Part IV : How to give thanks to the Mother of God : Chapter 8 : § 4.1-2

Chapter 8 : Honour – a seventh 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).

Notre Dame des Grâces, Cotignac (Poggi, 2020)

§ 4. Fourth sign of honour : building Churches and Oratories for her

 1   The honour redounding to God from the construction of Churches can easily be ranked amongst the highest that He receives from us. For whenever a Church is consecrated to Him, He comes down to take possession and immediately makes evident His fidelity by listening to those who go there to have recourse unto Him. Although it is true that He does not always make His entrance with so much pomp and magnificence as He did when the Temple of Solomon was dedicated[1], nevertheless it is for us beyond question that He comes with an abundance of divine virtue so much the greater since the Christian Churches are more noble than that Temple of old with its ceremonies which were destined to serve as mere prefigurements of our holy mysteries. This is what makes me say that it is a work of great merit to construct Churches for God, since it obliges Him to come down on earth in a particular manner and it offers Him the means of revealing His greatness and being generous with His goods. It provides an opportunity for millions of people to obtain salvation through the exercise of all sorts of virtues. It is to increase and multiply the sanctuaries of God and the places where He may come in person to be with us. In a certain sense, it is to make Heaven come down to earth – or rather to construct on earth miniature Heavens, where truly celestial actions may be performed by day and by night, at all times and in every season, where God is blessed, adored and glorified unceasingly, where forgiveness is given for sins, where souls are revivified for eternal salvation, where their right to a Heavenly inheritance is made real, where Kings and lawful ministers of the holy Altar are anointed and consecrated, and where vows are taken ; in short, where we see put into practice all the most divine actions of which the human spirit is capable on this mortal pilgrimage.

Footnotes

[1] 1 Kings viii and 2 Chronicles v-vii.

 2   The same may be said (in a proportionate manner) of the Churches dedicated to the Saints and especially to her who is the Queen of Saints. Besides the exceptional joy the Saints experience in the honour God receives from the Churches which are dedicated to them; besides the satisfaction they feel on seeing the salvation and spiritual progress of men, they personally derive from this tribute great glory, and in short, everything that they can hope for from persons of our condition. This is what makes me believe that the MOTHER OF GOD is deeply moved by the generosity of those who choose to employ the resources they have received from Heaven in such a holy and honourable way. Since we read frequently in Scripture that God built houses for those who rendered Him some outstanding service, meaning that he helped to establish their families and blessed their posterity, what then must they hope for who have provided an abode for the Holy Virgin in palaces and temples, if not that her reward will be to build for them an eternal palace in Heaven, that she will fulfil their hopes, that she will guide their plans, and that she will fill them with every sort of happiness? 

It would give me great pleasure to talk about this at greater length but I must be content with what was said at the end of Part I where we visited the most famous of the Churches built in her honour across the whole world. The people we mentioned there who generously applied themselves to these projects are the same whom we saw in the subsequent Parts prospering in every way – to the glory of God and the honour of her whose generosity has never been equalled. 

Footnotes

[1] O God, Who didst deign to choose the virginal chamber of blessed Mary wherein Thou wouldst dwell: grant, we beseech Thee that, strengthened by her defence, we may assist with joy at her feast: 

[2] 8 x 35 = 280. “The duration of pregnancy is considered to be 280 days on average” : Physiology, Pregnancy by Pascual & Langaker (NIH:National Library of Medicine, 2023).

© Peter Bloor 2026  

👑   👑   👑

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. 

Part IV : How to give thanks to the Mother of God : Chapter 8 : § 3.24-25

Chapter 8 : Honour – a seventh 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).

Notre Dame des Grâces, Cotignac (Poggi, 2020)

§ 3. Third sign of honour : celebrating her feasts religiously 

Communion and Almsgiving

 24   To these religious practices should be added partaking of the holy mysteries. As the MOTHER OF GOD said one day to a beautiful soul, we should not hope to render her a more pleasing service than by offering her dear Son to her. We should also add charity towards the needy, since if we receive spiritual goods in abundance, then how reasonable it is to distribute the goods of this world.

