Part IV : How to give thanks to the Mother of God : Chapter 9 : § 9.7-11

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)

§ 9. Ninth sign of devotion : getting to know Holy Church’s various prayers in honour of the glorious Virgin

Gaude Flore Virginali

 7   The Hymn Gaude Flore Virginali[1] was composed by St Thomas of Canterbury.

Footnotes

[1] Believed to comprise originally seven stanzas of rhyming verse representing seven joyful contemplations of Mary.

Magnificat

 8   I do not intend to cover here the sacred Canticle of the MOTHER OF GOD which we call the Magnificat since it is clearly evident that it must surpass other Hymns and Canticles just as much as she who uttered it surpasses all others inspired by God. 

 9   In view of the close connection that the Psalms have with Hymns, I will include here the beautiful devotion of Blessed Jordan, the Superior General of the Dominican Order, who in honour of the five letters in the name Maria, used to recite every five days the following five Psalms or Canticles: Magnificat, Ad te levavi oculos meos[1], Retribue servo tuo[2], In convertendo[3], Ad te levavi animam meam[4].

Footnotes

[1] To thee have I lifted up my eyes : Ps. CXXII.

[2] Give bountifully to thy servant : Ps. CXVIII. 17.

[3] When the Lord brought back the captivity of Sion : Ps. CXXV.

[4] To thee, O Lord, have I lifted up my soul : Ps. XXIV.

Regina Cœli

 10   Amongst the Antiphons, the Regina Cœli is particularly distinguished for its excellence, having been composed in Heaven, dictated to Angels and sent down to earth in such a remarkable set of circumstances, as I have already mentioned elsewhere[1]. 

Footnotes

[1]  Part II, ch. 7, § 3

Salve Regina

 11   Contrary to the opinion of some, the Salve Regina was composed by a great devotee of the Blessed Virgin known as Hermann Contractus, this being the view of the best authorities[1]. He wrote it around the year 1040 and it was so pleasing to her that she enabled the devotion to spread in only a short time through the whole of Germany and France. Later around the year 1227 Pope Gregory IX decreed that it was to be sung throughout the Church after certain Hours in the Divine Office and at certain times in the year, a practice which continues to this day. The learned Navarrese Doctor[2]  wrote that at one time people could hear Angels who came to sing it every Saturday in Roncevaux near a fountain which is called, for this reason, the fountain of the Angels. He adds that it is called the Mariners’ Antiphon because it is in their hearts and on their lips whenever they are threatened with shipwreck. The pious Bosius[3]  goes further and says that there is scarcely any good Christian who does not offer up this prayer every day in honour of the glorious Virgin. Any readers curious to read about the way numerous people benefited by miracles in connection with this holy Antiphon need only look to the authors cited elsewhere[4].

St Bernard had a particular devotion to this Antiphon and when the Canons of the noble Cathedral of Spires[5] discovered this, they invited him to come and see their Church. When the Saint arrived there accompanied by a crowd of people who seemed to follow him almost everywhere, he was greeted with a Salve Regina. The singing was superb and the Saint genuflected three times when they sang those beautiful and touching words: O clemens, o pia, o dulcis Virgo Maria[6]. In memory of this, you can still see today in Spires the place where he genuflected which is marked by three copper plates inscribed with these same words.

The Seraphic St Francis, according to St Bonaventure, attested even after his death to his affection for this devout prayer. He had received an appeal from a woman in Arezzo (in Tuscany) who had already been seven days in labour but without managing to deliver her baby. He appeared to her when she was asleep and asked her if she knew him and if she knew how to say the Salve Regina. When she said that she did, he told her to say the prayer, promising her that she would no sooner have completed it than she would have given birth without any pain. She began to recite the prayer and as soon as she came to these words Et Jesum benedictum fructum ventris tui[7], she gave birth to a beautiful little baby and was restored to her full health and vigour.  

Footnotes

[1] Trithemius, de Viris illustribus O. S. B., lib. II, c. 48.

[2] Manuali de Orat., c. 19, nº 148.

[3] Probably a reference to Blosius : François-Louis de Blois (1506–1566).

[4] S. Anton., p. III, tit. XXIII, c. 3 ; Speculum exemplorum, dist. 7, exempl. 42, 43, 44 ; Thomas Cantiprat., lib. X Apum, etc.

[5] Old name in English for Speyer in Germany.

[6] O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary. 

[7] the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

© 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.