Part III : The Crown of Goodness : Chapter 4 : § 4.5-10

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

She is a source of Favour for her children

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)

§ 4. The tenderness with which the MOTHER OF GOD caresses her Favoured children : the third effect of her Favour

St Philip Neri

 5   Where would we find words sufficient to describe the sweet feelings which flooded the heart of blessed Philip Neri, whom I mentioned in the previous paragraph ?  

He was suffering from what seemed to be a terminal illness when, in the year 1594, he received a visit from the Queen of Angels. This filled him with such great joy that he felt such a strong desire to approach our Lady in body and soul that it caused his body to be levitated for a period of time more than a cubit over his bed.

He wept profusely and this brought tears to the eyes of those present who could were able to hear the words which, with his heart on fire, he addressed to the Virgin, saying to her : 

“Dearest Mother most amiable!  How is it thou hast come here to restore health to me and how can I be worthy of such a great favour from thee?

Footnotes

[1] Gen. xviii.

[2] Zabud, the priest, son of Nathan, was the king's friend. 3 Kings (1 Kings) iv. 5.

St Marie of Oignies

 6   Let us try to imagine next what blessed Marie of Oignies[1] felt in her heart 

when every year her devotion to the Holy Mother caused her to visit the Church of Our Lady of Oignies, which is about one league from Nivelles in Brabant (where this virgin was born). She would normally choose a cold winter’s day and would set off barefoot, accompanied only by a maid. She would fast on that day and the next, choosing a route where it was hard to stay on the right path and which she herself did not know very well. A heavenly light, however, went before her and two Angels supported her, one on either side. It often came to pass that, despite any heavy rainfall during her journey, she would come home completely dry. 

As I said, try to imagine what feelings she had in her heart and the sweetness with which it was suffused by the Angels acting as her holy guardians. 

Footnotes

[1] Jacobus de Vitriaco Cardinalis, in ejus Vita, lib. XIII Junii, apud Surium, t. III.

Blessed Jeanne de la Croix

 7   What worldly Favour could possibly compare with the ecstasies of love which enraptured the soul of blessed Jeanne de la Croix[1], a Religious of the third order of St Francis?  

Early in her religious life, she was serving as portress in the monastery of La Croix when the Holy Infant Jesus appeared to her. She held out her hands to receive Him but the most sacred Virgin came on the scene and, taking Him in her arms, carried Him up to heaven escorted by a host of Blessed Spirits, to the accompaniment of beautiful music and singing. The Saint was altogether saddened that the Queen of Angels deemed her unworthy of the consolation that she was hoping for. The Mother of gentleness, however, was unable to allow this sadness in her heart to continue for long and, having told her to go to the fig trees in the garden, she promised that she and her Son would meet her there in a little while. St Jeanne, having discharged her duties as portress, went in haste to the place she had been told and there she found a sight which filled her heart with heavenly joy. Prostrating herself on the ground, she adored her Lord Jesus and offered veneration to His Holy Mother. She remained there for some time, rejoicing at the sovereign and wondrous vision that so enraptured her heart that, although there were calls for the portress at the gate, she was quite oblivious to them until she was instructed by the Holy Virgin to return to her duties. She promptly complied and went back later with haste to the place where she had left her heart and her affections. She was followed by several nuns who had seen her face lit up with an extraordinary glow and wondered what the reason might be. God expressly permitted this so that they could be witnesses to the tender signs of affection that the blessed Sister had received from her most gentle Spouse and His most blessed Mother.

Footnotes

[1] Vita ejus, c. 6.

 8   I would be happy if anyone could distil the quintessence of what is best in worldly Favours to see if they could produce even a single drop of the heavenly sweetness which, for example, filled the heart of blessed St Martin when the Blessed Virgin was consoling him and encouraging him through her frequent visits, according to his own testimony as reported by his follower Sulpitius Severus who writes of this in his Life. The same could be said of St Nicholas, St Ildephonsus, Saint Lawrence Justinian, Saint Charles and many others to whom she showed herself on frequent occasions. Let the world’s Favourites tell me whether all the privileges and confidences they have received can be compared with even the slightest conversations between the Blessed Virgin and, for example, St Gertrude, St Matilda and many others to whom she revealed secrets of Heaven and explanations of the most unfathomable mysteries of our religion. 

Blessed Herman Joseph of Steinfeld

 9   I suspect that those who seem determined to reject the idea of God’s extraordinary favours will never accept what has been written concerning the blessed Herman of Steinfeld or evidence of the indescribable love shown by the most sacred Virgin towards him. 