A noteworthy form of preparation 

 25   It is important, however not to emit that which is most important : we should have a keen awareness that there is nothing that can compare with a diligent and continual preparation for the space of several days, with acts of contrition, mortification, desire, Religion, Faith, Hope, Charity and other excellent virtues such as these. We should always consider it as axiomatic that less preparation means less grace received, and God reserves his privileged favours for those most highly disposed to receive them. When noble souls see one of her great feasts drawing near, they make a conscious effort to prepare themselves in their hearts to advance spiritually. As a result, they redouble their devotions and bring to bear all the credit they have in Heaven. There are many who offer her a bouquet made up of an assortment of prayers, acts of penance and similar virtues – just like so many different flowers.

In the year 1621, one of the Jesuit priests who was living in China noticed that it is a common custom amongst the Chinese to send gifts to women who are about to give birth, which they call complimentary presents to a new mother. He decided to make use of this custom and this is what he proceeded to do. When the feast of Christmas started to draw near, he suggested in his sermons that people should apply this custom to her who was to become the Mother of the King of Heaven, offering her as a present a certain number of fasts, prayers and other good works. This proved so popular that ever since they have never failed to do this before the Nativity of the Saviour and that of His Holy Mother.

St Gertrude was once present at Holy Mass on the vigil of the Assumption and when the priest was reciting the words of the Collect: Deus qui virginalem aulam[1], as soon as he came to the words: Ut sua nos defensione munitos, jucundos faciat sua interesse festivitati, she saw the Holy Virgin wearing her great Imperial mantle. Arrayed beneath the mantle and protected by Angels, were numerous maidens of great comeliness, and she noticed how tenderly the Blessed Virgin was treating them. She learned that these were the souls of those who had spared no effort in preparing themselves carefully so as to celebrate this feast of hers more worthily. She learned at the same time that they had been granted by the Holy Virgin a higher degree of protection than previously; that she had given them a greater share than everyone else in her sweet graces and consolations; and finally she learned that they had been committed in a special way to the guardianship of the Blessed Spirits so as to be kept safe from their enemies.

When the same St Gertrude spoke to the MOTHER OF GOD on the feast of her Annunciation, asking her what would be most pleasing to her and what service she could offer her on this great day, the Virgin replied as follows: 

“If throughout the Octave thou recitest every day thirty five Ave Marias to honour and complete the number of days[2] that my beloved Son was in my womb, then know thou that I shall not cherish this any less in my heart than if thou hadst rendered me every sort of service from the day I conceived until that on which I gave birth to Him. Because if in return for this I would not be able to refuse thee anything at that point in my life, much less can I refuse thee anything now that I have more means to oblige those who make an effort to please me.”

What was said concerning the day of the Nativity of the Holy Virgin differs only in one respect, namely that anyone who, in honour of the days that she herself was in the womb of her dear mother, recites each day of the Octave the same number of Ave Marias as above, will be rewarded by his holy Mother sharing with him in a most special way all the joys that filled her heart here on earth and also all the happiness with which she is now infused by God. Is there anyone so insensitive as not to be moved in some way by the magnificence of these promises nor captivated by such boundless charity?

Footnotes

[1] O God, Who didst deign to choose the virginal chamber of blessed Mary wherein Thou wouldst dwell: grant, we beseech Thee that, strengthened by her defence, we may assist with joy at her feast: 

[2] 8 x 35 = 280. “The duration of pregnancy is considered to be 280 days on average” : Physiology, Pregnancy by Pascual & Langaker (NIH:National Library of Medicine, 2023).

© Peter Bloor 2026  

👑   👑   👑

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. 

Part IV : How to give thanks to the Mother of God : Chapter 8 : § 3.19-23

Chapter 8 : Honour – a seventh 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).

Notre Dame des Grâces, Cotignac (Poggi, 2020)

§ 3. Third sign of honour : celebrating her feasts religiously 

 19   I should point out moreover that since we are true children of the heavenly Jerusalem, having a right through divine adoption and through the grace of regeneration to the joys and happiness of the Royal House from which we issue, we should accordingly rouse our hearts and show in the way we celebrate our own feasts that we share in the heavenly rejoicing after the manner in which the celebrations are observed on high. St John in his Apocalypse[1] was invited to be present in the spirit at the miracles which accompanied the solemnity of the opening by the Lamb of the book sealed with seven seals and the triumphant celebrations which followed. He saw the four and twenty ancients and the four living creatures, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours (which are the prayers of saints) fall down on their faces singing praises of the Lamb. He heard the voices of the glorious spirits and the number of them was thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice: The Lamb that was slain is worthy to receive power, and divinity, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and benediction. He heard every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, singing the same song with a different air and proclaiming with a new cadence a thousand blessings to the Lamb, seated on the throne of the living God. 

