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).
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| Notre Dame des Grâces, Cotignac (Poggi, 2020) |
§ 5. Continuing our discussion of the Holy Mother’s care for her children : the Society of Jesus
Sebastian Barradas
16 Sebastian Barradas was an Apostolic Preacher[1] whose memory lives on in the writings he has left us. He was a man whose many virtues rendered him fully worthy of his office and he was conspicuous for his exceptional humility. He personally declared that he was expressly innstructed by the Virgin Mother to enter into the Society of her Son.
Footnotes
[1] In Vita P. Baltazaris Alvarez.
Pedro de Añazco
17 Pedro de Añazco was a man of exemplary virtue[1] and whilst he was still in the world, something happened when he was twenty-two, years old:
The Mother of consolation appeared to him during a serious illness and gave him to understand that her Son wanted to be served by him in His Society, in token of which she restored him to full health. Having fulfilled Heaven’s command, he fasted every Saturday for the rest of his life in memory of the favour he had received from the Holy Virgin. She showed herself so pleased by his gratitude that, as Pedro himself testified, never did a Saturday go by without him experiencing certain effects of his dear Mother’s sweetness in the form of particular graces that she obtained for him.
Footnotes
[1] Ibid.
Jean Berchmans
18 I would risk causing offence to our gentle Mother if I were to pass over in silence the story of a young man who showed in our day all that a heart on fire with love can display. His name was Jean Berchmans, a native of the town of Diest in Brabant. I will cover in detail elsewhere in this work the testimony he has provided of this incredible love[1]. Let us focus for now on his entry into the Society which took place on the 24th of September in the year 1616, the 18th year of his life.
This young boy had acquired with his mother’s milk a warm devotion towards the Virgin, along with a love so tender that it is difficult to imagine one greater. Whilst he was still very young, he would often go to visit her in her chapel in Montaigu, which is only one hour’s journey from Diest. On such occasions, he would spend the time in silent prayer, in meditation or in praying the Rosary. At home, the food given him for his breakfast would often be found in various places because of his decision to fast in honour of the Holy Virgin. He would frequently say that he felt drawn by a particular affection to places which he knew were devoted to Our Lady. He used to fast every Saturday and on the eve of feast days, as well as reciting St Bonaventure’s Psalter every day. At the beginning of each month he would ask the Father of the Congregation what fault he should take care to correct and what devotion he should practise in honour of the Virgin. When it was a question, however, of determining what manner of life he was to follow, it was then that he redoubled all his devotions and said to the Holy Virgin that the time had come for her to help him as his Mother and to give him proofs of the affection she felt towards him. To this end, he had as many Masses said as he could at the altar of Our Lady which is in St Peter’s Church in Louvain and in the chapel at Montaigu. The Holy Virgin soon made known to him that her Son’s will was for him to enter into the Society. Our Holy Father Urban VIII has not yet authorised the publication of the extraordinary things that happened to him, and so I can say no more for the time being.
Footnotes
[1] Part IV, ch. 4, § 2.
The six Tatoat brothers
19 News of the miracles of Our Lady of Garaison in Gascony spread everywhere. Here is one which deserves mention as we draw near the end of our discussion[1].
Anne de Filouse was the wife of one Dominique Tatoat, who came from the town of Boulogne-sur-Gesse, about three leagues away from Garaison. She had already borne several daughters but no sons and this caused the neighbours to nickname her the mother of the little girls. Eventually, she came to resent these words and also the fact that she did not have a son and heir. She took her concerns to Our Lady of Garaison and made a vow to her that if she would send her a son she would dedicate him to God’s service and to her own, if this would be pleasing to her. Scarcely had nine months gone by than she gave birth to twin boys who were so like each other that they could scarcely be told apart, even by the servants, up until they reached 18. After the twins, she had four other sons, making six in total. The first two boys, François and Joseph, joined our Society the same day they came into the world, with Louis and Alexandre later following the same path. Of the remaining two, one joined the Capuchin Franciscans and the last one remained in the world.
Footnotes
[1] D. Virg. Garazoniæ, mirac. 36.
20 If I were to recount all that I know on this particular subject, there would be many more things to say concerning not only those members of the Society who are dead but also about several who are still living. The few things that I have mentioned will be sufficient to give an idea of these others, granted that the heart of the most holy Virgin is today as full of love for us as ever.
Perhaps I should have said earlier, once and for all, that I consider it beyond question that all those who have persevered in this Society, (and I think the same holds true with regard to the other Religious Orders that are well regulated) found their vocation through her intervention. Needless to say, the help she gave was not so striking in everyone as in the few cases that I have presented to the reader. I use the words who have persevered for I recall in this connection something memorable that is recorded in the life of blessed Francis Borgia, the third Superior General of the Society. One day, he was visiting the Novitiate in Rome and, asking each of the Novices which patron saints they had chosen, he noticed that several amongst them did not include the Holy Virgin, which troubled him greatly. Later he spoke to the Master of Novices and instructed him to keep a careful watch upon them for he greatly feared that they would not persevere in their vocation. Events would show that it was not for nothing that he had issued this warning. It became clear not long afterwards that all those he had mentioned, without a single exception, left the Society and returned to the world. I have to add that I have found this to be true during the years that God has granted me the grace to have charge of nurturing the young seedlings He sent to His little Society. When researching the mysterious ways that Heaven influences vocations and the various reasons which draw young men to the service of our Lord, I never found anyone who, after God himself, did not acknowledge his indebtedness to His Holy Mother for the grace of his vocation and who did not believe he had received received most clear signs from her.
21 May these words be to the honour of the Queen of Angels, to whom it pertains, as common Mother, to provide for all the Religious Orders, serving as a guide for those upon whom Heaven looks with a favourable eye. Let us look forward, however, to that time when we shall see her as the Prophet David has depicted her[1], seated on the right hand of the King, her Spouse and her Son, and surrounded with a great variety of God’s servants and handmaids. These she has guided along the safe ways of the Evangelical Counsels to the joy of a happiness without end, where all together will sing her praises with one accord and make known her great splendours forever.
Footnotes
[1] The queen stood on thy right hand, in gilded clothing; surrounded with variety. Ps. XLIV. 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
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