Part II : The Crown of Power : Chapter 4 : § 2.7-8 > § 3.1-2

Chapter 4 : The Third Star or Splendour of the Crown of Power of the MOTHER OF GOD

She was the one who nourished and brought up 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)

§ 2. Concerning the care and affection with which the holy Virgin nourished, raised and served her beloved Son

 7   Besides all this, look at the tender care and love that she shows when she lays Him down, picks Him up, cradles Him, rocks Him to sleep, wakes Him up, washes and changes Him, dresses Him, keeps Him warm, carries Him, keeps Him company, follows Him, helps Him and does everything that a Mother can do for a child. Where was there ever a creature who did something for God with a care and love that may be compared to the way this incomparable Mother served her beloved Son in even the least of things? The great St Augustine spoke of this as follows:

No-one with any intelligence could ever call into question the way Mary made herself the most humble handmaid for her Son, not only through her unshakable faith but also through her constancy in the way she discharged her duties to Him. She bore Him in her womb, she fed Him, she kept Him safe when He was being hunted by Herod, and she never left Him during His childhood; she accompanied him during His public life and not even death kept her away from the foot of the cross; she followed Him too through the imitation of His virtues, more than by following His actual footsteps, moved by the indescribable respect she bore towards Him as her God. Consequently, just as she was His most faithful servant by reason of her spiritual works, so too she was His most faithful companion through her steadfast faith and her ardent charity.

This great Doctor strikes a chord here of wondrous resonance, namely the remarkable faith which moved the Virgin’s heart and mind, which guided all her steps and which provided the impetus for all her actions. For just as as there was never found a soul illuminated by faith and by the gift of Heavenly Wisdom like unto hers, in the same way there was never anything to compare with the zeal and the love with which she served her beloved Son, right up until His dying breath.

 8   You know this, O Holy Spirits, you know this because you were the faithful companions and the irreproachable witnesses to all the services that she performed for Him: notwithstanding this, St Bonaventure[1] declares that:

This most humble Virgin suffered distress when she thought that her Son was denigrated because of her, and when she heard the Jews describe Him scornfully as the son of Mary[2] and Joseph.

Most holy Virgin, why dost thou allow thy heart to be afflicted in this way? Please pay no attention to the insolent words of these proud and arrogant people; they are like the blind who are leading others into the pit[3]. This storm will blow over and there will soon be calm followed by a happy time in which people will spread the news everywhere, to the great honour of the Mother and of the Son, that Jesus is the Son of Mary and that Mary is His Mother who feeds and teaches her little Jesus. In that time, instead of these terrible reproaches, the devout children of the Church will call upon the name of Him whom thou dost now serve, and with a particular sweetness they will call Him the Son of Mary. Accordingly, well-formed minds will no longer scorn Him for being thy Son and for being nursed by thee, but on the contrary I tell you that the Holy Angels will honour Him throughout all eternity, not only for His peerless merits but also because He is the Son and suckling babe of the wisest, the holiest and the most accomplished of all the mothers in the world. I pray only that thou wilt not forget thy poor children, and how they love to be numbered amongst those blessing forever the Son along with His Mother and the Mother in company with her Son.

Footnotes

[1] Speculi, c. 4.

[2] Mark vi. 3.

[3] Matt. xv. 14.

§ 3. The sweetness, the graces and the honour that the Holy Virgin received for all the things she did caring for little Jesus

 1   Little infants have scarcely begun to babble before they start to repay in part with their gestures of affection and charming little ways all the trouble that their mothers and nurses have been taking with them. It would in fact be difficult to handle all their demands were it not for these corresponding moments of delight. To focus, however, on the Holy Virgin: I can say in all truth that never was a mother  showered with more sweet moments and consolations than she received during the infancy of her beloved Son.

The sweet experience of the Holy Virgin when she was teaching and bringing up the Saviour

 2   In order to portray the tender feelings which filled her holy soul, it would be necessary to have experienced something of these raptures of the heart and this heavenly sweetness. Perhaps it will suffice to say that there never was a child that could be compared to little Jesus – meaning that there was never anyone so lovable because of His sweet nature and His gentle soul, or anyone whose grace showed in all that He did. In the same way, there will never be found a heart so disposed as Mary’s was to receive the innocent acts of love and the abundance of spiritual delights that her most dear Son showered on her. Martha’s part has now changed significantly, granted that she had only to summon her sister Mary to share in her chores, since she was always being invited by Mary to partake of the peace and joy which carried away her heart and mind. Here are the eloquent words of the Bishop of Carthage and the Blessed Martyr St Cyprian[1], who said that:

Even though the glorious Virgin did not lose a minute of time in the active life she devoted to the service of her Son, her hard work and dedication were nevertheless rewarded by the most sweet fruits of the contemplative life.

St Basil of Seleucia[2] develops this idea using his great gift for words and his natural devotion. 

Sometimes the Virgin Mother felt emboldened, but then she would hold back; sometimes her feelings of affection gained the upper hand, but then respect would restrain her; she wanted to give him endless kisses and cuddles, but the Majesty she could see in His divine countenance held her back. This toing and froing between restraint and familiarity actually made her melt in tenderness, causing the feelings in her heart to grow stronger and fanning the flames of love within her holy breast.

How tenderly, says St Augustine[3], does she smother her little nursling with kisses after feeding him at her breast? How lovingly does this blessed Son put His arms around His Mother’s neck, showing her His divinity as if by a flash of lightning, which fills her heart at that same instant with a most pleasing fear of the Lord?

Who could even begin to describe, asks Saint Ildephonsus[4], their sweet and loving colloquies? How beautiful it is to contemplate on the one hand the Mother's virginity, ennobled by her fruitfulness, and on the other the Son’s virginity, shining resplendently through his humanity!

Footnotes

[1] Serm. de Nativit.

[2] Serm. de Annuntiat.

[3] Serm. 35 de Sanctis.

[4] Serm. 5 de Assumpt.

👑       👑       👑

The Virgin of Tenderness. >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