Part IV : How to give thanks to the Mother of God : Chapter 9 : § 5.6-17

Chapter 9 : Devotion – an eighth 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)

§ 5. Fifth sign of devotion : a growing desire for frequent recitation of the Rosary

How to say the Rosary

 6   Let us now move on to consider this devotion in practice. There are three sorts of prayers : some are purely mental, others entirely vocal, and a third group which may be called mixed. In the same way, there are three sorts of attention : the first is attention to the words – speaking them clearly and distinctly in order to honour God with them in accordance with the Church’s intention; the second is to the meaning of the words ; and the third is to God, by any form of consideration or sentiment that might unite us to him spiritually. From this we can see that since the Rosary is a mixed prayer it receives each of these various types of attention and accordingly there are countless ways of reciting it. Of these, I am going to deal with four main ways here.  

 7   The first way is through the words. This is the most simple way of all and one which is suited to persons with little learning, who are not readily capable of reflection or whose mental and imaginative faculties are simple and basic. For these people it is enough to know that this form of prayer was instituted to honour the most sacred Virgin and for them to recall to mind the mysteries of her life and her death, to place themselves humbly in God’s presence with a bodily posture which is right and fitting, and to pronounce the words clearly – by this means seeking to glorify God and His Holy Mother.

 8   The second way involves considering the meaning of the words. Those who understand them will be able to raise their minds and hearts to God, entering into a reflection on the mysteries hidden behind them, allowing holy sentiments to permeate their reflection in response to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. This was the method recommended by the Navarrese Doctor[1] who rated this more highly than the arcane thoughts of those who seek to soar to a higher level.

Footnotes

[1] Miscell. III de Psalt. et Rosar. A reference to St Francis Xavier (1506-1552), born in the town of Xavier in the Kingdom of Navarre.

 9   The third way is through mysteries, understanding this word in a wide sense as including any thoughts that can stimulate the mind and heart whilst the mouth is pronouncing the words. This method can be quite varied as there are many different subjects to reflect upon in the MOTHER OF GOD. There are some who choose to meditate on the mysteries of her life which are nearly all interlinked with those in the Saviour’s life and are divided into three groups which everyone knows, namely the five Joyful mysteries, the five Sorrowful mysteries and the five Glorious mysteries. Some may choose only one of these to meditate on whilst they say the Rosary; others may choose one for each decade, or more whilst they find something to light upon. Everything will depend upon the will and the disposition of the person who is praying. 

Then again, there are others who prefer to reflect upon the exceptional virtues that the Virgin has left us by way of example. They make a selection from these according to their feelings or their ability to contemplate and admire them, whilst they run through a particular part of the Rosary. There are others still who choose to go beyond this and contemplate the great privileges and splendours of the MOTHER OF GOD. To this end, they make their own little compilation to offer as a bouquet to her whilst they recite a number of decades. The discussions we have had throughout this work on the great qualities of this incomparable Lady may be of use in this connection. There are various other subjects depending upon the particular inclinations people may have, but their prayer should always include love and affection so that the meditation will not be a sterile one, that it will not be too limited in spirit, and that it will not partake more of study than of prayer. I have had many dealings with a devoted servant of the Virgin whose only thought whilst praying his Rosary was this: Jesus, Son of Mary; Mary, Mother of Jesus. 

 10   The fourth way is through feelings of love. This way has as many varieties as the others because of the great multitude of feelings that can be brought into play. Some may choose several at once but others may prefer to focus mainly upon one, since people’s minds, feelings and preferences are all different.

 11   I shall give the place of honour to the method of devotion that the Navarrese Doctor left us (in the same place that I cited earlier) and that he was still practising, as he tells us, at the time of writing when he was seventy-one years old. We shall call it the feeling of blessing. At the conclusion of each decade, as though to refresh his spirit, he would speak to the Virgin as follows: 

After the first decade: “Blessed be thou ten thousand times, O glorious Virgin, by the Angels, Archangels, Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Dominations, Thrones, Cherubim and Seraphim, in the company of whom we hope one day to see thee and to bless thee in Heaven!”

After the second: “Blessed be thou twenty thousand times, O glorious Virgin, by the Patriarchs, Prophets and all the Fathers of the Old Testament, in the company of whom we hope one day to see thee and to bless thee in Heaven!”

After the third: “Blessed be thou thirty thousand times, O glorious Virgin, by the Holy Apostles and the Holy Martyrs!”

After the fourth: Forty thousand times, by the Holy Confessors.

After the fifth: Fifty thousand times, by the Holy Virgins,

 

– each time following the form and manner first described.

 

 12   The second feeling is one of grateful rejoicing, after the following manner:

“I rejoice with thee, most dear and gentle Mother, in gratitude for the favour thou didst receive when the Eternal Father chose thee for His Daughter, the Son for His Mother and the Holy Spirit for His Spouse ; and I give thanks with all my heart to these most noble and adorable divine persons for the love which they bore thee and the graces they showered upon thee.” 

After the next decade, another privilege or mystery is chosen and the prayer of grateful rejoicing is repeated for the wonders that God operated in her and through her, and so on with the remaining decades. 

 13   The third feeling is one of adoration and readers are referred to what has already been said above concerning interior adoration so as to avoid the need for repetition here. Some will choose to add after each Ave Maria an act of external adoration, such as genuflecting, bowing the head or something similar.

 14   The fourth feeling is one of desire, a desire setting the heart on fire to see her honoured and served by the faithful, by infidels, by heretics and generally by all those who are capable of offering service and honour to her. To this feeling may be linked the offer made to her of all the honour and all the service rendered unto her in Heaven which she has received from the beginning of the world and which she will receive until the end.

 15   We could say as much about love, contrition and various other ways of presenting requests according to the ways in which different people feel helped by these various feelings. 

I shall conclude this discussion with three pieces of advice. The first is that there are some people who, in order to recite this prayer more devoutly and more effectively, begin it with the words of David[1] which the Church uses at the beginning of the divine Office : Domine labia mea aperies, etc. ; or by the following : Dignare me laudare te, Virgo sacrata ; da mihi virtutem con-tra hostes tuos[2].

Footnotes

[1] O Lord, thou wilt open my lips: Ps. L. 17.

[2] V. Allow me to praise thee, holy Virgin. R. Give me strength against thy enemies.

 16   The second piece of advice will help us in this prayer to gather our breath and focus on our devotion whilst hearing others blessing God with us. In imitation of Isaiah’s Seraphim, says Saint John Damascene (in his treatise on the Trisagion[1]), the Church instituted the custom of singing the Psalter alternately in choir. In the same way, the Psalter of the Virgin can with benefit be recited by two or more groups, divided for the same reasons.

Footnotes

[1] Trisagion (trís thrice, 'ágios, holy), a hymn in the Roman Liturgy which is sung during the Improperia, or “Reproaches” at the ceremony of the Adoration of the Cross, on Good Friday.  

 

 17   The third piece of advice is for any people who might claim their lives are too busy for this devotion : they need to know that the Rosary prayer can be divided, so that they do not have to say all five decades one after the other in a single session. This means that if people say only one decade each day, then at least by the end of the week they will have said more than one third of the full Rosary or the prayer known as the Franciscan Crown (which I will be covering next). Holy Church supplied this idea since, in acknowledgment of our limitations and infirmities, she divided the divine Office into seven stations which she requires her ministers to recite every day.

 

© Peter Bloor 2026 

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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.