I believe this gives us a true idea for our feasts and is the perfect model for what they should include: Prayer, Rejoicing, Thanksgiving and Glorification. 

 

Footnotes

[1] Chap. v

Prayer

 20   I have mentioned Prayer which is represented by the odours which St John saw rising continually to the throne of God and covering the entire Holy City with their pleasing fragrance. Reason requires that we should on our feast days dedicate a special time to contemplating their mysteries that the Church is putting before us and our hearts should be filled with holy feelings. Fr Francisco Suarez is someone no less known in heaven for his outstanding virtues than on earth for his extensive knowledge and he would never say Mass on the feast days Of the Holy Virgin without having previously spent at least two good hours meditating on her great qualities. In fact all those with a heartfelt love for this Princess try on such occasions to contemplate and savour her sweet mysteries and to hold colloquy with her as long as they can

Rejoicing

 21   We learn from Holy Scripture that just as Samson found honey in the mouth of the Lion[1], so shall we find sweetness and joy in prayer which is represented by a lion because of its great power. This is what we encounter when we speak in our prayers of the great qualities of the Empress of Heaven. It is as though the soul attains a state where it is flooded with sweet feelings of rejoicing occasioned by thinking on the excellent qualities of her who is uniquely cherished. There, a man’s spirit is as though transported with delight and shares the joy of seeing her elevation; there, he finds contentment, there he achieves satisfaction, there he loses himself, there he confesses that he desires nothing more since he sees the object of his love transformed in God. The effects of this joy are truly so great in some people that their hearts would suffer from extremes of desire and languor if God did not intervene to fortify or mitigate these feelings.

Footnotes

[1] Judges xiv.

Thanksgiving

 22   From these considerations and from this Rejoicing spring lively feelings of gratitude which prompt the soul thus affected to offer acts of thanksgiving to the most adorable Trinity for having raised the Holy Virgin to such high honour and especially for having granted the favours which are associated with the particular feast in question. The thanksgiving is offered most especially to the King of glory, her beloved Son :  for whom, through whom and in whom she received so many favours from Heaven. Finally, the thanksgiving is offered to the Holy Virgin herself, forasmuch as her feasts always contain a reminder of some signal obligation we have towards her.

Glorification

 23   Finally, all this happiness culminates in blessings and acts of glorification for which man realises his soul is ill-equipped to supply and so he seeks help from everywhere he can. He prays in aid all in Heaven and on earth to adore the Father of lights, from whom comes down every perfect gift[1]; he calls upon them to sing and proclaim His magnificence and make Him known to all His creatures. He does as much to bless and glorify proportionately her whom God has raised in unimaginable ways; he speaks to her of the wonderful things his love reveals to him and in his heart he wishes these tender colloquies might never end. 

Footnotes

[1] Every best gift, and every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights: James i. 17.

© Peter Bloor 2026  

👑   👑   👑

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. 

Part IV : How to give thanks to the Mother of God : Chapter 8 : § 3.16-18

Chapter 8 : Honour – a seventh 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).

Notre Dame des Grâces, Cotignac (Poggi, 2020)

§ 3. Third sign of honour : celebrating her feasts religiously 

Saturdays

 16   It would be most remiss of me if I did not include Saturdays among the feasts of the Holy Virgin, for the Church has religiously observed this day almost from the very beginning. The Church, being ruled by her Spouse the Holy Spirit, determined that it would be not be enough to honour the memory of His dear Mother and Teacher only once every year, as she does with other Saints. This is why, as a result of the obligations the Church has towards her, she consecrated one day every week to her. If anyone asks what the reasons were for choosing Saturday rather than some other day, here is what the Doctors have written.  

Firstly, in order to represent how between the Passion and the Resurrection of her Son (which may properly be said to have occurred on the Saturday), she alone retained a distinct and living faith in His Resurrection. This is still represented by the single candle that remains lit on the triangular candlestick[1] during the three days of Tenebræ in Holy Week. I refer to her distinct and living faith because in the estimation of many serious scholars, although the Apostles never lost their faith entirely, it was weakened and reduced. This first reason is one put forward by St Bernard[2], St Bonaventure[3], St Antoninus[4], the Bishop of Ávila[5], Guillaume Durand[6] and several others.

