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
§ 10. She is God’s Throne
2 In his commentary on chapter 37 of Isaiah, the Angelic Doctor says that[1]:
Amongst all the Blessed spirits, Sacred Scripture gives to the highest orders in the hierarchy, namely the Thrones, the Cherubim and the Seraphim, the honour of serving as seat and throne for the divine Majesty. This is because of the excellent qualities peculiar to each of them: the great strength of the Thrones, the profound wisdom of the Cherubim and the ardent charity of the Seraphim.
He nevertheless follows Saint Dionysius in what he says concerning the seventh order[2] in the Celestial Hierarchy[3]:
Amongst the orders, this favour is granted in a most particular way to those spirits who appropriately have the name of Thrones. The privilege befits them in a special way for the following four reasons: The first is the high level of honour they enjoy which gives them the advantage of learning directly from God the maxims and principles necessary for the government of the world. The second is the stability they have, deriving from their special adhesion to the sovereign good; they are so powerfully attached to this that it is impossible to make them shake or waiver from it even in the slightest. The third reason is the direct access they have to the privy chamber, so to speak, of God Himself and the great familiarity with which He honours them; He uses them like His personal secretaries and through them His commandments are communicated to those other Spirits beneath them in the hierarchy. The fourth reason is the willingness and joy they show in receiving and carrying out the divine ordinances, symbolised by the way a throne is open on one side to receive the sitter.
3 In order to convince people that it is with very good reason the Blessed Virgin is called by the Holy Fathers the Throne of God, all that is needed is to show that she possesses these qualities to an outstanding degree. There is no need to go beyond this, bearing in mind that our discussions in previous paragraphs have provided proof of this proposition. What strength, for example, may be compared to that of the Queen of Heaven, to whom God Himself gave a natural and irrevocable right over His Son? What wisdom may be compared to that of the Mother of uncreated Wisdom, who was able to draw from the living spring of all knowledge and understanding, so that the title of Queen Mother and Queen regnant that she bears is raised higher than that of the ministering spirits[1] which Saint Paul gives to all the Blessed Angels? What charity can equal that of the Mother of love, who bore the God of love within her womb for nine whole months, and who never left the side of this furnace of ardent charity throughout His thirty-four years? Where could be found merits, holiness, excellence and glory that come anywhere near the height of what is found in the MOTHER OF GOD?
It is not only in truth a miracle but the miracle of all miracles, says St John Damascene[2], that a woman should surpass the Cherubim, that she should come before the Seraphim and be placed immediately under God Himself, so that she becomes in a sense God’s Throne.
Where may be found the unshakeable solidity that can hold good in the way that she does? Who is there so self-assured as not to tremble in the presence of the sovereign majesty of God, before whom she alone retains her confidence, as one whose command extends throughout her Son’s Empire? What familiarity meriting the name of favour can be found anywhere that will bear comparison with that enjoyed by this peerless Spouse, without whom nothing is done in heaven or on earth, and who receives communication about everything emerging from the most august conclave of the most adorable Trinity? In short, who in the world is more open and responsive to the wishes of God than she whose heart and mind embrace them and eagerly make haste to ensure their fulfilment?
Each of her qualities would merit further discussion, but I believe what we have said so far will be sufficient for the time being. All the privileges which I have been discussing find their correspondence in the blessed spirits, at least in a proportionate sense. It must, however, be accepted that the status she enjoys of being the MOTHER OF GOD merits for her in a special manner the privilege of being the Throne of the divinity – this being so fitting and particular to her that it cannot be attributed to any other creature.
Footnotes
[1] See for example Hebr. i.14.
[2] Orat. 5 de Nativit. Virg.
4 In my judgement, one of the best ideas emerging from the Hebrew Doctors (it has been attributed to Rabbi Eliezer) states that from God’s throne pour forth through ten channels (which they call Sephirot), all the virtues and salutary influences that are spread on earth: whether by the Angels, or by the heavens, or the stars and heavenly bodies. There is, moreover, nothing more true than what we learn from the holy Doctors, that all the sweet graces of Heaven and all the favours from God bestowed upon men, are received first of all on the throne of His Majesty, which is the Blessed Virgin, as though in a reservoir of graces and favours. From here they are funnelled down to earth through ten great channels or pipes, which are the ten beneficent qualities of the same Virgin under the following titles : namely, MOTHER OF GOD, Redemptrix of the world, Mediatrix for men, Sovereign Lady of the universe, Help of Christians, Manageress of the Saviour’s resources, Mistress of the Church, Defence for her children, Refuge of sinners and Mother of Mercy. These titles will be considered at greater length in later chapters. The Holy Fathers have held this truth to be so far beyond any doubt that some of them have actually extended it to all the favours that God granted to men from the beginning of the world. Saint Bernardine, who yields to no one when it comes to promoting the honour of his beloved Mother, says clearly that[1]:
when we note how God stayed His arm after the sin of the first man who had deserved to be annihilated in punishment, we should realise this was out of consideration for the Mother of His beloved Son, for love of whom He pardoned this first sinner and all his posterity.
He goes even further than that and says:
if he delivered Noah from the deluge, Abraham from the hands of the King Chodorlahomor, Isaac from the cunning plans of Ismael, Jacob from the wrath of Esau; if He led His people out of the bondage of Egypt, if He protected them from the waters of the Red Sea and from the violence of the pagan nations that had to be attacked on leaving the wilderness – all these were the result of the favourable intervention of the most sacred Virgin
In short, the whole world has a special obligation to her for all the instances of deliverance, for all the help and for all the graces granted to people even before she herself came into the world and much more since her birth.
Footnotes
[1] T. II, Serm. 61.
5 I feel I need to draw to close here as I do not believe we can take this particular matter any further. I shall do so, however, only after praying that she who is sovereign goodness, who has done so much for this her simple creature, may help us to appreciate in our hearts all these wonders, and to pray for her glory, for our own good and in honour of her who is herself the honour of earth and of Heaven.
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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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