Part III : The Crown of Goodness : Chapter 5 : § 5.6-10

Chapter 5 : The Fourth Star or Splendour of the Crown of Goodness of the MOTHER OF GOD

The Wondrous Care she takes of 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)

§ 5. Continuing our discussion of the Holy Mother’s care for her children : the Society of Jesus

Cornelius Wischaven

 6   We now come to the case of another soul won over to the Society by Father Faber and Father Strada, providing more proof of the interest shown by the MOTHER OF GOD and of the favours she was granting to her Son’s Society. 

Cornelius Wischaven[1] was a native of Malines in Brabant and, having completed his studies in Louvain, he was doing marvellous work drawing souls to a love of virtue and holiness. He had been praying for a long time for God’s help so that he could increase the service he was offering to His church when he suddenly received an invitation from one of his friends to go and hear Father Strada preaching in Louvain where he was moving the hearts of all those who heard him. Cornelius had no sooner received this letter than he felt convinced it was the result of a promise God had revealed to him interiorly to send him help. When he subsequently went in search of Father Strada, the MOTHER OF GOD did not hesitate to show him herself the house where he lived. After an initial conversation with him and having practised spiritual exercises for several days, he made a vow during Holy Mass to join the Society. He fulfilled this vow soon after the arrival of Father Faber who, seeing the remarkable disposition God had prepared in the soul of Cornelius, led him in all the spiritual exercises of Christian life so that he was equipped to face whatever difficulties he might encounter from that point onwards.

  

Footnotes

[1] Histor. Societ., part. I.

Diego de Ledesma

 7   Not many years later, Diego de Ledesma[1] found himself drawn by the same sweet attractions with which she had won the hearts of the others. 

By the age of thirty-three, this man had laboured passionately to learn and to acquire knowledge from all that was on offer by the Universities of Alcalá, Paris and Louvain. He was always on the lookout for new learning and it was at this point that God sent him Masters of a higher science than that which he had hitherto been pursuing. His soul was actually troubled by a terrible anxiety and an uncertainty which was almost unbearable. He opened his heart on these things to Pedro de Ribadeneira, who was a member of the Society and also a very close friend. He revealed to him how he felt a strong desire to join the ranks of this Society but there were three things holding him back : his fear that as soon as he was placed under obedience to others, certain dissertations he had written on philosophy and theology which were almost complete would not be published; the fear that he would not be able to live with the degree of purity he had observed in members of the Society; and a lack of confidence in his own power of perseverance. Fr Ribadeneira was, however, so successful in reassuring Diego that he felt as though he had become a new man.

Having now determined what he was to do, he resolved to follow Father Ribadeneira who had been summoned to Rome and God bestowed so many favours on him whilst he was making the journey that he no longer knew where he was. In each of the Society’s houses that he visited en route he met with people who provided answers for his secret questions even before he had put them into words. In Augsburg, Our Lord appeared to him and consoled him. In Brescia (Lombardy) the Holy Virgin appeared to him, accompanied by St Mary Magdalene, St Catherine the Virgin and Martyr, and St Catherine of Siena. She promised him the chastity and grace of perseverance about which he had been troubled, and reassured him that before his death she would come to his side. He would then come to know the truth of her promises and would see clearly how greatly she had favoured his life and work, granting him purity in mind and body. 

Footnotes

[1] Histor. Societ., part. II, an. Societ. 28.

Fr Joseph Anchieta – Juan Fernando

 8    Father Joseph Anchieta has been called the miracle-worker of our age, and although I have not actually read anything about that is directly relevant to our theme, I am in no doubt that the Holy Virgin guided his vocation into the Society. He had sworn a vow of perpetual virginity before her altar whilst he was still a young boy, and he showed throughout his life a devotion to her which was so tender that he seemed to live and breathe only for her. He entered the society in the year 1550 and he led a life which was so extraordinary, being full of miracles and prodigies, that it would need several volumes to set them down. The Bishop of Brazil Pedro Lietant, used to say that the Society was like a ring, but that Father Joseph was its precious gemstone. Here is a prophecy he made that I must not forget, because it has a bearing on our theme.

Juan Fernando was a mason by trade who had a wife living in Portugal. Whilst he was hanging the bells in the belfry of our Church of Our Lady of Bahia, Fr Joseph approached him and said to him:

“Juan, be sure to attach these bells well, because you will be the first in the Society for whom they will toll.”

Shortly after this, Juan fell ill. Fr Joseph had boarded a ship but after thirty days it was obliged to return to the same port. As soon as he had set foot on land he made his way straight to the Society’s College and went to see Juan Fernando in his bedroom where he had received confirmation of his wife’s death. Fr Joseph spoke to him as follows: 

“Juan, the Blessed Virgin has sent me to you so that I can receive you into the Society. I pray you will remember me in gratitude for this favour when you come into the presence of our Holy Mother in eight days time.”

Juan’s death followed as predicted and during his burial the new bells tolled for him, just as Father Joseph had prophesied they would.

Peter Canisius

 9   Let us leave this Apostle from Brazil and consider now one from Germany and another from Monomotapa. The first is Father Peter Canisius who did so much in recent times to preserve and heal Germany from the plague of heresies that he has come to be known by all as the Apostle, especially in the city of Freiburg where his body is preserved and considered a rich and precious treasure. The great Cardinal Hosius, after reading the book he wrote on the most sacred MOTHER OF GOD, gave it the highest praise, saying he did not think that any other book had been written on Our Lady that was more learned or pious than Peter’s. The devotion he showed towards the Queen of Heaven is to this day attested by the frequent miracles which occur when people touch his Rosary beads. Having occupied a place amongst the servants who are most zealous for the honour of the Queen of Heaven, I have no doubt that it was she who opened the door for him to the Religious life – especially since it is quite evident she chose him from an early age to serve her for the greater glory of God. 

Father Gonçalo da Silveira

 10   No less may be said of Father Gonçalo da Silveira, who won his Martyr’s crown in the Kingdom of Monomotapa where he had gone to preach the Gospel. I shall have more to say about  him later[1] but for now suffice it to recall what is recorded in the official history of the Society : namely that his heart was on fire with an indescribable love and desire to honour the MOTHER OF GOD[2]. He spoke and wrote about this so persistently and in such inspiring language that it was impossible for anyone not to love her who had heard what he said about her.

Footnotes

[1] Part IV, chap. 3..

[2] Part. II, lib. V, nº 214.

.👑   👑   👑

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