Born into an honourable family of Cologne, from an early age he felt drawn to love and honour the Holy Virgin. When he was only seven years old, whilst other children were playing he would withdraw into the Church of the Holy Virgin and spend hours in front of her image, playing like an innocent little dove, firstly with the Mother and then with the Holy Infant whom she was carrying, offering first to one and then to the other whatever he had in his hands. From around that time, the Mother of sweetness gave him a foretaste of the favours that she would grant him later. On one occasion, for example, the Holy Mother reached out her hand to take an apple that he was offering her. On another occasion, whilst he was alone in the Church, he saw the Blessed Virgin near the lectern along with her Son and St John the Evangelist. The infant Jesus was in between them, playing first with one and then with another. Then, he heard his beloved Mother calling on him to join them.  

“But how can I?” replied Herman. “The choir of the Church is closed and I don’t have a ladder to get to you.” 

Because his parents had become very poor, he was obliged to go barefoot for want of shoes. This caused the Mother of mercy to take pity on him and one day, whilst he was praying in Church in his usual fashion, she told him to lift up a certain stone where he would find some money. She told him he was to use this to buy a pair of shoes for himself. She went on to say that any time that he needed something important he should go to the same stone in the Church – and this actually happened several times.  

Whilst he was still young, he entered the Premonstratensian Order. From the outset he gave proof of a sanctity which was out of the ordinary. In the beginning, he was given the exercises of Martha to which he applied himself diligently but not without a certain feeling that he was being deprived of Mary’s better part. His beloved Mother, however, offered him consolation by telling him there was nothing that he could do more pleasing to her than devoting himself entirely to the service of his brothers with a true spirit of charity and humility. After certain time, however, his superiors allowed him to enjoy the holy contemplation he sought and in which he made wonderful progress, notably in the closeness he came to enjoy with the Queen of Heaven. There never was a mother who gave more caresses to her child than she did to Herman; there never was a child who would approach his mother with more trust than Herman when he went to the MOTHER OF GOD. At every turn she would call him, whether he was in his cell or passing through the monastic buildings and he would respond immediately. She would ask him for hundreds of little things and he for his part did not hesitate to ask her for whatever came into his mind. She went so far as to recommend him to certain nuns whom he was to visit through obedience, making them understand that her chaplain was going to see them and that they should accept him as such .   

One day she appeared to him holding a crystal bowl which had a little bit of oil in it. She asked him whether for love or her he would drink the oil. The pious Herman replied that there was nothing in the world that would give him greater pleasure. She told him that this bowl represented the Canticle of Canticles and she explained that, although many had explored the depths of its mysteries, producing a great many different interpretations, she was nevertheless keen for him to savour the little oil that remained and provide his own interpretation in her honour. Herman undertook this task most willingly and withdrew for these purposes to a solitary place so that his mind would be a greater liberty to enter into an understanding of the profound mysteries contained in this book.

 10   We now come, however, to an event which seems to surpass any favours we could possibly imagine.

Through I know not what imponderable inspiration, the Brothers had begun to call him by the name of Joseph, although I believe it may have been because of the more than virginal modesty that appeared in his every action. Herman was unhappy and complained several times about this to the Abbot. The following night, however, whilst Hermann was at prayer near the Abbot’s throne in the Monastery Church, he saw a Lady of extraordinary majesty who was accompanied by two Angels, one on either side, whose beauty shone like the dawn. One of the Angels said to the other:

“To whom will this peerless Virgin be betrothed?” 

“To whom wouldst thou wish,” replied the other, “other than to him whom thou seest here before thee?”

Poor Herman was so taken aback by these words that he wanted the earth to swallow him up, so overcome was he with confusion; but one of the Angels who was there led him to the altar and, taking his hand which was trembling like a tree leaf, he joined it to that of the Blessed Virgin, saying: 

“Acting in the name of Him whom I serve, I give to thee for thy Wife the Virgin of Virgins; and I give to thee the title of her Spouse, confirming thy name as Joseph.”

After the granting of such a favour, which was later confirmed by so many miracles and holy signs, who could be surprised to learn how the Mother of Love came to visit him frequently, placing the Holy Infant into his arms so that he could carry Him like St Joseph ; how she warned him to look after his arm after a venesection; how she restored two of his teeth which had been knocked out as the result of a fall; how she wanted to be called his Rose; in short, how she favoured him in a thousand different ways, which would take far too long to recount here[1]? 

Footnotes

[1] De eodem iterum, c. 10.

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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