Part III : The Crown of Goodness : Chapter 12 : § 2.3-4

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

 3   In the second place, whilst the cities of refuge were a sanctuary only for those accused of involuntary homicide, this is not the case with the MOTHER OF GOD, for from the orient and the occident, from the north and from the south, from every corner of the earth and from the remotest islands of the sea, in the morning and in the evening, at every hour of the day or night, she in her role as City of Refuge is open to receive murderers, thieves, fornicators and adulterers, blasphemers and those guilty of sacrilege: in short, every manner of sinner of whatever condition. There never was a place so thronging with people and no earthly Court ever dealt with cases so expeditiously. All that is required of a sinner is that he brings a contrite heart and confesses to having offended against God, that he humbly asks for pardon through the intercession of the Virgin and, what is more, he need not be anxious on account of the number or seriousness of his sins : since there is no sin so great for which she cannot obtain remission and no heart so hardened that does not melt in the fires of her love.        

She gave proof of this one day to blessed St Bridget[1] when she was praying earnestly for the conversion of a notable sinner who was being subjected to severe assaults on her both physically and spiritually. She enabled Bridget to see the woman was being held tightly bound by three chains which were greed, covetousness and lust. Apart from this, she showed how the devil had seized the woman with five hands and had taken away all her powers, both internal and external; the result was she was unable to take any sort of action that would lead to her salvation. With the first hand, he had made himself master of her eyes and in every encounter he now made them focus on pernicious things, blinding her to that which might produce good thoughts and actions. With a second hand, he made her hands feel very heavy whenever there was a possibility of her doing some good work but lightened them whenever it was a question of committing sin. With a third hand, he made her feet become leaden whenever she tried to follow the path of virtue but he made her as fleet as a hind when it came to running after vice. With a fourth hand, he took control of her understanding, removing any fear of sin and extinguishing every virtuous inclination. With a fifth hand, he kept her heart under lock and key each and every time a chaste impulse prompted her to abandon filthy thoughts in order to contract a holy union with her Virgin Mother, but he opened her heart whenever voluptuous desires stimulated her thoughts and feelings. 

Notwithstanding all his efforts, the Holy Virgin soon proved that there is neither power nor trick that is able to resist  the gentle interventions of her mercy; and that once she has resolved to show that she is Mistress, it follows of necessity that hell has to yield before her. In fact, she achieved so much by her prayers to her beloved Son and through her power over Satan that the poor sinner whom he had tormented for so long was finally set at liberty. Seeing the chains which bound her had fallen at her feet, she began to breathe the pure air of the children of God. 

Footnotes

[1] Lib. I Revel, c. 21.

 4   In the third place, it must not be thought that everything was over once the murderer had sought sanctuary in the city of refuge. The relative of the person killed had the right to pursue him through judicial means and the person claiming sanctuary was then obliged to appear before judges to prove his case in front of all the people and to demonstrate that he had brought about the death by accident or in self-defence, failing which he would be condemned to death on the spot. Further to this, in the event that he had been found not guilty he was still obliged to obey the laws applicable in the city of refuge, on pain of being summarily executed were he to be found outside the city before the death of the High Priest – for then the prisons were opened, the captives released and the slaves set at liberty.

Dear God! What would become of us if an examination of our life were necessary and we had to prove our innocence each and every time we have recourse to the Holy City of Refuge? Who would find the courage to bring himself forward and who would be confident of obtaining a pardon? In fact sinners may be thankful that the laws of our Mother's City are very different from the ones we have mentioned above. Far from being required to prove his innocence, the more freely a sinner confesses his sins before God and before the Angels, and the more sincerely he admits his guilt (provided only that he regrets with his whole heart having sinned against God), the more he will be disposed to receive God’s pardon and to be restored to His good graces.

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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