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).
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| Notre Dame des Grâces, Cotignac (Poggi, 2020) |
§ 5. The sources of the Blessed Virgin’s Favour – how to acquire and keep it
1 If it were a question here of trying to identify all the ways men have used and still use every day in order to acquire favour, we would need to have an understanding of all the keys that can open up men’s hearts, meaning all the ways of gaining their affection. This would amount to a considerable task because there are as many different humours and temperaments as there are individual men, and accordingly there are many different ways of winning them over.
Some may be found who can be won over and favoured quite cheaply. We might cite examples such as the Emperor Hadrian who was more than happy with the handsome face and graceful manners of Antinous; such as Xerxes who took great pleasure from the flattery and blandishments of Mardonius; and Suleiman the Magnificent, mentioned earlier, whose main reason for loving Ibrahim Pasha was they had been raised together.
There are others who give their favour only for the sake of empires or for similar reasons. Bayezid II’s special love for Ahmed showed in the crown he placed on his head. Darius loved Zopyrus like his own son because, amongst other reasons, Zopyrus had mutilated his own body as part of a stratagem to deliver Babylon to Darius[1].
Then there are those who find people with humours and temperaments very close to their own and become attached to them for that reason. Alexander, who had a good and generous heart, showed favour to Hephaestion and to Antipater forasmuch as he knew the former loved him and the latter had the interest of his Empire at heart. The Emperor Augustus, Prince in time of peace and of war, loved Maecenas for his sweet nature and Agrippa for his courage. In a similar way, Axalla won the favour of Tamerlane the Great, as did Skanderberg with Bayezid I. Another example comes from Tacitus[2] who recounts that the affection felt by the Emperor Tiberius towards Sejanus originated in the following circumstances: the Emperor was dining with others in a cave which suddenly started to give signs of an imminent collapse; all the company fled apart from Sejanus who used his own body to protect the Emperor. After this, no one can be surprised to learn that he ennobled him on the spot and showed favour toward him for the rest of his life. Taking all things into account, however, we find that worldly favour is always connected to some earthly or material consideration and it is very hard to find any case in which self interest is not involved. This is quite contrary to the favour which comes from heaven, which is altogether selfless, royal and holy.
Footnotes
[1] Herodotus, Histories 3.150-160.
[2] Lib. IV Annal.
2 There are a great many things to be said about this when it comes to the favour of the MOTHER OF GOD. I shall however sum them all up in four propositions.
The first of these is we should take it as beyond any doubt that the beginning of this friendship is beyond our own merits, but is rather a favour coming entirely from the holy Virgin who casts her eyes and fixes her heart on whomsoever it pleases her, and we should not look in ourselves to find reasons for her maternal affection. In this, she partakes of God’s greatness which is marked by a willingness to give without receiving, and to do good for no other reason than His own goodness.
May God preserve us, said the Great St Augustine long ago, from the foolish and presumptuous thought that we prompt His generosity through some merit of our own; for His prevenient mercy comes to us everywhere and in all things; and it is to Him that the Psalmist sings the following words with complete fidelity: For thou hast prevented him with blessings of sweetness.[1]
Later, he goes on to say that:
These blessings of sweetness are nothing other than certain good impulses which precede our freedom to act and draw us towards virtue and goodness; these impulses are so necessary that without them we could never achieve achieve any goodness, in fact we could not even make a start.
This is a most excellent quality of the Queen of Heaven and an incomparable benefit of her Favour for which we should feel a deep and most humble gratitude. The truth is that it is not we who chose her but that her sweetness came first and, revealing her wondrous love for us, invited us to share in her Favour.
Footnotes
[1] Lib. II contra duas epist. Pelag., c. 10.
[2] Ps. xx. 4. prevented: to prevent or prevene: Of God, God’s grace, etc.: to go before (a person) with spiritual guidance and help; (a) So as to anticipate a person’s actions or needs; (b) so as to predispose (a person) to repentance, faith, and good works.(OED).
3 The second is that, just as she prevents men with blessings not only without imposing any sort of obligation, but also without even looking within them for any reasons to receive her favour; in the same way, it should not be thought that she prevents them all with the same quantity of graces. This is what Saint Cyril, Bishop of Jerusalem, says of the Holy Spirit[1]:
Although He is only one, the graces He gives are very different and by no means equal; and He distributes them according to His good pleasure.
I would apply this idea in a proportionate fashion to the MOTHER OF GOD. She does not present the same countenance to all those who see her and she does not look upon those who call her with the same gaze. Just as there are many mansions in the Lord’s house[2], this is also the case in the palace of her Favour; and although all the courtiers may be great, they are not equally appointed and do not aspire to the same greatness. Who would dare to look askance at her just because she uses her power in a way she deems fitting? Who could find blameworthiness in her for something he would find acceptable in a mortal man? Those whom she raises above the others are obliged to her to an inestimable extent, but however little she communicates her Favour to others there will always be more that goes unrecognised.
Footnotes
[1] Catechesi 16.
[2] John xiv. 2.
4 The third is that, within her court, no favoured creatures may be found who do not have something that attracted her love, before or after their advancement.
God does not find it good to give that which is holy to dogs[1], says St Cyril[2] and when He encounters someone who is well disposed, He willingly imprints him with the seal of His grace.
The same may be remarked of the Holy Virgin, for if she does indeed favour people without taking account of their merits, nevertheless if they do not respond then she soon puts an end to the generous gifts she is conferring. She is looking for generals like Belisarius who will honour the favour they have received and earn still more through their continual conquests. I am referring to those valiant souls who make use of the advantages with which they have been favoured, being motivated by them to offer services no less remarkable than the Favour they have received. These are people to whom new gifts are like so many spurs encouraging them to do even better, and whose courage attracts new benefits. In this way, the Queen of Heaven magnifies all her favourites, for in her palace those who simply keep their arms folded, so to speak, and do nothing, are not welcome and it would be fruitless for them to ask for new favours.
Footnotes
[1] See Matt. vii. 6 & xv. 26; Mark vii. 27.
[2] Catechesi 1 : Non dat Deus sancta canibus ; sed ubi videt propositum illis salutare sigillum (gratiæ) et admirandum imprimit.
5 The fourth is that, inasmuch as there are here means for acquiring virtue and advancing in the good graces of God, there are at the same time means of growing in influence with her, granted that her Favour is no more than a participation in God’s own and that the same steps which draw us near to the Son also bring us closer to the Mother. We may nevertheless say that she is particularly won over in a wondrous manner when we reciprocate her love through a heartfelt affection for her Son, through the total trust we have in her, through a genuine attempt to imitate her heroic virtues, and by several other things we can do – but I shall not go into any more detail at this point because they form the subject matter for the whole of Part IV of this work. Accordingly, I hope readers will be patient until then and we shall now move on to consider the tender care she shows towards her children.
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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
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