Sunday, 1 February 2026

Part IV : How to give thanks to the Mother of God : Chapter 8 : § 5.1-3

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’Triple Crown of the Mother of God (1643 French edition).

Notre Dame des Grâces, Cotignac (Poggi, 2020)
§ 5. Fifth sign of honour : visiting sites particularly dedicated to her

 1   From the beginning of history, God has chosen certain places where he willed to be honoured in a most special way. No one should find anything wrong in this because He is Master of places as well as of times and seasons; and it is our duty to prepare ourselves to receive His graces where and how it pleases Him to distribute them. By way of imitation, the Holy Virgin also has her chosen places which she finds most pleasing and where the majesty of her who presides there makes itself known through various wonders. There is in fact no spot in the world, however secret or remote, from which she cannot hear the prayers addressed to her and the voices of her faithful servants. It is nevertheless her wish that they should honour her own sites which are specially dear to her, if only because she has chosen such places (at least in the majority of cases) to honour the services and memory of some of her dearest children. Without doing further research, many people have been happy to learn how pleased she is to be served in such and such a locality, resolving to go and pay their respects, offering their hearts in these places where her own heart returns their gifts with interest. Thanks be to God, there is no country under the Sun which the MOTHER OF GOD does not look upon with her generous gaze and where her graces are not plentifully available, even though not all places are equally privileged. I have provided ample evidence elsewhere[1] that our Mother does not consider any area as a foreign country to her and that she has left signs of her goodwill and generosity everywhere. I could in fact speak further of the way people vie with one another in their affection for her if we did not already have daily proof of this before our eyes. It is enough for us to console each other and to glorify God when we see the crowds flocking every day to the Oratories and places that the Queen of Heaven has specially chosen. The greatest would set an example for the least, with the latter learning from this to be just as rich in the goodwill offered and received as the former; and they vie with each other in magnifying the honour of the MOTHER OF GOD. You have only to read the histories written about Loreto, Montserrat, Le Puy, Chartres and Montaigu to learn of the pilgrimages made by Popes, Cardinals, Prelates, Emperors, Kings, Princes and Lords of every condition; and to count their gifts, votive paintings and other marks of devotion such as these. In fact we do not need to have resort to histories since these are things which we can see for ourselves and which most of us have seen and contemplated at these places.

Footnotes
[1] Part I, ch. 12.

 2   It might still be considered a small matter that the Holy Virgin should be revered like this at these most extraordinary locations if she had not made it so easy for us to go and present our prayers and petitions to her. In fact, it can truthfully be said that there is scarcely any town or city in Christendom where she does not have a sanctuary and where the crowds flocking there do not bear witness to the presence of the Queen of Heaven. I have been fascinated to note this wherever I have found myself but especially in this noble city of Avignon where there are many devout souls who would not miss for anything in the world their daily visits to the famous Church of Notre Dame, which we have numbered amongst the places which are most dear to the MOTHER OF GOD. I have seen on more than one occasion venerable gentlemen of distinction in the depths of the harshest winter, when the roads and paths are very difficult because of the sheets of ice everywhere, climbing on all fours up the rock of Notre Dame in view of all the world, so as not to fail in their devout resolve of going every day to pray before the Queen of Angels in her palace. Be of good heart, all ye souls, and take courage for she on high counts each and every one of your steps so as to grant a generous reward for these signs of your love. The day will come which will put an end to these journeys and your feet will come to rest on the holy mountain of the Lord. There you will be united inseparably with her whom you honoured here below according to your abilities, but while waiting for this happy day, be sure to employ in her service all the powers of your body and all the faculties of your soul, for such is the good pleasure of Him for whom and in whom you are to love and honour her.

 3   One day teaches lessons to another, says the Prophet David[1] and from time to time the minds of men enlightened by God conceive new devotions, just as they produce new works of art. Here is an example which has come to light in our own day and I have no doubt that it will prove very pleasing to the Queen of Heaven. A goodly number of Lords and Ladies may be found today who, from their practice of paying Court to a particular Prince or Princess here on earth, have raised their thoughts to a higher level and through a process of adaptation have learned to pay court to the Prince and Princess of Heaven. Thus, to speak only of the Holy Virgin, you will see them every morning visiting one of her Churches as though they were entering her palace in order to do her reverence[2] and discharge the duties they have to her : offering her honour, recognition and service[3], which the Lords and Ladies of the Court customarily render to the Excellencies and Majesties of this world. This practice is not lacking in Scriptural support for there we frequently read that God treats men in the same way they use in their dealings with each other and that he demands of them service and honour just like they offer to one another. When we finally come to breathe the air of Heaven we shall change our way of doing things; for the present, however, it is enough for us to know that these our services are not disdained in Heaven but on the contrary they are welcomed with open arms and an eternal reward will be prepared for them. 

Footnotes
[1] Day to day uttereth speech, and night to night sheweth knowledge: Ps. XVII. 3.
[2] to do (also †make) reverence (to): to show deep respect or veneration for; (in early use esp.) to make a gesture indicative of this. [OED P.1.a.]
[3] Feudal allegiance, fealty; profession of allegiance, homage.

[End of Chapter 8]

© Peter Bloor 2026  

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The Virgin of Tenderness. >12th century.
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 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.