Part III : The Crown of Goodness : Chapter 12 : § 2.1-2

Chapter 12 : The Eleventh Star or Splendour of the Crown of Goodness of the MOTHER OF GOD

She is the Sanctuary and Refuge of sinners

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 Mother of God is the true City of Refuge for sinners

 1   The Holy Spirit displays a wondrous capacity for representing a single idea in different ways, making use of various symbols and prefigurations. There is one which seems to show forth more clearly and openly than any other what we have just been considering about the safety and reassurance sinners find near the MOTHER OF GOD. It is the idea of Cities of Refuge which may be found mentioned in Chapter 35 of Numbers, Chapter 4 of Deuteronomy and Chapter 20 of Joshua. Concerning these, God decreed that after the children of Israel entered into the Promised Land, the Levites (who had been assigned a particular role dedicated to the service of His Majesty), would have their own special portion when it came to the allocation and sharing of the conquered cities. Of those which fell to them by lot, six were earmarked as sanctuaries for those who had committed the crime of involuntary homicide: three beyond the Jordan and three in the land of Chanaan. Apart from various allegorical and moral interpretations given to these cities of refuge by the Holy Doctors, especially by St Ambrose[1], St John Damascene pointed out a sublime mystery incorporating a most particular design on the part of God for them : namely, they were to serve as a model prefiguring the Mother of Goodness, whom in this connection[2] he calls the true City of Refuge, a title echoed by the Church universal[3]. We should note, however, that just as shadows give way to light and truth prevails over prefigurations, so it is clear to see that the MOTHER OF GOD is immeasurably superior to the ancient models which foreshadowed her.   

Footnotes

[1] Lib. de Fug. seculi., c. 2.

[2] Orat. 2 de Dormitione B. Virg.

[3] In the Litanies, she is said to be Civitas refugii (Refugium Peccatorum in the Litany of Loreto). Cf: urbs refugii, from Nones in the Little Office of the Immaculate Conception. 

 2   In the first place, we cannot say that these cities were built expressly for the safety of these men accused of involuntary homicide. In the case of the Holy Virgin, however, we know that when God first conceived the idea of her, from that very moment he intended her to become the Sanctuary and Refuge of sinners. We covered this in Chapter 1 of Part II and it is also evident from her titles of Mediatrix and Advocate which throw great light upon this truth. This aside, however, we have the explicit testimony of St Anselm in various places. 

In Chapter 1 of his book on the Excellence of the Virgin he says : I know well that she was made MOTHER OF GOD more for sinners than for the just[1]; for her most blessed son told us that he came not to call the just but sinners to penance[2]; And the Apostle St Paul declares that his master came into this world to save sinners of whom he was the chief[3].

In the last chapter of his book, he speaks to the MOTHER OF GOD in the following manner: 

May it please thee to remember, most holy Virgin, that thy Son was not born of thee so that He might cause the ruin of sinners, but so that he might save them. What reason wouldst thou have to refuse them thine aid since it was out of consideration for them that thou hast been elevated above all creatures? Taking into account the fact that thy happiness and thy glory cannot now be changed, can anyone be found who would imagine that thou wouldst take so little trouble over what concerneth us? Perhaps this thought might persuade some minds if it were the case that thou wast made MOTHER OF GOD for thyself alone; but this conclusion would be ill-founded, seeing that thou wast raised to this dignity for the good of all thy children and for their advancement.  

This is reflected in an ancient sequence[4] which the Church sings[5]: 

Couldst thou in truth be horrified 

Refusing bluntly to defend

Those souls whose state of sinful pride 

Did cause thee heav’nwards to ascend 

Enjoying there thine august role 

Of which a supernatural feature

Helped thee to save each fallen soul

Thus giving hope to every creature

And showing how the pow’r Divine

Perfection wrought none more than thine?

When from the heights of exaltation

Thou seest suff’ring like no other

Remember ‘twas our tribulation.

That caused thee to be chosen Mother

Of God the Father of Our Lord;

Now this thou dost aye understand

That sinners’ prayers can’t be ignored

(As God Himself forsooth had planned)

Thy love for them and all thy care

Doth Mother make beyond compare.

Footnotes

[1] Scio illam magis propter peccatores, quam propter justos factam esse Dei Matrem.

[2] And Jesus answering, said to them :.. I came not to call the just, but sinners to penance. Luke v. 31-31.

[3] A faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners, of whom I am the chief. 1 Tim. i. 15.

[4] Sequence: The French text uses the word prose which also exists in English as an alternative name, once common in England, for the sequence: a composition in rhythmical prose or rhyming, accentual verse, recited or sung on festival days before the Gospel at Mass, and on certain other occasions.

[5] Peccatores non exhorres, sine quibus numquam fores tanto digna Filio : “Thou dost not abhor sinners, without whom thou wouldst never have been worthy of such a Son.” Crasset. Vér. Dév. p. 1, tr. 1, q. 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 2025