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).
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| Notre Dame des Grâces, Cotignac.(Poggi, 2020) |
§ 11. The hope of recourse : the fifth fruit of mankind’s restoration by the Blessed Virgin
5 Finally, picture to yourself the universal flood and (inasmuch as you will certainly not find anything more dreadful than this deluge which God caused to drown the world in the time of Noe) consider this as portraying in miniature the frightening face of the universe when everything in nature was changed. Look up to the angry Heavens opening their floodgates to inundate the whole of the earth; look down to see the fountains of the deep, the rivers and the seas rising on all sides, leaving their beds and bursting their banks, as if with an angry determination to swallow up in their waters all creatures, whether those who fly in the air or those who run and creep over the earth. Let it sink in, if you can, how all the animals are overwhelmed and, notwithstanding their natural instincts and abilities, are simply swallowed up in the waters.
Consider how there is no recourse or stratagem open to men which can prevent them from drowning in the flood. Think about the shouts and screams, the dread fear and general despair felt by everyone. Then cast your eyes over a world where dead bodies are floating on the water and just as many sinking into the depths, one after another. Try to count, if you can, how many are left rotting in their houses, or on mountains where they thought to find safety; or try counting those who have become food for the fish or monstrous creatures of the sea. What on earth are we to make of all this? Does this really mean the world has come to an end, without ever being able to recover? Is this the end of the human race and of Adam’s descendants for ever? Is there nothing in the world that can save them from this universal flood, or that can at least preserve some little spark that will not be extinguished in the waters? Is there no hope whatsoever of saving the world afflicted by such a great disaster? The answer is: yes, provided only that people make use of it.
Have you not noticed a tiny vessel in the form of an ark born along on the raging waves and which, notwithstanding the furious winds in this noisy and violent storm, is carrying its cargo to safety? This is the world’s only hope; this is what will make it possible to repopulate the universe; on this depends the happiness of the whole of Adam’s posterity. Now if you just take the time to contemplate this, then you will see in the ark a most beautiful prefigurement of the MOTHER OF GOD and of how she would bring about the salvation and restoration of the world. St Bernard speaks of this in the following terms[1]:
Noe’s ark may be interpreted as the ark of grace, namely the most excellent MOTHER OF GOD. By the former, a small group of humans escaped drowning in the floodwaters; by the latter, all men escaped from the shipwreck of sin. Noah built the ark to offer protection for himself and his family from the general inundation, Jesus Christ, our refuge and Prince of peace, made available His Mother to save her children from eternal death. Noah’s ark saved only eight people from a danger which threatened all, but our heavenly Mother has provided a place of safety for all the children of Adam. Work on the former took one hundred years, work on the latter required the completion of all the virtues, which can be represented by the number one hundred. The former was built using timbers which were planed and polished, the latter incorporates the most solid and accomplished virtues. The former was carried on the waters of the flood; the latter over every sort of sin and vice.
Footnotes
[1] Serm. 2 de Nativit.
6 The Angel who taught the Blessed Saint Bridget elaborates these parallels as follows[1]:
A long time before he built his ark, Noah had known of the woman and what her role was to be; from all eternity, God had foreseen the role of the Virgin in particular and the good that she would bring to men. Noah took singular pleasure in preparing his ark because he knew the benefit that would come to the world; God’s pleasure was infinitely greater when He conceived the plans for Mary and later when He put them into effect. Noah took great pleasure in learning that his ark would not be damaged in any way by the waters of the flood; God’s pleasure in His work was incomparably greater because He knew full well that she would never be harmed or damaged by the salty turbulence of sin. Noah took delight in seeing how his ark was safely sealed and protected with pitch, so that nothing whatever could penetrate the ark from outside; God took even greater delight in seeing the abundance of the Holy Ghost’s unction which had been poured upon the body and the soul of the most sacred Virgin, in such a way that she could not be penetrated by any temptations to the senses or to vanity. Noah walked upon his ark, taking consolation from seeing how ample and sturdy it was for its task; God took even greater consolation when He saw the capacity of Mary’s womb and heart, sufficient for her to offer the hope of sanctuary for the whole world. Noah understood very well that he could go into the ark without damaging it, and that he would leave it as hale and hearty as when he entered it; God understood even more perfectly that just as He would take nothing away from the integrity[2] of His Mother, in the same way He would not be stained during the time of His abode in his Mother’s sacred and stainless womb.
There is only one difference between the ark and the Blessed Virgin : namely, Noah knew that after he left his ark, it would remain empty and abandoned in the mountains of Armenia, but he had no idea what would happen to it in the future; the Blessed Saviour, on the other hand, understood full well that His holy Mother would remain full of grace, overflowing with Heaven’s blessings, and that He would keep her close to Him for all eternity, a living token of all that was most precious in the world, being the honour of earth and of Heaven.
Footnotes
[1] Serm. Angelici, c. 2.
[2] integrity, in the particular sense of: The condition of not being marred or violated; unimpaired or uncorrupted condition; original perfect state; soundness; e.g., When he [Christ] was borne savyng his moders integritee [glossed hir maydenhod]. Mirour Saluacioun. c1450; OED.
7 How grateful I am to the glorious St Epiphanius[1] who foresaw so many blessings which would come to us through the MOTHER OF GOD, even from the very name of this Virgin which can be understood as meaning Hope, since, after her Son, all hope we might have of our restoration lay in her! It is said that the ancients would give a warmer welcome to an unexpected change in fortune which followed a period of uncertainty caused by a run of bad luck, than they would to a piece of good fortune which they had been confidently expecting. In view of this, what welcome must we give to her who guided this good fortune and who steered our poor little vessel, expecting any minute to be smashed on a reef or capsized by waves, into a haven of grace and glory. In truth, this little barque will forever display high on her prow the image of the one who saved her, no more nor less than as some tutelary Deity; and she will make known her unending gratitude to the one who delivered her from the dangerous shipwreck that otherwise she would have suffered, and who brought her safe and sound to the heavenly haven. In the same way, for as long as may be found those who safely reach port, there will never be lacking those who proclaim her excellent qualities and her great attributes; in return for so many blessings, they will offer to her every ounce of gratitude they can find in their hearts, so eternally indebted will they be unto her.
Footnotes
[1] Serm. de S. Deipara.
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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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