Part II : The Crown of Power : Chapter 2 : § 1. 3-4

Chapter 2 : The First Star or Splendour of the Crown of Power of the MOTHER OF GOD

She alone had the power of drawing down to earth the divine Word

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)

§ 1. The Holy Virgin alone was found worthy of drawing down the divine Word from Heaven

Various epithets given to the glorious Virgin

 3   The Saints vie with one another to shower her with epithets in her honour, at the same time making use of beautiful figures and symbols to represent for us the splendour of her greatness. Saint Fulgentius calls her:

Heaven’s window through which God send His light to the revelation of the Gentiles[1].

He also called her:

The mystical ladder joining Heaven and earth, enabling God to descend amongst us and providing a way for men to reach Heaven[2].

Saint Epiphanius[3] says that:

She is the bait on the spiritual hook which captured God and brought Him to earth.

George of Nicomedia[4] refers to the Prophet Isaiah, comparing her to the tongs[5]:

used to take off the altar of Heaven the live coal of the divinity.

The Abbot Rupert[6] calls her:

the greatest of the gates of Heaven, through which God caused manna to fall into the wilderness of this world. The other Saints were like tiny apertures, and they only received in their mouths the word of salvation; but the Holy Virgin was so full of Grace that she visibly received in her womb the Eternal Word of the Father through the working of the Holy Spirit.

He says this is what is shown to us in the book of Numbers which describes how at the same time as the dew dropped down from Heaven, so too did the manna[7], meaning the divine Word, through the working of the Holy Spirit. The Angel[8] that spoke to Saint Bridget compares the same Virgin:

to the ship laden with rare merchandise from the Levant and with precious stones brought from afar, steered with care and diligence by the captain.

In another place[9], he says:

She may be compared to the smoke of a lamp which is fed with balm and perfume, and is desirous of uniting with the flame above, seeking illumination therefrom; whereas by a natural inclination, the flame is insensibly drawn to dwell amidst these precious fragrances.

During a discussion one day with this holy widow, the same MOTHER OF GOD told her[10] that:

the infinite goodness of God had anointed her with balm just like a beautiful hive, preparing her to become a dwelling place for the bee that was coming down from Heaven, and to be filled with the honey of His grace and the wondrous effects of the Holy Spirit.

Chrysipppus, a priest of Jerusalem, calls her:

the resting place, where King David of old invited the prince of Heaven, when he said: Arise, O Lord, into thy resting place: thou and the ark, which thou hast sanctified[11].

Saint Epiphanius[12] declares: 

that she was the true cloud that brought to earth the thunder and lightning of heaven, and at the same time the rainfall longed for by all the Nations of the world[13].

The pious Emperor of the east, Matthew Kantakouzenos, sees in her:

The mountain of myrrh, and the hill of incense[14], which the heavenly Spouse desired with such yearning to visit so as to enjoy her celestial fragrance.

Footnotes

[1] A light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. Luke ii. 32.

[2] Cf. Gen. xxviii. 12.

[3] Serm. de S. Deipara

[4] Orat. de Oblatione Deipara.

[5] Isai. vi. 6-7.

[6] Lib. III de Divin. Officiis in vigilia Nativit.

[7] And when the dew fell in the night upon the camp, the manna also fell with it. Num. xi. 9.

[8] Serm. Angelico, c. 14.

[9] Cap. 12.

[10] Revel., lib. VI, c. 12.

[11] Ps. CXXXI. 8.

[12] Orat. de Laudibus Mariæ.

[13] 3rd Book of Kings (1 Kings). xviii. 44-45.

[14] Cant. iv. 6.

 4   In short, they all vie with each other, so to speak, as to who can find the most and the best epithets for the holy Virgin; but this is as nothing compared with their feelings about the obligations we have to this incomparable Lady. It is indeed true that no language ever created would be able to explain, nor would all the hearts in the world be able to savour, the sweetness hidden under this most pleasing name of Emmanuel, meaning God with us[1]. For just as with Him we possess every good, in the same way without Him we suffer as if from a general famine in regard to all things. In consequence of this, may those who are benefiting from the favours that he has brought them from Heaven, bless thee forever, most holy Virgin, and may they by their act of thanksgiving, dispose themselves to receive new favours and graces for all their days.

Footnotes

[1] Luke i.23.

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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 2025