Chapter 11 : Imitation – tenth 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. On her lively faith and how it should be imitated by all
The Holy Virgin’s faith was most clear-sighted
2 I use the words most clear sighted forasmuch as before the promulgation of the law of love, before all the sermons of preachers, before the millions of miracles, before the witness of the Martyrs and countless other signs which serve today as bulwarks for our faith, she believed more firmly and more clearly than any other person the mystery of the most Holy Trinity, that of the Incarnation, of the glorification of her Son and the other mysteries of the faith. As St Bernard teaches[1],
She was the first of human creatures who had a clear and detailed understanding of the economy of our salvation.
This is what would have inspired the pious Archbishop of Toledo[2] to confer on her the title of she who is clear-sighted in the faith and St Gregory Thaumaturgus[3] to call her the repository of all the mysteries. Consider how Saint Gregory addresses her in the first Prayer he composed for the Annunciation:
Thou knowest, most Holy Virgin, things unknown to the Patriarchs: thou didst learn what hitherto had not been revealed even to the Angels; thou hast heard that which so many Prophets inspired of God never heard. Moses, David, Isaiah, Daniel and many others reached certain heights in the way they spoke of the mysteries of our salvation, it is true, but they were far from penetrating as you did the way in which these were to be fulfilled. In short, that which was hidden to all previous ages was revealed to thee; but in addition, it hath been a prerogative proper and personal to thee alone that the execution of the majority of these miracles would depend upon thee.
Footnotes
[1] Epist. 77.
[2] Ildefons., Serm. 4 de Assumpt.
[3] Orat. 2 de Annuntiat.
The Holy Virgin’s faith was most simple
3 Her faith was most simple insofar as it went far beyond all those considerations that might have been capable of shaking it or troubling it.
There was nothing in the world that could come near her humility, said St Bernard[1] and the Bishop of Ávila[2], and she had a lower opinion of herself than any other creature.
It was moreover a thing unheard of that a Virgin might conceive and the concept of MOTHER OF GOD exceeded anything which might have occurred to the human or angelic mind. This notwithstanding, she believed that she would be MOTHER OF GOD and remain a Virgin at the first word of the Angel after she had carefully considered it, without any hesitation or resistance. The first time she heard the invitation, she accepted the honour the most Holy Trinity was offering her and the way she gave her assent was so open and honest that (and here I am following St Augustine[3]) it was through her merit that Heaven was opened, which up until then had been closed off. We can truthfully say with St Anselm[4] that Mary’s faith was the door through which Jesus, our Redeemer, came into the world. We can put this even better by saying that this was the door through which there entered, along with with Jesus, countless wonders which could only be fulfilled in the most sacred Virgin. This is what her cousin Elizabeth meant when she told her[5]: Blessed art thou for having had faith in the word of the Angel, forasmuch as all that was spoken to thee by the Lord shall be fully accomplished in thee.
Footnotes
[1] Serm. in Signum magnum.
[2] Paradox. I, c. 30.
[3] Serm. 17 de Natali Domini : Fides Mariæ coelum aperuit cum Angelo nuntianti consensit.
[4] In c. 10 Luc.
[5] Blessed art thou that hast believed, because those things shall be accomplished that were spoken to thee by the Lord : Luke i. 45.
The Holy Virgin’s faith was most constant
4 Finally, her faith was most constant in that it never wavered in the face of any difficulty. The Virgin was the first to see God reduced to a tiny infant having need of her help. She saw Strength in weakness, Wisdom in an infant and Majesty in a baby. She saw the King of glory leading the life of a carpenter; she saw Him defenceless and with no help from His own, stretched out on a cross; she saw all that and much more but without losing faith, without letting it trouble her and without reacting badly. On the contrary, she saw wonders of greatness through these tribulations and never doubted that what had been revealed to her would be fulfilled to the last letter. She believed this not only privately in her heart but she made public profession of it at the foot of the Cross when fear of persecution had scattered the bravest and the most zealous Disciples and Apostles of the Saviour; and she did everything within her power to bring them back to the fold like poor sheep who had strayed.
5 Following the example of the MOTHER OF GOD, her dear children will apply themselves firstly to acquiring a living faith as the Apostle says[1], having clear sighted eyes of Faith. They will take pleasure in meditating on the mysteries of the faith and on immersing themselves as deeply as they can in this divine science, recalling that the Saviour of the world teaches in St John[2] that this is eternal life, namely man’s happiness which begins in this world and which will be brought to perfection in the next. They will also recall how St Paul[3], in consideration of this divine light, had no longer any regard for anything which had an appearance of sweetness, beauty or greatness in this world. They will say along with the Holy Apostles[4] Lord increase our faith,
especially when faith requires them to take a step forward which needs their understanding to be illuminated by a light which is beyond what is ordinary,
as St John Chrysostom elegantly puts it in his explanation of the title of Psalm 44, where David indicates that it is a Canticle which needs understanding.
Footnotes
[1] That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and of revelation, in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your heart enlightened, that you may know what the hope is of the glory of his inheritance in the saints. Eph. i. 17-18.
[2] Now this is eternal life: That they may know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. John xvii. 3.
[3] I count all things to be but loss for the excellent knowledge of Jesus Christ my Lord: Phil. iii. 8; For many walk . . . whose end is destruction; whose God is their belly; and whose glory is in their shame; who mind earthly things. But our conversation is in heaven : Phil. Iii. 18-20.
[4] Luke xvii. 5.
6 After this, they will strive with all possible simplicity in everything which concerns the faith but without wishing to understand that which goes beyond the reach of their minds, bowing rather in humility and allowing their own understanding to be brought into captivity[1] in order to honour the triumph of the faith. Let them be ever mindful of what the pious St Bernard[2] wrote :
There is nothing more unreasonable than wanting to attain by means of reason that which surpasses reason; and there is nothing more lacking in faith than the refusal to believe That which reason cannot of itself attain.
Let them reflect frequently upon the words of Saint Augustine[3]:
God would not be so exalted over us if He could do nothing that our minds could not conceive.
Let them appreciate how the only way of understanding the things of faith is to believe them with a perfect submission of their understanding, and that those truly humble and simple of heart discover wonders every day where the great minds of the world see nothing at all. In short, let them realise that they could not offer to God a more pleasing sacrifice than to lead their presumptuously curious judgement to the altar of His sovereign Majesty bound hand and foot like a sacrificial ram as a sin offering for contumacy, in order to render homage through this means to His infallible truth.
Footnotes
[1] For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty to God unto . . . bringing into captivity every understanding unto the obedience of Christ: II Cor x. 4-5.
[2] Epist. 190.
[3] Lib. II Civit. Dei, c. 7.
7 Finally, they will aim to base their faith so firmly on Jesus Christ as the unique foundation of right belief that nothing can shake it : not temptations, nor attacks, nor dreadful events, nor adversity, nor persecutions, nor all the efforts of enemies, whether visible or invisible. Let the winds of calumny blow where they will; let the torrents of inner bitterness surge unabated; let the storms of mistrust, darkness and fear threaten to destroy everything : they will for ever hold fast, forasmuch as their house is built upon the rock and upheld by the most certain truth and unquestionable word of Him who cannot err.
© Peter Bloor 2026
👑 👑 👑
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment