Chapter 4 : Love – a third feature of the gratitude we owe 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).
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| Notre Dame des Grâces, Cotignac (Poggi, 2020) |
§ 6. The sixth sign of love: loving for love of Mary all those who belong to her, whether through family, marriage, or election ; wherein special mention is made of St Joachim, St Anne and St Joseph
Their nobility
5 They were great in their nobility since both shared David’s Royal Blood and consequently they were descendants from from the race of the Patriarchs and Prophets whom God had honoured so greatly. This was taught by St Justin Martyr[1], Tertullian[2], St Ambrose[3], St Jerome[4], St Andrew of Candia[5], St Hilary[6] and many others[7]. Were their testimony to be lacking, the evidence from Sacred Scripture showing that the Saviour was to descend from the seed of David[8] cannot be questioned. This would be difficult to confirm had the holy Virgin not herself been born from David’s descendants, for it would have availed little for St Joseph her spouse to be son of David if she herself had not also been his descendant in her own capacity. Since the Saviour received nothing from St Joseph, it would not be possible to say that simply by reason of His reputed father He was a true son of David according to the flesh, as St Paul the Apostle says[8]. Accordingly, this should be beyond dispute, especially on the side of St Joachim. As far as St Anne is concerned, I know that St Hippolytus, St Germanus of Constantinople and Nicephorus taught that she was a descendant of the Priestly line. This enabled them to confirm what the majority of the Holy Fathers said about the Saviour being descended not only from the Kings of Judah but also from the High Priests, being someone in whom all the titles of nobility were to be found united and who was to be King and High Priest at the same time. St Ambrose, however, was persuaded by the force of the ancient tradition and took the opposite approach, maintaining that St Anne (no more nor less than St Elizabeth) was of the Royal House of David, at least on the paternal side. It is not in fact necessary for the Doctors whom we have cited to adopt these extreme positions in order to show Our Lord’s descent from the High Priests since it is sufficient to realise that the two lines have several times intermarried – as may be seen at various points in Scripture – and that the Priestly tribe enjoyed the privilege of intermarriage with members of other tribes.
Footnotes
[1] Apolog. 2 pro Christianis.
[2] Lib. Adversus Judæos, c. 9.
[3] Lib. II de Spiritu Sancto, c. 9.
[4] In c. 12 Isai.
[5] Orat. 2 de Dormit. B. Virg.
[6] Cap. in Matth.
[7] Apud Canis., lib. I de B. Virg., c. 4, et Christophorum a Castro, Historiæ Virginalis, c. 1, ubi specialiter id docet de S. Anna.
[8] Isai. xi ; Matth. xxii ; Marc. xii ; Lucæ x ; Joann. vii ; Rom. i ; etc.
[9] Rom. i. 3.
Their Piety
6 They were great in their piety and devotion. Blessed Andrew of Jerusalem declares[1] that St Anne used to storm Heaven with her prayers, her requests and her sacrifices. St Gregory of Nyssa[2] and St John Damascene[3] say that she followed the example of Anna (the mother of Samuel) and used to have recourse to the Temple, imploring the Divine Majesty not to deny the blessing of the law to her who had never contravened the law. St Epiphanius says as much[4] about St Joachim and states that the Blessed Virgin was included in his devotions which were united with those of the virtuous Saint Anne, his Spouse. St Germanus, Patriarch of Constantinople, observed[5] that it might be said prayer and requests produced Our Lady rather than St Joachim and St Anne, her parents. More than two hundred years ago, the devout Doctor Gerson preached a sermon in the Church of St Germain in Paris on the day of the of the glorious Virgin’s Conception. In his sermon, he said that God had been searching amongst His creatures for a man and a woman worthy of being the father and mother of her who was to be honoured with bearing His only-begotten Son. When He heard the prayers offered up to Him by St Joachim and St Anne, He could only find good things to say, highly praising the virtue of each of them. The majority of the Holy Fathers say the same thing. St Jerome[6] , however, along with Symeon Metaphrastes[7] and Nicephorus[8], relate the following story:
St Joachim and St Anne Had been together for more than twenty years without any issue, as the result of the barrenness of St Anne. This caused them so much sorrow that not a day passed when they did not offer prayers up to God along with their tears, asking they might have a child who would wipe away the shame they felt because of this stain on their reputation. There was, however, nothing that brought greater affliction to their hearts than the distress caused by the High Priest Issachar when, in accordance with custom, they went up to Jerusalem for one of the great feasts of the year. He reproached them in public for their boldness in appearing with the mark of God’s curse amongst other people. They were so affected by his words that, not knowing where to go for consolation, they opened their hearts with great trust to God, promising to consecrate to Him any offspring He might grant them, praying He would remove from them their public shame. No longer daring to show their faces to others, they withdrew from the world: St Joachim went into the hills where his shepherds kept watch over their sheep and St Anne went into her garden, so as to devote herself to prayer with greater freedom and calmness. Towards the beginning of December, an Angel from Heaven came to visit each one of them individually and communicated a promise on behalf of God that He would give them a daughter called Mary. She would not only be the cause of great joy for them but also of happiness for the whole world since she was to be the Mother of the promised Messiah. To confirm the truth of his message, he told each of them that they would leave their respective retreats early in the morning and would encounter each other on the road ; and this came to pass exactly as he had foretold.
Footnotes
[1] Orat. de Dormit. B. Virg.
[2] Orat. in Natalem Domini.
[3] Lib. IV de Fide, c. 15.
[4] Hæresi 78.
[5] Orat. de Nativit. Virg.
[6] Orat. de Ortu B. Virg.
[7] Hist. de Vita et Dormit. B. Virg.
[8] Lib. I Hist. Eccles., c. 7.
Their abstinence and mortification
7 They were great in their abstinence and in mortification. If St Paul[1] could say in truth that he yielded in nothing to the great Apostles, not even to those marked out in some way higher than the others, it seems to me that I can say Joachim and Anna owe nothing to the great Patriarchs and Prophets, for they have equalled the most heroic of their actions. St Germanus of Constantinople writes of them[2] that they fasted for a full forty days just like Moses and Elias. Their fasting was accompanied by continual floods of tears, say St Gregory of Nyssa[3], St Andrew of Candia[4] and other writers; these tears served as food and drink for them just as they had once done for the Royal Prophet David[5]. I think this is the reason why St John Damascene called them a pair of turtle doves endowed with reason; for just as these creatures spend a part of their lives in solitude, keening almost continually whilst perched in the saddest and most withered trees they can find, in the same way Joachim and Anna led a life in the rigours of their retreat more like penitential hermits than ordinary people of the world. Could this be the reason why the devout-hearted St Bonaventure called the Holy Virgin a green willow? Did he not wish to indicate how just as the willow never grows better then when planted by a stream, so this holy Maiden came into the world having been watered for a long time by a stream of tears from St Joachim and St Anne? Blessed is the fruit conceived after so many holy and divine exercises!
Footnotes
[1] For I suppose that I have done nothing less than the great apostles. 2 Cor. xi. v.
[2] Orat. de Præsent. B. Virg.
[3] Loc. cit.
[4] Orat. de Nativit.
[5] My tears have been my bread day and night. Psal. XLI. 4.
© Peter Bloor 2025
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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.
The Virgin of Tenderness. >12th century.
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.
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