Part III : The Crown of Goodness : Chapter 14 : §2.3 > §3.1-2

Chapter 14 : How we are duty-bound for all these reasons to love, honour and serve the MOTHER OF GOD  

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. Our duty to honour her

 3   Our earthly mothers bore us in their wombs and showed loving patience towards us when we were very little. If the honour we owe them for all they did is so great that we can never repay them sufficiently, no matter how carefully we might try to fulfil our duties – then what level of honour does our spiritual Mother not merit? 

Earthly mothers can be the cause of unhappiness in their children’s lives but our heavenly Mother is the source and origin of happiness both here and in eternity; the former love in a way often showing foolishness but the latter is the Mother of fair love; the former sometimes bring discredit upon their children through their bad behaviour, but the latter brings credit to them through her favour; the former sometimes take so little trouble for their children or do so in such a feeble way that it would be more beneficial for them if they did not meddle in any way at all, whereas the latter shows wondrous care towards them which aims only to make them all great in the eyes of God; the former sometimes behave in such an unnatural way that they take away from their children that which belongs to them, whereas the latter thinks only how to enrich those entrusted to her by God and to obtain for them true benefits which never perish; amongst the former are some who are so unreasonable that there is no way of pleasing them, but the latter appreciates the least services that are offered to her and always shows her thanks by repaying them a hundredfold; the former sometimes seem to turn into tigresses and lionesses but the latter never ceases to remain the Mother of gentle Love and Mercy; the former are themselves in need of rescue and help, but the latter protects and rescues her children; the former are only too frequently mirrors of vanity and frivolity, but the latter displays a masterful accomplishment of all the virtues; the former forget their children when they die or frequently take greater care of their physical health than their eternal salvation, whereas the latter protects her children when they come to depart from this world and does not leave them until they are safely ensconced in Heaven. 

 4   Let human minds do their utmost to conceive an honour which equals her incomparable merits; one way or another they must yield to the pressure and show their indebtedness to her. In doing this, thay will show how their helplessness itself renders homage to the MOTHER OF GOD and serves as an authentic acknowledgement that the sheer Greatness of her Goodness immeasurably surpasses any conceivable honour she might receive from us.

This is the truth which we are happy to proclaim, O Queen of Honour and Greatness! For this reason, we humbly implore not only the Blessed Spirits to make up our deficiencies but we also call upon Him who alone is able to honour thee according to thy merits and to whom alone is due honour and glory forever and ever.

§ 3. Our duty to serve her

 1   To those capable of understanding them, the mere title Mother of Love would supply a host of ideas for serving her. The single word Mother attracts of itself very weighty obligations binding us to offer her every possible service by virtue of nature and of grace. The word love, on the other hand, constrains us to feel this sense of obligation in a soft and gentle way for love in truth cannot be recognised except in love and with love. It is also the case that wherever love is found the person who loves will stop at nothing in what he is prepared to do by way of service for the one whom he loves. Eyes, ears, hands and feet all follow the movement of the heart and there is no service in the world which is accomplished so well or so happily as that which is offered through love. In fact, there is nothing more honourable than what is connoted by this word service whenever it springs from feelings of love. Yet to whom have we greater reason to consecrate our love and to promise our service than to the Mother of Love herself? 

Let us exclaim before God: what a Mother and what love! A Mother whose sweet love infinitely exceeds, so to speak, that of all the mothers in the world; and a love which far more than any other partakes of divine love in its essence. So where may be found service that can come close to honouring her in a fitting manner? The Cherubim and Seraphim are not obliged to her in the way we are but they would expend everything they could in serving her simply out of consideration for the indescribable love and affection she has for men; and if there were anything that could make them unhappy in this regard it would come from the fact that it is impossible for them to achieve what they would like to do by way of service for her. This being so, how then should those souls feel who experience night and day her loving favours which drop down like the gentle dew from Heaven?

 2   Failure to think about this means the fire that should be burning constantly in souls may die out and any services springing from a cold heart will be tepid and feeble. True children of the Mother of Goodness, however, are always watching the hands of their dear Mother[1], ready to carry out her commandments and to offer her all the services they possibly can. They are able to make wonderful progress since her love grows in proportion to the services they offer her, and the growth of her love is invariably accompanied by more graces and favours. This means that when their affection for the Mother of love is followed by more offerings of service, these are rewarded with an increase in love, which is itself acknowledged by further services. The result is that this interlinking of love and service forms a chain which may be considered as the grand collar of the Order dedicated to the honour of the Mother of love. 

Let us pause here to think upon this love, these services, this collar, and this Order.

Oh Love : How pure and chaste thou art and worthy to be sought out by every available means! Oh Services : How precious ye are before the face of God and the Mother of love who doth treasure you most carefully so that she may show her loving gratitude by the reward of eternal glory! Oh Collar : replete with honour, thou dost raise a lowly creature higher than any earthly greatness!  Oh Order : thou dost populate the blessed Orders of the Church Triumphant in Heavenly Jerusalem! 

Oh Love, come take possession of my heart! Oh Services, may all the faculties of my body and soul be at your disposal! Oh Collar, do thou grace and adorn my humble breast! Oh Order, do thou enrol me in thy numbers without consideration of my unworthiness, since it is impossible for me to live without serving the Mother of love!

Footnotes

[1] Cf. As the eyes of the handmaid are on the hands of her mistress: so are our eyes unto the Lord our God. Psal. CXXII. 2.

End of Part III

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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