Part III : The Crown of Goodness : Chapter 7 : § 2.1-2

Chapter 7 : The Sixth 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).

Notre Dame des Grâces, Cotignac (Poggi, 2020)

§ 2. The Gratitude of the MOTHER OF GOD towards the great Nations

Christendom

 1   Great states have a certain august quality difficult to describe, numbering amongst their people individuals who are able to draw down the goodness of God upon all. Consider, for example, the city of Nineveh where men had become so wicked in their ways that God had almost decided to destroy it but he stayed his hand, having found enough innocent souls to save it[1]. The operation of Divine Justice is frequently restrained in this way and the Mother of goodness asks for no more than some faithful servant who will serve as a bastion to protect others so that, through his agency alone, God will forgive many sinners. From this I conclude that, just as the dear children of the Queen of Heaven are infinitely obliged to their dear Mother, in the same way the world is greatly indebted to them, since out of consideration for them she grants so many favours to the world and turns away so many evils from those who deserve nothing less.        

I shall begin with that glorious day at Lepanto, one of the most striking interventions by Heaven in a long time, when the MOTHER OF GOD granted a remarkable favour to her children. On this day, she helped not just one Kingdom or one particular Province, but the whole of Christendom, showing her acknowledgement and gratitude for the services of a great many of her children who were everywhere begging for her help. This included the great Pope St Pius V who was never in any doubt that she was in command of God’s armies for this battle and who for this reason consecrated this day to her under the name of Our Lady of Victory.       

If there were ever a reason for her to look favourably upon her children it would be when this Holy Shepherd of the Church, apart from praying most earnestly himself, ordered  devotions to be offered throughout the whole of Europe. The Holy Chapel of Loreto was filled with supplicants and the Captains of the Christian fleets all came to offer up their prayers to the Virgin, patroness of this Church. Most notable amongst their number was Don John of Austria, commander-in-chief, who had sworn to God that if His Majesty granted them victory through the merits and intercession of the most glorious Virgin, he would  go to the Chapel of Loreto in an act of thanksgiving. The Christian slaves in the Turkish galleys understood as well as anyone else that they could not hope to be freed by any human means if the Christian fleet were not successful in this battle. I should not forget to mention that throughout the heat of the battle there were processions of people praying the rosary everywhere. The 7th of October in the year 1571, the date of this bloody battle, fell on the first Sunday of the month. Since the Battle of Actium under Augustus, the Mediterranean Sea had never seen a battle on such a scale and for a long time the Christian people had never been more impatient for the success of any battle more than this one. Selim, the son of Suleiman, had already defeated the Venetians on the Island of Cyprus and now, inflated with pride after his conquests and filled with the hatred he and his people felt towards Christians, he was coming to fall upon them with a powerful army, aiming for nothing less than the Empire of the Universe. Ranged against him the Pope had allied his forces to those of Philip, King of Spain, and the Venetians. The Christians were ready to give a good account of themselves despite their inferiority in numbers. Our forces, however, would rely mainly upon the assistance of the MOTHER OF GOD – for whom it is as easy to gain a victory with small numbers as it is with many. Their hopes were not to be disappointed for her help was so powerful and effective that, in a battle which lasted from 6:00 o’clock in the morning until evening, we captured eighty Turkish galleys and sank ninety, thirty thousand Turks were killed, ten thousand were made prisoner and nearly as many Christian galley slaves were liberated. We also captured one hundred and sixteen pieces of heavy artillery and one hundred fifty culverins[2]. 

This was an intervention truly worthy of the Queen of Heaven’s goodness, and one which deserves a few more words by way of conclusion. 

Before moving on, I should say something here about the fidelity with which Don John of Austria kept the promise that he had made to God, since the story is most edifying and bears retelling. High affairs of state had kept him so busy that he was unable to fulfil his duty to the Holy Virgin before the year 1576, but as soon as he had a moment of respite he did not fail to make good use of it. It was in the depths of winter and the weather had been particularly bad, not only because of flooding but also because of ice that covered the roads and made the rivers and streams extremely dangerous. If he had chosen to listen to the calls made upon him by public and personal matters, it is most certain he would never have left Naples (where he was at the time). He turned a deaf ear to all these, however, and nothing in the world could stop him from fulfilling what he had promised. Having caught sight of the Holy Chapel some distance ahead, he took off his hat and, despite the wind and the driving rain, nothing could make him put it on again until he had set foot in the town. This gives us a clue as to how much his heart was ablaze with love and gratitude to the Holy Virgin. When once he entered the Holy Chapel, he felt this devotion burning anew within his breast. He went to Confession and received Holy Communion with such piety that it could be seen on his face and in his eyes. He later made a gift of a large sum of money to the Church in Loreto  and called upon all the Lords in his entourage to do the same. In this way, he gave an example to Christian Princes showing them to whom they should have recourse in their most important affairs and how they should show their gratitude for the favours they receive from Heaven.

 

Footnotes

[1] Jonas (Jonah) iv. 

[2] culverin (from Lat. coluber, a serpent or snake): a large cannon, very long in proportion to its bore.

 2   I have shown elsewhere[1] how Italy, France, Spain, England, Germany and several other States had a remarkable devotion to the Holy Virgin, being most keen to honour and serve her. Reason requires me to provide proof now of her gratitude to them and the favours she granted them on numerous occasions. To do this worthily would require the writing of whole books but I pray that the fair-minded reader will accept this goes far beyond the scope of my work and that he will be content for me to say a brief word about each favour in succession.

Footnotes

[1] Part I, ch. 12.

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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