Secondly, in memory of the pain and distress which her sorrowful heart suffered following the death and absence of her Son who was the unique source of all her consolations. Thirdly, just as Saturday is the gate giving entrance to Sunday, which is the day of rest and the day of the Resurrection, in the same way she is the gate of Heaven through which we gain access to all our joy. Fourthly, so that through the feast day of the Mother we may enter immediately into that of her Son, which is the Lord’s Day or Sunday. 

The final reason they put forward is altogether mystical and is based upon the resemblance the Blessed Virgin has to the ancient Sabbath. I do not intend to cover this subject here since our aim is simply to provide a summary of practical ways to honour the MOTHER OF GOD in her feasts. Concerning the particular devotions for Saturdays and especially abstinence and other mortifications which the majority of the Virgins servants practise on this day, I shall be covering these in Chapter 10.

 

Footnotes

[1] The Tenebræ Hearse is the triangular candlestick used in the Tenebræ service. The name is derived, through the French herse, from the Latin herpex, which means a harrow, and is the same as that now used in connection with funeral processions. The funeral hearse was originally a wooden or metal framework provided with numerous prickets to hold burning tapers, and, owing to the resemblance of these prickets to the spikes or teeth of a harrow, it was called a hearse.

[2] Lib. de Passione Domini, c. 2.

[3] In III, dist. 3, art. 2, q. 3.

[4] IV p., tit. XV, c. 24.

[5] Præfatione in Matth.

[6] Præfatione in Matth.In Rationali divinorum Officiorum, lib. IV, c. 1.

 17   It is always with some regret that I interrupt the majesty of our celebrations with the fantastical ideas coming from the profane minds of those who have fallen away from the true worship of God and the purity of the true Religion. It is interesting to note how the schismatic Greeks, once they had cut themselves off from the unity of the Church and allowed themselves to fall into a thousand absurdities, nevertheless retained a very great respect for the feasts of the most sacred Virgin – even though they allowed their devotions to be affected by rabbinic fantasies and the grotesque ideas produced by their disordered minds.

According to their understanding, the heavens are supported by four columns[1]. The whole of nature is so bound up with the Holiness of our feasts that of these four columns, two bow for each of the feasts of the glorious Virgin, whilst the other two bow for the feasts of Our Lord. If it were ever to happen that a feast of the Son should fall on the same day as a feast of the Mother, they hold it as certain that the world would perish because the heavens would have no support while these four columns supporting it bowed at the same time. This explains what happened a few years ago when Easter Sunday fell on the 25th of March, when the Church celebrates the wondrous memory of the Angel Gabriel’s embassy[2] to the Blessed Virgin. They were so convinced in their minds that this would bring an end to everything that none of them had provisions for more than one day, so firm was their belief that they would have no need for any.  

If by these columns or pillars of the heavens are understood the Blessed Intelligences who support the world, according to the Prophet Job[3], I have no doubt at all that while the Church Militant fulfils its duty to honour the mysteries of the life of the Saviour and of His most Holy Mother, they also make acts of exceptional and deep reverence. But since it is not necessary for us to expend great effort in understanding what exactly they have in mind, I am inclined to leave these speculations to one side and to return to the practicalities we are considering.   

Footnotes

[1] See Form and meaning in Orthodox Architecture by Andrew Gould at New World Byzantine.

[2] Here used in the sense of a message sent or delivered by an ambassador. See OED 2.

[3] Job ix. 6, xxvi. 11 & xxxviii. 4-6.

 18   I have always believed that our solemnities should be marked by two different sorts of feelings.  The first are suitable for those who find themselves confined in a foreign land, chased out and banished from their beloved home country. They are like the poor Israelites who are simply represented by the Royal Prophet[1] as people seated by the rivers of Babylon with tears in their eyes, their arms folded, with their cithers and lutes hanging from the branches of the willows by the edge of the waters, talking to each other about the feasts and canticles of Holy Zion. In these words I can almost hear the bitter sighs of deep contrition and see the sorrowful acts of saving penance and mortification which the Church our dear Mother teaches us to practise, especially on the vigils of these feasts. These have from the very beginning occupied in a most holy manner the devoted servants of the Virgin, as I shall show later in our discussion of Mortification. 

Footnotes

[1] Ps. CXXXVI.

© Peter Bloor 2026

  

👑   👑   👑

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. 

