Chapter 5 : The Fourth Star or Splendour of the Crown of Power of the MOTHER OF GOD
She was the Spouse and the Companion of the Saviour
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) |
§ 6. The honour and power received by the Holy Virgin through this divine union
2 With regard to these critics, it seems to me that I would have the right to say (along with the Son of God) that we should leave them to their own devices, without troubling ourselves about their objections and criticisms. Their minds are twisted in such a way that they are no longer amenable to reason. We should pay no heed to them, for they are like so many frogs whose obsessions disturb the celebration and the peace in the Royal Chapel. If their fierce criticisms could be tamed by words alone, then I would present them with the comments of the great St Augustine found in the third book of his work On Christian Doctrine[1]. There he writes:
Granted that the Saviour is the head of the Church and Christians are the members, it is no wonder to find even in Sacred Scripture that the attributes of the head are attributed to the members.
This is an idea that several modern writers[2] have supported and developed. This being the case, there should be much less difficulty in accepting that the Holy Virgin enjoys the benefits and shares in the qualities of her Son since she has a greater right to do so than any other person. I would draw their attention to what Tertullian once wrote of old, writing against the heretic Hermogenes, that:
Heretics often show a misunderstanding of Christian simplicity; they seem unable to see that when things said about God which pertain to His essence, what is proper to Him or to qualities in which He excels, these may also be attributed to the Saints and especially to the foremost Saint among the Saints, by way of imitation and through participation alone.
I would share with them the touching words of the pious Prelate from Germany, Bishop Haymo of Halberstadt[3]:
The Prince of Heaven was united to the precious Blood of the glorious Virgin and He spent nine whole months dwelling within her; It is not to be wondered at that she should have received such a share in His great and excellent qualities, compared to what would have happened were this divine guest to have left her without paying very generously for His stay.
Footnotes
[1] Chap. 31.
[2] Canisius, lib. V de Deipara, c. 12 et 13.
[3] Serm. de Assumpt.
3 Let us move on from these considerations because I want us to return to the one quality which we have been focussing on throughout this chapter, namely that of being the Saviour’s Spouse. Is it not the case that all laws, whether divine or human, raise Brides to a status proportionate to that of their Spouses, entitling them to the qualities, the titles and the honours which they enjoy? The ancient Roman custom was that, when the bride was entering her husband's house, she would say[1]:
Where thou art Caius, I shall be Caia.
This was as if to say that wheresoever and howsoever he might be Lord, she would be Lady and she would have a right to all the titles, honours and advantages that he possessed. Would you want to go against nature and begrudge the Holy Virgin alone this right which is not denied to any others? If her Spouse is King, then why shall we not call her Queen? If He is Sovereign, why will she not be Sovereign? If He is the Father of the world to come, what reason would there be for her not being the Mother? If He is our life, a sweetness and our hope, would it not be a sign of ill will to refuse these same honours to her whom He has so honoured?
I personally would like to know if these critics are more zealous for the honour of God than the Holy Fathers, who had no difficulty in acknowledging her under the following titles: Ark of the Covenant, City of God, Throne of His Majesty, Flower of the field, Fount of life and immortality, Garden enclosed[2], Fruit of life, Pearl of the world, Propitiatory[3] of the universe, Sanctuary of the Divinity, Temple of the glory of God, Channel of Heavenly graces, Cause of our salvation, Ransom for captives, Refuge of Christians, Mediatrix for sinners, Healing for sin, Victress over death, Gate of life, Treasure of holiness, Root of all our benefits, Restorer of the ages, Glory of Angels, Honour of Patriarchs, Queen Regnant of the Apostles, Strength of Martyrs, Teacher of Doctors, Mirror of Confessors, Light of virgins, Torch of the Church, Sceptre of right belief, Joy of the Blessed, Our Lady on Earth and in Heaven – in short, the Holy Fathers adorned her with these and countless other titles denoting excellence and power which properly belonged to God alone and to wisdom Incarnate. In this, the Fathers were governed by the spirit of God and not led astray like the critics by negative or bitter considerations. The Fathers understood that the Lord whom they served takes a singular delight when we offer these honours to her whom He himself has so greatly honoured.
Footnotes
[1] Ubi tu Caius, ego Caia.
[2] Cant. iv. 12.
[3] Mercy seat.
4 I accept that there are some things in God which are not communicable, such as His divinity and all which depends upon it in an inseparable manner. He does have ways of communicating this to His own, in a certain sense, but even when He is offering such gestures of His favour He does not allow them to be called Gods. With regard to those troubled spirits who are affected so easily and who are so quick to take offence, I am minded to spare them nothing but to present them with the evidence in its fullness, showing the wondrous privileges which have been communicated to the Holy Virgin in consequence of her glorious title: Spouse of the Saviour. Let the sinner pay heed to what we have to say, and let him tremble if he will; his irritation or anger will be to his own prejudice and no amount of iniquitous thoughts and feelings will affect the fact that the chaste Bride will ever rejoice in the rights and privileges of her Spouse – as I shall seek to demonstrate in what remains in following pages of this Part.
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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 Virgin of Tenderness. >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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