Part II : The Crown of Power : Chapter 6 : § 10.4-5

Chapter 6 :  The Fifth Star or Splendour of the Crown of Power of the MOTHER OF GOD

She is the Mother of the world to come and Redeemer of our race

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)

§ 10. The deliverance of prisoners : the fourth fruit of mankind’s restoration by the Blessed Virgin

 4   It was in this way that the prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilled: The people that walked in darkness, have seen a great light: to them that dwelt in the region of the shadow of death, light is risen[1], which came to bring joy to them, all thanks to the blessed Virgin,

through whom, says Saint Bernard[2], we have been able to lift up our heads and to enjoy the pleasant light streaming upon us from Heaven, of which we had been deprived for such a long time.

Cardinal Peter Damien observes[3] that, although the first man had been created under the beautiful light of the midday sun in the image and likeness of his Creator, once he consented to sin he found himself enveloped in darkness and from that moment onwards a cloud of mourning covered the face of the Earth and, until the Holy Virgin was conceived, no one could be found who was able to escape the shadows, much less to lead others out of their plight. This was in fact far from being the case because the longer the world went on, the worse our confusion and the deeper the darkness of the shadow of death became. The children of Adam remained plunged in this darkness until finally the Holy Virgin rose over the horizon like a beautiful dawn, bringing with her the promise of the coming sunrise, which would enable the first man to see once again the beautiful noonday light in which he had been created but which he had enjoyed so little.

This was the time, says St Gregory Thaumaturgus[4], when we saw the first rays of the light of reason appearing; a time when we discovered the fount of wisdom and immortality. 

This was the time, says St Germanus of Constantinople[5], when the Virgin appeared just like a beautiful star in the night sky, causing the darkness to melt away and man’s prison to be filled with light.

This was a time when we saw that beautiful dawn which St Gregory calls the hope of the Sun[6], rising over our hemisphere; or perhaps this is better described by the words of St Epiphanius[7] as a source from whose bottomless depths light poured forth, flooding everywhere so as to banishing darkness from the world.

This was the time, said St Andrew of Jerusalem[8], when the ancient Fathers who were confined in the dark cave of their silent grief, saw in the birth of the Blessed Virgin (just as if they were using the alidade[9] of an astrolabe) the Sun emerging in glory from the clouds, vanquishing the night, and sending His rays into the remotest corners of their sad dwelling place.

Footnotes

[1] Isai. ix. 2.

[2] Epist. ad Lugdun. canonic.

[3] Serm. de Assumpt.

[4] Orat. 2 de Annuntiat.

[5] Orat. de Nativit. Virg.

[6] Lib. IV Moral., c. 14.

[7] Serm. de S. Deipara.

[8] Serm. de Annuntiat.

[9] alidade : a pivoted sighting device or pointer which can be aligned against a circular scale of degrees and typically forms part of an astrolabe.

 5   The light was immediately followed by a sense of joy – just as the darkness had been followed by sadness and grief. This is why the same St Andrew of Jerusalem calls the most sacred Virgin the instrument and the mother of joy[1]; the priest Hesychius[2] calls her the principle and point of origin for rejoicing. She herself confirmed to St Bridget[3] that her nativity brought with it general happiness throughout the world, an idea which is echoed by the Church. 

Reason requires this to be so, says St Gregory of Nyssa[4]; for just as the first woman after sinning had been condemned to a life of tears and sorrow, in the same way the second woman was destined to restore us in grace and bring happiness back into our hearts; the former brought upon herself the pains of labour before and during her deliveries, the latter was to recognise through the abundance of her joy that in truth she had within her the fountain of all joy; the former allowed sin its first entry into the world, opening a great gate, as it were, to weeping and lamentation; by conceiving and bringing forth the fruit of life, the latter became accordingly the mother of our happiness.

The majority of the Fathers have perceived this truth hidden in the first words spoken by the celestial Paranymph[5], and it is right and proper for all of us to rejoice at the good news since the first words pronounced for our restoration brought reasons for rejoicing.

Joy be to thee, most Holy Virgin! are the words addressed to her by St Gregory of Neocaesarea[6], because all that cometh from thee bringeth what is joyful, proper and good. Joy be to thee, since thou art the abode of supercelestial joy. Joy be to thee, since through thee, men recover the joy they had lost and are restored to the place of honour they once occupied.

Joy be to thee, are the words addressed to her by the pious Chrysippus[7], since thou hast within thee the treasure of all the world’s joy, namely the very King of joy and grace.

The blessed Martyr Methodius made use of a particularly evocative expression, calling her[8] the beginning, the middle and the end of all our rejoicing. Each one of us can gather from this how reasonable it is for her to have such a significant part in our rejoicings and how it is in her that our feasts have their beginning, their realization and their fulfilment; in short, how fitting it is for her to feature in the majority of them since she was in truth the origin of all of them.

Footnotes

[1] Serm. de Annuntiat.

[2] Orat. de S. Deipara.

[3] Lib. VI Revel., c. 56.

[4] Homil. 13 in Cant.

[5] Paranymph = Gabriel;  in ancient Greece and in the Middle Ages, paranymph was a name given to the lord or young man charged with escorting the bride to the dwelling of her spouse. (OED and Dictionnaire de l’Académie française, 9e édition).

[6] Serm. 2 de Annuntiat.

[7] Orat. de S. Deipara.

[8] Serm. in Hypapante.

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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