Part IV : How to give thanks to the Mother of God : Chapter 8 : § 3.7-15

Chapter 8 : Honour – a seventh 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).

Notre Dame des Grâces, Cotignac (Poggi, 2020)

§ 3. Third sign of honour : celebrating her feasts religiously 

The Visitation

 7   According to St Antoninus[1], the feast of the Visitation was introduced  in the year 1385. It was instituted by Pope Urban VI and confirmed, or rather promulgated, by Boniface IX on the occasion of the schism which had rent the church since the death of Gregory XI until the installation of Martin V, as we learn from the Brief of Boniface IX. 

 

Footnotes

[1] IV p., tit. XV, c. 24, § 3.

Our Lady of the Snows 

 8   I spoke in Part I of this work[1] about the feast of Our Lady of the Snows when we were discussing the Church of the same name which is today known as St Mary Major. 

Footnotes

[1] Chap. 12, § 5.

The Espousals of the Blessed Virgin Mary 

 9   The Gallican Church commemorates the Espousals of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the 22nd of January following permission from Pope Paul III who approved the Office composed by Pierre Doré, of the Order of St Dominic, and gave authorization for it to be recited in the Church and for the feast to be observed.

St Mary and the Martyrs

 10   In Rome, the Feast of St Mary and the Martyrs is celebrated on the 13th of May[1] because it was on this day that the wretched band of false gods was vanquished from the city of Rome by Boniface IV when Phocas was Emperor. The Pantheon (or temple of all the gods), which is now called the Rotunda, was consecrated to the MOTHER OF GOD and all the Holy Martyrs. Later, Gregory IV caused the feast to be celebrated under the name of the MOTHER OF GOD and All Saints on the 1st of November.

Footnotes

[1] In Romano Martyrologio.

The Expectation of the Mother of God

 11   I spoke a little earlier about the feast of the Expectation of the Blessed Virgin Mary which is celebrated with devotion throughout Spain on the 18th of December and which some years ago was authorised by Pope Gregory XIII. It is also called the feast of Our Lady of O because that day sees the beginning of the antiphons so celebrated throughout the Church which all begin with O and which are sung for eight consecutive days before the feast of the Nativity of the Saviour.

Our Lady of the Guide

 12   In Constantinople a feast was observed with great solemnity on the 3rd day of Pentecost, that of Our Lady of the Guide (or the Conductress) in honour of the noble Church which was established by the Empress Pulcheria as we have already mentioned on several occasions previously[1].

Footnotes

[1] Part III, ch. 7 et Part IV, ch. 8.

Our Lady of the Angels

 13   On the 2nd of August, throughout the Order of St Francis they celebrate a feast with particular devotion called Our Lady of the Angels or the Portiuncula. This commemorates the exceptional favours that St Francis received from Heaven in that very Church and the indulgences that he obtained through the intercession of the most Holy Virgin for all those who would come to visit the Church of Our Lady of the Angels in the city of Assisi, as I mentioned in Part I[1].

Footnotes

[1] Chap. 12, § 5.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel

  

 14   On the 16th of July, the Carmelite Order celebrates with equal devotion the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

Our Lady of Victory; Our Lady of Sorrows; the Seven Joys of the Virgin Mary;

the Collection of all the Feasts of Our Lady. 

 15   On the 7th of October, the Universal Church offers thanksgiving to God for the wondrous victory gained against the Turk, as I have described elsewhere[1]. This feast is known by the name of Our Lady of Victory as may be seen in the Roman martyrology for this date. The 16th of April is the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows whilst on the 5th of July the feast of the Seven Joys of the Virgin Mary is observed. The Collection of all the Feasts of Our Lady is celebrated on the first of September[2]. There are in fact other feasts but I am not going to include any more here.

Footnotes

[1] Part III, ch. 7.

[2] Usuard., Martyrolog.

© Peter Bloor 2026 

👑   👑   👑

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. 

Part IV : How to give thanks to the Mother of God : Chapter 8 : § 3.4-6

Chapter 8 : Honour – a seventh 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).

