Chapter 6 : The Fifth Star or Splendour of the Crown of Goodness of the MOTHER OF GOD
She is a true model of generosity towards 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) |
The philosopher Plato at various points in his Dialogues portrays Love as a destitute figure barefoot and in rags, indicating (in my opinion) someone who has given away everything, keeping nothing back for himself. It is indeed true that love and parsimony are two things which do not sit easily together. God Himself reveals His love towards men by making gifts to them, and the greater His love the more magnificent He is in His gifts. Now, because the Holy Virgin is closer than any other simple creature to this divine generosity, we have every reason to suppose that, when it comes to her children, she is second in her largesse only to God Himself. That is the subject we are going to explore in the following Chapter.
Footnotes
[1] In Vita P. Baltazaris Alvarez.
§ 1. The Holy Virgin is a true model of generosity towards her children
1 God once spoke a word to his servant Moses which was no less true than it was great when he promised to show him all good[1]. In showing Himself, He revealed that good which contains all others, which is the idea of them all and in which even nothingness, according to the great Saint Dionysius[2], desires to be something. He revealed that which alone is capable not only of satisfying the human heart but also of pleasing God. He revealed the fountain from which all good flows and the end which is to be his who holds onto God’s goodness. Can I dare at this point to bring forward the bold proposition of the pious Idiota[3] who says almost as much about the MOTHER OF GOD?
Whoever has found Mary, he says, has found all good.
I have no doubt that was said with an awareness of the very great difference between God and the Holy Virgin. Although every sort of good is found in both of them, nevertheless the good is in God as in its source and in the Virgin like a stream flowing therefrom. God possesses goodness in Himself and by Himself ; but the Virgin’s good comes from Him. When God distributes out of His largesse, He is taking what is His own; the Virgin is giving only that which she has received from God. That aside, however, it is nevertheless true that whoever has found the MOTHER OF GOD will have found all good.
In French historywe read how King Charles IX presented a lady with a golden ring on which the following words were engraved: Whoever hath me, hath need of nothing. Correctly understood, this motto belongs to God alone, and after God, to her who is able to enrich her children and to give them everything their heart could desire. If the wise man was able to say in truth[4] that whoever acquires a faithful friend has found a treasure, then how much more true is this of her whose good grace is worth more than the friendship of everyone in the world other than God Himself. How good it is to hear the words spoken long ago in Egypt when the Pharaoh’s response to all those who came to him asking for something was to direct them to his Viceroy, telling them: Go to Joseph[5]. Joseph for his part wrote to his venerable father and to his brothers: Come to me and I will share with you all the goods of Egypt[6].
It is however much more pleasing to hear how the Saviour responds to the Holy Virgin’s children who are seeking some grace : Go to my Mother, go to my Mother; and how the Virgin calls to them as best she can: Come to me, come to me, for I am to share with you all the favours of Heaven! I have already shown in Part II[7] of this work how the Saviour never communicates any sort of grace to men which does not pass through the hands of Mary; consider, therefore, how this applies even more in the case of those whom she cherishes so tenderly and for whose sake she mainly uses all the influence which she has.
Footnotes
[1] I will shew thee all good. Exod. xxxiii. 19.
[2] Lib. de Divinis Nominibus, c. 4.
[3] In Proœm. Contempl. de B. Virg.: Inventa Maria invenitir omne bonum.
[4] A faithful friend is a strong defence: and he that hath found him, hath found a treasure. Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) vi. 14
[5] Gen. xli. 55.
[6] Gen. xlv.
[7] Ch. 10.
2 In order to clarify this point further, it may be noted that the Philosopher (basing himself as he says[1] on the general consensus of venerable antiquity), teaches that everything that merits the name of good can be related to three orders. The first of these includes the good which is outside ourselves, which we commonly call good fortune. Examples of this good include wealth, honours, great achievements, nobility, children, friends, success in business and such like. The second order relates to our bodily good and includes things such as health, a sound constitution, strength, a long life and so on. The third order relates to the good of the soul, and examples of this would be a good nature, an alert mind, sound judgement, aptitude, knowledge, the virtues and all the gifts of grace and glory.
This being the case, I now turn to you, devout children of the Holy Virgin, and I invite you to give free rein to your wishes, not holding back on what you desire to achieve. I am telling you not only with confidence but also with assurance that there is nothing that you can ask for from your dear Mother that you will not obtain, provided only that it is for your greater good. You must realise too that you will never exhaust the riches of her generosity but, on the contrary, the more you take the more there there is still to be taken. From this I leave it to you to judge whether you are not extremely blessed indeed to find yourself in this position. I believe that you do in fact recognise this very keenly but I think you would appreciate a sight of the proofs of the proposition that I am making. In this, I am most happy to oblige.
Footnotes
[1] Lib. I Ethic., c. 8.
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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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