Part III : The Crown of Goodness : Chapter 13 : §2.1-3

Chapter 13 : The Twelfth Star or Splendour of the Crown of Goodness of the MOTHER OF GOD

She safeguards her children at the hour of death and provides them with their passport to Heaven

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. How the Holy Virgin fortifies her children against their natural fear of death 

 1   Can you see that poor little vessel caught up amidst surging waves, expecting at any moment to be swallowed up by the heaving swells of the angry sea? The menacing sky resounds with the rumbling of thunder and is lit up by flashes of lightning, the dark cloak of night spreads fear over everything, the howling wind and the beating rain wage a relentless war against the ship. The mast has already snapped, the yardarms are broken, the sails are torn; they try to save the ship by throwing everything overboard, but they are taking in water on every side and everybody is crying out for mercy. 

You have there an accurate picture of a man approaching his death agony, who cries out with the Royal Prophet[1]: The sorrows of death surrounded me. Human reason, which may be compared to the soul’s firmament, is darkened by clouds and rising vapours; the will finds itself lacking in strength and vigour ; the imagination is distraught; the passions, especially those of fear and despair, are like winds which rage against the soul as though they want to send it plunging into the depths ; the body finds itself wanting in every way, in all its faculties and powers; the time has come to bid a general farewell to everything most precious in this life and to set off for a region in the dark unknown. O death, says the great Sirach[2], how bitter is the remembrance of thee to a man that hath peace in his possessions!

Footnotes

[1] The sorrows of death surrounded me: and the torrents of iniquity troubled me. The sorrows of hell encompassed me: and the snares of death prevented me. Psal. XVII. 5-6.

[2] Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) xli. 1.

 2   Would it not be a priceless blessing to be able to experience peace and calm at this time while others are shaking with fear as they are engulfed by the terrors of death? This is in fact the experience of the servants of the MOTHER OF GOD and it cannot be esteemed too highly. Just as they were always supported by her in life, so too in their death they remain precious to her, for this is when she comes to their aid in order to acknowledge how well they served her and to crown their lives with a holy ending in recognition of the virtuous actions they performed in her honour. Take a moment to study the words she addresses to those who were careful to have recourse to her during their lives, which echo those which are found in Chapter 65 of Isaiah :

Many times have I called upon you to show a special love and devotion towards me and you have paid no heed. Hear then what will become of you. My servants will make their way to the wedding feast, while you will die of hunger. My servants will walk in triumphal procession, while you will be overcome with confusion. My servants will sing songs of joy and happiness, but distress will seize hold of your hearts, making you scream and cry out in terror. 

Would that I had the means of representing the wondrous effects of our dear Mother’s loving care on the hearts of her children at this challenging time, and the proof they receive from her that their death is a thing most precious in her eyes. It is just not possible to explain how she provides them  with spiritual preparation from afar and accustoms them early on to thinking about death. In place of the pagan[1] and profane fear-mongering which portrays death to us as the most horrible thing in the world, she supplies the soul imperceptibly with Christian and supernatural ideas which represent it rather as the sleep of the just and the gateway to immortality. In place of the panic-driven fears which the mere thought of abandoning all perishable things is wont to cause in others, she gives them an understanding of the greatness and inestimable quality of eternal goods. In place of the fear they have of the body’s dissolution when separated from the soul, she infuses them with a joy at seeing themselves soon freed from the prison of servitude to the body. She places before their eyes the beautiful and happy end enjoyed by those who placed their trust in her. She fires up their will with an ardent desire to see the King of glory in His magnificence, to contemplate the Saviour of the world in all His beauty, and to bless Him for the duration of eternity. She fortifies their hearts against bodily sufferings which she encourages them to view as gifts coming from the hand of God which will serve to adorn their crown. She calms the excessive fears and anxieties by reminding them of the hope they have in the resurrection and of the good things that they will come to enjoy in God’s mansion. She softens the hardship of leaving family and friends by recalling how they will be exchanging these creatures for their Creator who serves them as father, mother, brother and spouse and everything they could ever desire, enabling them to enjoy a wondrous sense of companionship there in Heaven. In short, she is able to bring a sense of calm to all the faculties of the soul, infusing it with a peace which incomparably surpasses all the consolations of this life.

 

Footnotes

[1] Aristot., III Ethic., c. 6.

 3   If it sometimes seems they are troubled by anxiety and are suffering greatly, we should realise that this is just on the outside since within their Holy Mother enables them to remain firm and focused on the accomplishment of the divine will. I feel so confident in saying this that I believe it would be superfluous to provide reasons in support. Who is there with a normal level of intelligence who would not easily be persuaded that she who has given her special help and her tender affection towards her children during their lifetime would ever dream of abandoning them at this point when the risks are much greater and the threats more dangerous, when their final fate will be sealed and the holy Mother wants to offer them a last gesture of the tender help which she has shown them throughout their lifetime? Let others come to their own conclusions on this question, but personally I shall always envy the happiness of those who die sheltered by the protective wings of their loving Mother, for I firmly believe there can be no death in the world so sweet as theirs.

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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 1925