Notre Dame des Grâces, Cotignac (Poggi, 2020)

§ 3. Third sign of honour : celebrating her feasts religiously 

The Purification

 4   The Feast of the Purification, was called by the Greeks Hypapante[1] or the Meeting and by the ancients the feast of Holy Simeon and Anna the Prophetess. It is later than both of the above but there is some disagreement about the exact date of its institution. Nicephorus[2], Theophanes[3] and St Augustine place it in the fifteenth year of Justinian which would be 543 A.D. Sigebert[4] places it at 542; Cedrenus puts it in the ninth year of Justinian the Elder which fell in the year 518 A.D. They all agree, however, in attributing its cause to a great epidemic which was brought to an end by the Mother of Mercy. It began to be observed first in the Latin Church and some authorities date it to the time of Pope Gelasius who lived more than 30 years before the Emperor Justinian. They say this saintly Pope took the opportunity of instituting this feast to counter the abuses which were committed throughout the month of February in the Lupercalia rites which had their roots in paganism. He replaced these rites with the saintly custom of honouring the mysteries of the encounter or presentation celebrated by the Church on the feast of the Purification. Pope Sergius[5], who was elevated to the Pontificate in 688, increased the splendour of this feast by introducing a procession with specially blessed candles, a custom which continues to this day. 

 

Footnotes

[1] From ὑπαπάντη, rendered in Latin by obviatio: meeting.

[2] Lib. XVII Hist., c. 28.

[3] In Miscellan., II p., Summ., tit. XII, § 5.

[4] n Chronico, eo anno.  Sigebert(1030-1112) was a writer and historia most celebrated work is the Chronicon sive Chronographia.

[5] Beda, lib. de Temporibus.

The Assumption

 5   The Assumption, which we can call the Queen of the Feasts of the MOTHER OF GOD, is very ancient as we learn from the sermon or epistle of Sophronius to St Paula and to St Eustochium her daughter, an epistle which we have cited several times before. The author lived in the time of St Jerome, as may easily be shown and several of the ancient authorities attribute this piece to him. When Nicephorus[1] wrote that the Emperor Maurice ordered this feast to be celebrated everywhere, this did not refer to the time when it was first instituted[2] but to an edict he published commanding it to be adopted and observed throughout the East in imitation of the Western Church. The Octave was added by order of Pope Leo IV[3] as an act of thanksgiving for the favour received from the MOTHER OF GOD when she delivered the Roman people from a terrible affliction[4] which had caused great damage in the city. I cannot omit to mention here the miracle recorded by the venerable Abbot of Cluny[5] who states that it was unquestionably accepted in his day that the candles which burned in the Church of Saint Mary Major in Rome from first Vespers of this solemnity until the end end of second Vespers, were found after twenty-four hours to be in the same state as when they were first lit. 

Footnotes

[1] Lib. XVII Hist., c. 28.

[2] Baron., in Notis Martyrologii, 15 Aug.

[3] Sigebertus, in Chronico, an. 847.

[4] Perhaps a reference to the Saracens’ raid on Rome in 846. 

[5] Petrus Clun. dictus Venerabilis, lib II de Miraculis, c. 30.

The Presentation

 6   Apart from her five principal feasts[1] there are others celebrated either throughout the Universal Church or in a particular Church, even though they might be celebrated with less pomp. The feast of the Presentation is very ancient in the Greek Church as appears from the writings left to us by St Germanus, Patriarch of Constantinople, George, Archbishop of Nicomedia and others; by the Menologion[2] of the Greeks[3] and by the Constitution of Emmanuel according to Theodore Balsamon[4]. It was already being celebrated in France in the year 1375 under King Charles V as may be seen in the Monastery of the Celestines of Metz Which was established in honour of this feast by Philip de Philippe de Mézières, Chancellor of the Kingdom of Cyprus. Pope Paul II added it to the Roman calendar in the year 1464 to appease the wrath of God and to bring an end to the misfortunes which were besetting the Church. He also offered indulgences[5] to the Christian people for the celebration of the feast, as his predecessor Pope Pius II had done. Later, Pope Pius V removed it from the calendar along with several other feasts but it was reintroduced through a Brief issued by Pope Sixtus V, demonstrating the antiquity of this feast in the Church of God. The learned Franciscus Turrianus (Francis de la Tour or Torres) was a Jesuit who played no small part in this. The most sacred Virgin took him from this world on the feast of the Presentation, as I mentioned elsewhere[6].

Footnotes

[1] Her Immaculate Conception, her Nativity, her Annunciation, her Purification et son Assumption. 

[2] A hagiographical collection of a type compiled in the Byzantine Empire from the 9th cent. onwards, in which the saints' lives, usually of substantial length and often interspersed with homilies or verses, are arranged in the order of the dates on which their subjects are commemorated.

