Part IV : How to give thanks to the Mother of God : Chapter 3 : § 2.1-2

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)

§ 2. The second sign of trust: having recourse to her in every difficulty 

 1   The Seraphic Doctor St Bonaventure, of whom I spoke earlier, was eager to help foster the devotion of one of his friends who had asked if he had any guidance which would help him to lead a virtuous life. The Saint presented him with a short Epistle which he called Twenty-five things to remember[1] which are like so many short rules worth memorizing. Here is the thirteenth:

Ensure that at all times you have a heartfelt desire to honour the most glorious MOTHER OF GOD ; have recourse to her as to your safe refuge in all your necessities and in all the trials and tribulations you may face; choose her for your Advocate and with total confidence entrust her with anything that concerns you.

This advice places in our hands the golden key of Trust which can open the sacred Treasury of our loving Mother’s graces and favours. There we can find remedies for all our problems, because there is nothing that this trust cannot achieve for us. It is like a divine lifeline thrown down to us from Heaven to haul our heart and our hopes on high. St Germanus, Patriarch of Constantinople revealed an insight into this when he spoke to the glorious Virgin as follows:

Most Holy Lady, what else art thou other than the Mediatrix of our salvation, our safe help and our unfailing support, our Advocate who dost facilitate our reconciliation and who dost present mitigation on our behalf to obtain forgiveness for our sins; a refuge in whom our trust finds reason to glory, an impregnable rampart for Christians, an arsenal packed with arms and munitions for true Kings, the main armament of faithful Princes, a mighty Angel in battle, placing the laurel crown on their heads and the palm of victory in their hands. We humbly implore thee not to turn away those who come unto thee; we beg thee to lend a hand to those in danger, to bring calm to those troubled by physical or spiritual tempests and tribulations, and to vanquish those who bear us ill will and threaten us out of hatred for thy dear Son and thyself.

This same trust is the soul’s powerful shield, proof against all the temptations of the enemy. St Ephrem made frequent use of it and here is how he spoke one day to the most sacred Virgin[2]:    

Most Holy Lady, prithee take me under the protection of thy wings[3] lest the infernal Vulture carry me off ; for I am like unto a poor little chicken who hath fallen into the mud and hath no way of saving himself. There remaineth no hope left to me apart from thee, forasmuch as thou art my safe port and haven; my whole salvation dependeth on thine aid and protection, which I crave with tears and with all the submission of which my heart is capable.

Footnotes

[1] Epistola vigintiquinque memorabilium.

[2] Orat. de S. Virgine.

[3] Cf. Matt. xxiii.  37 & Luke xiii. 34.

St Mary the Egyptian

 2   Amongst all those men and women who might have come to understand the value of this trust, it seems to me that St Mary the Egyptian experienced it with a particular gentleness. Her words reveal to us the true image of a heart which totally melted in the presence of the Queen of Heaven and we cannot ourselves read or hear them without our own eyes growing moist with tears. 

She was still known as a wanton woman and a stone of stumbling when she made the decision to accompany a group of people who were going to Jerusalem to venerate the Holy Cross. Just as she was about to enter the Church, she felt herself held back on three separate occasions as though by an invisible force. Not knowing what to do in her confused state, she looked up and saw over the entrance to the Church an image of the Holy Virgin. Touched to the heart, she said: 

“Mother of Mercy, although sinners are greatly displeasing to thy Son, yet He would be unable to turn them away if they approached Him in sincere contrition. Let not my entry into salvation be barred with my entry into this noble house of the Lord. If thou wilt agree to be my Advocate, I swear to thee before all that is holy in Heaven that from this present moment I shall bid a firm farewell to my past sins and henceforth the world will be as nothing to me.” Once she had uttered these words she experienced no difficulty in entering the Church and God alone could see the secret movements of her troubled heart and what tears she shed in the presence of the Holy Cross, adorable sign of our Redemption.

Amidst sighs and tears of contrition she made a general confession of the wretched sins she had committed in her life and, once delivered of this terrible burden, she went to a Church near the river Jordan where she received Holy Communion. It was then that the wound in her heart re-opened and what she said to the MOTHER OF GOD is scarcely credible : 

“Mother of kindness most tender,” she said, “thou art now committed to help me since by thy grace thou hast stood surety for me. I truly desire never to break the promise I have made to thee but with all the bad habits I have acquired what hope can I place in a heart such as mine without thy continual help and support? Apart from this, do with me what thou wilt, send me wherever it pleaseth thee, for after God I wish for no other guardian than thee. I must trust in thee for the fruits of my happiness since thou hast this day set things in motion.

Transported in an ecstasy of love and trust, she now seemed to breathe the air of Heaven. She crossed over the Jordan and, without really knowing where she was going, she she journeyed deep into the wilderness where she led a life of extreme penance for the space of forty-seven years.The temptations that assailed her for so long can scarcely be imagined but amidst these trials her Advocate was always in her heart and in her mind. She would implore her help unceasingly with words so ardent and full of trust that they could have split the very rocks of the desert. She received such strength and courage that she won a glorious victory over all her foes and, despite all the efforts of hell, her life came to an end in a way that the most innocent of souls might have wished for. She revealed all this to the blessed Abbot Zosima who, as a result of divine inspiration, had taken the sacred Viaticum to her. The account eventually came into the hands of the Patriarch Sophronius who included it in The Spiritual Meadow. It was later read out at the second Council of Nicaea.

© 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.