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) |
§ 8. A curse transformed into a blessing : the second fruit of mankind’s restoration by the Blessed Virgin
3 Since we are on the subject, I will gladly take this opportunity to say I noticed a long time ago how the Holy Doctors took pleasure in writing about the antithesis which is found between these two women; one opened the way for all the evils which have beset us, and the other closed the door upon these, opening another to all the blessings that come to us from Heaven. I will put forward only two or three examples by way of demonstration, enabling us to appreciate the wondrous parallels that are found in the others. The first example comes from the learned St Augustine and here are his words[1]:
Through one woman, death entered into the world; and through another, life. Eve was the cause of our fall, and Mary brought about our restoration. The former was corrupted by the serpent and offered her husband the poisoned chalice which would lead to the death of both; the latter was greeted by the Angel and gave us the antidote by which we have been healed.
Through the sin of the former[2], a curse came upon the world; by the grace of the latter, a blessing came upon men’s hearts. The former brought about our death; the latter restored our life.
It is certainly a great mystery, declares the Abbot Rupert[3], that the divine Spouse redoubles His attention to His most chaste Bride, the glorious Virgin, telling her: Arise, make haste, my love, my dove, my beautiful one[4]; for this is as though He were saying: Come quickly, my beloved, so that I may see thee without more delay, forasmuch as I was greatly displeased by the first woman that I put into the world: I am speaking of that Eve who turned into my enemy, becoming as a serpent for her husband and confounding herself; an enemy through her pride, a snake through her malice, a mother of confusion in the shame of her own concupiscence. But when it comes to thee, thou art my love because of thy humility, my dove by reason of thy charity, and my beautiful one in consequence of thy chastity. Do thou come therefore quickly for the other has fled; come and believe the word of the Angel, for the other obeyed the word of the demon; come and crush the head of the serpent, for he hath broken the strength and the constancy of the other.
Footnotes
[1] De Symbolo ad Catechumenos.
[2] Serm. 7 de Natali Domini.
[3] Lib. I in Cantica.
[4] Cant. ii. 10, v. 2 & vi. 8.
4 On this subject, the Holy Fathers find it difficult not to target this first woman with their feelings of just indignation. One of the most ardent Doctors is Tertullian and here are the words he addressed to Eve[1]:
O wretched woman, thou didst open the door for the devil, serving as guide to the forbidden fruit; thou wast the first woman to abandon the law of thy Sovereign, and thou didst through this bring down him whom the Serpent dared not to attack; thou didst shatter the beautiful image of the Creator, and for thy crime it was necessary for God Himself to suffer death.
St Peter Chrysologus follows the same line; here are his words[2]:
About whom do you think you are speaking when you name this woman? Personally, I regard her as being nothing other than the cause of our misfortune, the source of sin, the entry-point of death, the stone for our sepulchre, the gate of hell, the origin of our grief and sorrows. I have no doubt whatsoever that this is why the daughters she brings into the world all come forth amidst groans; weeping is their lot, and their only weapons are tears, whereas for the rest of mankind these are signs of weakness and cowardice.
When they come to speak about the Holy Virgin, however, they praise her to the skies. St Augustine calls her[3]:
The unique hope of sinners, the expectation of the just, the Reparatrix of women, the cause of all their joy for Adam’s children.
St Ephrem calls her[4]:
The Reconciliatrix[5] of the world, the bond of peace, help of the oppressed, gate of life, entrance to Paradise.
St Germanus, Patriarch of Constantinople, says of her[6]:
that she is the mother of life, the leaven in the restoration of Adam and the sponge which wipes away the shame of the first woman. In Eve’s womb was only corruption, but in thine is pure holiness; she was a dose of deadly poison, but thou hast been the antidote that brought healing ; she made us lower our eyes in confusion but thou didst cause us to look upwards in delight; she laboured to give birth in pain, but thou didst deliver in rejoicing; she, being dust and earth, returned to dust and earth; but thou, being altogether heavenly, wast received in Heaven, opening the celestial gates for us.
Footnotes
[1] Lib. de Habitu mulierum, c. 1.
[2] Serm. 79.
[3] Serm. 18 de Sanctis, 15 de Tempore, etc.
[4] Serm. de S. Deipara.
[5] Reconciliatrix: For an example the use of this word, see:1582 Holy Ephrem..praied to our B. Ladie with the same termes of Aduocatt, Hope, Reconciliatrix, that the faithful yet vse, and the Protestants can not abide. in Bible (Rheims) Annot. 1 Pet. 669. From OED.
[6] Orat. de Assumpt.
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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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