[3] 21 Novemb.

[4] In Nomocanone Photii, tit. VII, c. 1.

[5] Molanus, in Martyrologio.

[6] Part III, ch. 13, § 3.

© Peter Bloor 2026 

👑   👑   👑

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. 

Part IV : How to give thanks to the Mother of God : Chapter 8 : § 3.1-3

Chapter 8 : Honour – a seventh 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).

Notre Dame des Grâces, Cotignac (Poggi, 2020)

§ 3. Third sign of honour : celebrating her feasts religiously 

 1   The feasts and magnificence in the heavenly Jerusalem are so prodigious that they make themselves heard on earth, but our rejoicing and celebrations here below are only faint echoes and feeble imitations of their splendour. It is no wonder that, out of all the feasts we celebrate throughout the year, those of the Holy Virgin occupy the first rank after the celebrities of her Son, since in Heaven there is no honour comparable to that which is rendered to her. It is in fact the case that, without prejudice to what is done there, the Church Militant under the guidance of the Holy Spirit has always shown a special reverence towards certain mysteries concerning the MOTHER OF GOD and has celebrated certain of her feasts with greater pomp and magnificence than others. These include her Immaculate Conception, her Nativity , the Annunciation, her Purification and her Assumption. These feasts have been kept since ancient times by the Church as I am about to demonstrate - although in the case of her Immaculate Conception I would refer readers to the ample coverage we gave this earlier[1].

 

Footnotes

[1] Part III, ch. 8, § 1.

Her Nativity

 2   With regard to the feast of her Nativity, its celebration began amidst extraordinary joy immediately after the Council of Ephesus where the wretched Nestorius was condemned and the Holy Virgin’s glorious title of MOTHER OF GOD was staunchly defended. This would be just after the year 436, according to what the learned Baronius[1] has written and from what may be found in the writings of St Germanus (Patriarch of Constantinople), St Andrew of Jerusalem, St John Damascene, St Fulbert (Bishop of Chartres), blessed Peter Damian, St Bernard and many others, as well as in the book on the Virginity of Our Lady written by St Ildephonsus some one thousand years ago. Vincent, Bishop of Beauvais[2], recounts how the date of the 8th of September was revealed to a devout Religious who every year used to hear on this day Angels singing harmonious chants and who was in the end told by one of them that they were honouring with their sweet melodies the Nativity of their Queen, something which had hitherto been unknown to men. Several credible writers[3] have declared that Pope Innocent IV honoured this day with an Octave following a favour the Church received through the Queen of Heaven’s mediation. Here is how this came about : after the death of Celestine IV, the Emperor Frederick II disrupted the sacred Consistory with his factious machinations in such a way that twenty-one months passed by without the naming of a successor. Accordingly, the Cardinals made a sacred vow to God that they would introduce this Octave if through the intercession of His Holy Mother they could peacefully provide a visible head to His Church. As a result of this, Innocent IV was elected and he made sure that the Cardinals’ promise was honoured.

Footnotes

[1] Notis ad Romanum Martyrologium, 3 Decemb.

[2] Lib. VI Specul. exempl., c. 65, et lib. VII, c. 119.

[3] Palatina, in Innoc. IV ; Ciacconius, in eodem ; Durandus, lib. VII Divin. Offic., c. 29 ; Arnoldus Wionus, lib. V Ligni Vitæ, c. 20, etc.

The Annunciation

 3   The feast of the Annunciation was observed in the Church for a long time before that of the Nativity. St Augustine[1] records an ancient tradition that it was celebrated on the 25th of March, the date also held to be that of the Saviour’s death. Apart from the writings of St Augustine, St Ambrose, St Peter Chrysologus and others, we also have three excellent sermons by St Gregory Thaumaturgus who predates them by nearly two hundred years. This feast was in fact celebrated on the 18th of December in several Churches , as we learn from the Council of Laodicea and from the Second Council of Toledo presided over by Eugenius, uncle of Saint Ildephonsus. The reason given by these Councils was that at the end of March the Church is normally focused on commemorating the Passion of her dear Spouse. Despite this, St Ildephonsus himself restored the feast to its ancient date and on the 18th of December the Church began to celebrate the coming Nativity of the Saviour, as I shall explain a little later.

Footnotes

[1] Lib. IV de Trin., c. 5.

 

© Peter Bloor 2026 

👑   👑   👑

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.