Part IV : How to give thanks to the Mother of God : Chapter 3 : § 1.17-19

Chapter 3 : Trust in the Mother of God – a second feature of the gratitude we owe

[Continuing our translation of the 1845 reprint of Fr François Poiré’s Triple Crown of the Holy Mother of God (1643 French edition).]

Notre Dame des Grâces, Cotignac (Poggi, 2020)

§ 1. The first sign of trust : not undertaking anything except with the Holy Mother’s help and guidance

Those who rule over others 

 17   Many are those whom God has chosen to rule in the world – whether in the spiritual or temporal domain – who have been willing to have recourse to the Mother of the Messenger of Great Counsel[1]. 

I do not know whether anyone ever did so with more loving trust than St Stephen, King of Hungary. This Prince conveyed to her every sovereign right he had in his kingdom, being more than happy to be considered Second-in-command to the MOTHER OF GOD. In fact he went further than this by giving strict orders that she was to be known as the Sovereign Lady, a title which was to endure ever after. One day he had begun to feel anxious that, as a result of rebellion against his Crown, the Christian faith which had started to take root in his Kingdom might be stifled in its infancy. Accordingly he turned to the Holy Virgin in prayer, saying: 

“Most Holy Lady, please do not allow thine inheritance to be squandered by the enemies of thy name; and do not let this come to pass as a result of my cowardice or lack of trust since thou hast so many other ways than this of punishing such a bad King as I am.”     

Footnotes

[1] Μεγάλης βουλῆς ἄγγελος: Isai. ix. 6. Septuagint.

 18   I have always admired the outstanding piety of the famous Cardinal de Joyeux, outstanding among French Prelates. 

Having been named Cardinal Protector of France at the beginning of the Pontificate of Sixtus V, he immediately made his way to Loreto to seek the Holy Virgin’s favour so that he might successfully discharge his new responsibility. He said Mass very devoutly in the Chapel, offering his new duty he had been given towards Church and country to her who is the Protectress of all men. He ordered the Quarant’ Ore devotion and its success was greatly helped by the preaching of the local Bishop as well as the fervour of the local clergy and people, along with many others who had followed the Cardinal or had come from various places when they heard of this devotion. 

 19   What can I say about Saint Charles Borromeo, star of Italy, honour amongst Bishops, the glory of Cardinals, a wonder amongst Papal nephews, and the very image of holiness?

I would say everything that can possibly be said of a holy Prelate but first I want to recount what was written by one of his servants who wrote a fine biography of him[1]. As soon as he realised he was to be like a light shining[2] for all in the Church, he placed himself confidently in the hands of the MOTHER OF GOD; he never started any undertaking unless he had previously entrusted it to her guidance; and his humble devotion to her was evident in all sorts of ways, as we shall see. 

After that introduction, I would say that the Holy Mother contributed in every possible way to make him the adornment and paragon of Prelates in the Church. He was a diligent restorer of sacred discipline, an ardent defender of the rights and privileges of the Church, a perfect example of pastoral care, a promoter of divine service who was tireless in his zeal, a mighty bastion of the House of God, generous in dispensing his Master’s blessings, a safe refuge for the afflicted, a just scourge of the wicked, a gentle and loving Father for the good; he was an Athanasius in his patient suffering, a Chrysostom at liberty, a Thomas in the solidity of his teaching, an Anselm in his gentleness, an Ambrose in his courage, an Augustine in his zeal, like John the Almsgiver in his charity, a Basil in his piety, a Leo in his gravity, a Gregory in his vigilance, a Thaumaturge in his miracles, and to sum up all these things in just a few words : a Saint Charles in every perfection.

I would say but without exaggeration everything that the Wise son of Sirach[3] says about Moses and Aaron, the foremost of Fathers and perfect models of Priests and Prelates. I would say that he was beloved of God and also of men who will retain a fond memory of him forever and bless him a thousand times over; that he was made equal in glory to the greatest of Saints; that with his teaching and the devout fervour of his prayers he brought calm and healing when plague was ravaging the city of Milan; that God glorified him in the presence of Princes and rulers; that He Ordered him to make known His will and His commandments to His people; by means of the confidence and generosity which He had granted him, He Made him a Saint and chose him from all the Prelates on earth to be a model for all; that He drew him unto Himself in the cloud of holy contemplation where He granted him the wherewithal for shaping a most holy life; and that He crowned his mitre with a diadem of solid gold adorned with signs of holiness and virtue. I would say that his daily sacrifices came from a heart on fire with devotion and divine love; that the Great Moses of the Church, namely the sovereign Pontiff (who was his maternal uncle[4]) anointed him with holy oil; that God took vengeance on those who conspired against him and who, being unable to bear the dazzling brightness of his heroic virtue, thought to take away his life that he was using for the universal good of the whole world; finally that God wanted to be his portion and the lot of his inheritance[5]. 

I would without hesitation or reservation extend to him the beautiful tributes given by the same sacred writer to Simon the High Priest, son of Onias, in Chapter 50 of Ecclesiasticus. I would say that he he it was who throughout his life upheld the Temple, that he strengthened and reinforced the House of God, that in his lifetime the sources of celestial doctrine swelled like the waters of the sea reaching every shore and watering the whole earth; that he healed countless persons from the spiritual complaints which troubled them and that he rescued a world of people from the road to perdition; that he caused a wondrous growth in the Church, supplying her with excellent ministers and sparing no effort whatsoever for healing and restoring that which had become corrupt and ruined. I would say that in his old age he was like a beautiful star shining in the midst of dark and sombre clouds, that he was like the full moon among the constellations and like the sun brilliant in splendour over all the other lights in the firmament; that he was like the glorious rainbow that we see through the vapour of cloud which is set to pour forth rain; like the spring dew, like a lily by a stream, like the sweet incense of summer or that which rises heavenwards from the thurible. I would say that he was no less precious or pleasing than a beautiful vase of solid gold encrusted with a thousand gemstones; that contemplating his life brings pleasure comparable to looking on a burgeoning olive tree sending out shoots or a tall and lofty cypress soaring heavenwards; that it was inspiring to see him raised to the purple and vested as a Cardinal, adorned with mystical ornaments and going up to the Holy Altar accompanied by ministers of the Church officiating with him and surrounded by his clergy.

Having said all this, I would conclude by declaring that everything great and uplifting about the Saint was the fruit of the trust he had placed in the MOTHER OF GOD and the loving care the MOTHER OF GOD showed for him.

 

Footnotes

[1] Joann. Petrus Giussanus, lib. VIII.

[2] Cf. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but upon a candlestick, that it may shine to all that are in the house. Matthew v. 15.

[3] Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) xlv.

[4] Pope Pius IV.

[5] Cf. Deut. xxxii. 9.

© Peter Bloor 2025

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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.

He that hearkeneth to me, shall not be confounded: and they that work by me, shall not sin. They that explain me shall have life everlasting. Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) xxiv. 30-31.