walls and the panels of the Temple shone on all sides with countless precious gemstones set here and there. From all this, you can be sure that there is nothing more true than what some have written: that especially the first time someone entered Solomon’s Temple, he would be so overwhelmed by the beauty, the splendour and the majesty of the place that he would go into a sort of ecstasy and be unable to hold back the floods of tears streaming down his cheeks for the joy at seeing such a work of wonder. I have not even mentioned yet the tables of gold, the candlesticks, and especially the great candlestick with seven branches, the lamps, the snuffers, the tongs, the forks and a thousand other similar tools which were all made of pure gold, including even the hinges and metal work on the doors.
We could in fact base our judgement about the whole building and its contents by considering just one piece of furniture which is described by an eyewitness called Aristeas in the book he wrote following an official visit. It is the beautiful and great table made for the loaves of proposition; it was crafted in solid gold a good four fingers deep, and its edge was studded with precious gemstones; around the outside was a crown which was crafted in the form of a garland with grapes, ears of wheat, roses, pomegranates, palms, apple branches, olive branches and all sorts of fruits consisting of finally crafted rubies, sapphires, emeralds and other precious stones, matching what was needed to represent the colours of the different fruits. I say that we can base our judgement about the rest of the building and its contents on this because the writer attests that the sacred vessels and the greater part of the tools and utensils in the Temple were all embellished like this with precious stones, so that nothing might be wanting in the decoration of this superb wonder.
Footnotes
[1] Ch. xxix.
[2] Villalpend., in Ezech., t. III. Appar. ; Tab. 1. Numismatis, et ponderibus, p. 426 et Tab. 2.
[3] I. Paralip. xxix.
[4] Coin of gold or silver stamped with a shield.
[5] Lib. VIII Antiq., c. 2.
[6] hanap: a drinking-vessel, a wine-cup or goblet., (OED).
[7] fiole: a bowl, cup, (OED).
[8] assaron: a Hebrew measure of five pints. (Websters Dictionary 1828)
[9] hin: A Hebrew measure of capacity for liquids, containing a little over a gallon. (OED).
[10] III Reg. vi ; II Paralip. iii, etc.
[11] II Paralip. iii.
[12] II Paralip. iii.
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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 2025
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