Part IV : How to give thanks to the Mother of God : Chapter 11 : § 13.6-10

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)

§ 13. How she must be imitated by men and women in Religious Orders

The Holy Virgin’s poverty

 6   The Blessed Virgin revealed her poverty one day to St Bridget[1], telling her that: 

she had taken a vow to have no possessions in this world and as a result of this she gave away everything she had, keeping only what was necessary to lead a simple life. 

In short[2],

she and her spouse St Joseph rid themselves in the end of everything that they could do without. 

From this it becomes clear that the poverty of the Queen of Heaven was not something forced upon her but the result of her own decision freely made to rid herself of unnecessary possessions. This is particularly so in view of what was written earlier[3] that St Joachim and St Anne, whose only child she was, were possessed of ample means since the third part thereof was sufficient to maintain a great and honourable family. If she embraced voluntarily holy poverty early on, she did not cease to cherish it throughout the rest of her life. Without wishing to repeat what I said about her a little earlier – that her food and clothing were plain and simple while she lived in service of the Temple – did she not in fact form a new union with poverty when she was given in marriage to St Joseph, and both of them had to work with their hands in order to earn a living and raise their little Son Jesus? Consider her journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem where she and Joseph were unable to find lodgings, the way she had to give birth in a stable, the simple offering she made at the time of her Purification, what she suffered in Egypt and throughout her life : are not these in fact the signs and necessary consequences of her voluntary poverty? The generosity she showed in making a gift to the poor of those royal gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh as soon as she had received them, as described by St Bernard[4], St Bonaventure[5], Saint Antoninus[6], Denis the Carthusian[7] and Bishop Alonso Tostado of Ávila[8]; or according to other writers, the way she was altogether unaffected by these offerings, accepting them in fulfilment of the mystery, and in order not to offend these Kings who had come from so far away : are these not unmistakable signs of the love she bore for poverty? The two plain garments which are all she had left at the end of her life, are these not in fact like banners proclaiming how in her poverty she had stripped herself of all things? In short, who could deny that it was supremely fitting that the King of Glory, who had come down from Heaven to earth through love of poverty, should have chosen before anything else to share this incomparable treasure with His most dear Mother? Those who wish to do so may like to read what Albertus Magnus[9] wrote on this subject; having likened progress in poverty to the ascent of a staircase, he shows how the MOTHER OF GOD attained the highest degree of this virtue. 

Footnotes

[1] Lib. I Revel., c. 10.

[2] Lib. VII, c. 25.

[3] Chap. 4, § 6.

[4] Apud S. Antoninum, loc. cit.

[5] Medit. Vitæ Christi, c. 9.

[6] IV part., tit. XV, c. 32, § 2.

[7] In c. 2 Matth.

[8] In c. 2 Matth.

[9] Apud S. Antoninum, IV p., tit. XV, c. 24, nº 1.

 

The Holy Virgin’s chastity

 7   I am not going to say anything more about her vow of chastity since I have shown[1] above not only that she was the first woman to make such a vow but also how she observed it in a most singular fashion.

Footnotes

[1] Part I, ch. 3.

The Holy Virgin’s obedience

 8   Just as no one after her dear Son understood the value of obedience better than she did, so too no one was so distinguished in its observance. Consider, if you will, how promptly she obeyed the commandments of the priests and of the woman in charge of the young girls for the period of eleven whole years that she spent in the Temple. Listen to the reply she gives to the Angel Gabriel and how she describes herself as the least and lowliest of the handmaids of the Lord. Take note of the resignation of will and of judgement she shows in her obedience to St Joseph her spouse during the thirty-one years she lives in his company[1]. Observe how for the love of God she complies with the decree of the Emperor Augustus and sets off on the journey to be enrolled, notwithstanding the harshness of winter, the difficulty of the route and the fact she was nine months pregnant. Picture her going up to Jerusalem where she would observe to the letter the law concerning her Purification, although in fact it has no application to her. Follow her in the flight into Egypt and admire the promptness with which she obeys the call to rise at midnight, takes her little infant in her arms and sets off in the harsh weather of that season without a murmur of complaint and without being troubled or scandalised by such an unexpected command. Watch how she views the departure of her Son as He takes His leave of her to go and broadcast the good news about the Kingdom of peace and try to take in, if you can, the way she submits to all of Heaven’s ordinances. Finally, accompany her to the Cross and admire the constancy she shows at this sacrifice, and how without demur she offers her Son to death in conformity with the will of the Eternal Father. Where is there anything like this amongst the Blessed Spirits who are ever watchful for the least signal from God to fly there where it may please him?

Footnotes

[1] Canis. Martialis, lib. II, c. 15.

Her other religious virtues, namely how she dedicated herself to God from her childhood

 9   What shall I say about all the other virtues which are linked to the religious state and which serve to support the three main ones which I have just been covering? What about the diligence she brought to all her actions? What about the care she took about all things, no matter how small they might be? What about the fervour she showed in carrying out even the most unpleasant and difficult of tasks? What about her zeal for helping her companions to make progress and to her charity in serving them at every opportunity? What about her patience and gentleness when it came to dealing with the imperfections of others? Finally, what about her continual progress in the study of holiness, and the ascents she was planning in her heart in imitation of David? Here indeed would be found things of wonder to captivate those minds capable of penetrating them. 

Although perhaps exceeding my own capacity as a writer, I shall nevertheless bring this discussion to a close with something which greatly merits consideration and is at the same time capable of imitation by those whom God has honoured by drawing to his service. This is that Heaven favoured her so greatly that she was able to leave the world before she even came to know it and to consecrate her first years to the service of His Divine Majesty. The following authorities have written about this period of her life : blessed Evodius[1] (successor to St Peter the Apostle in Antioch), St Jerome[2], St Germanus of Constantinople[3], Epiphanius (Priest of the same Church), Cedrenus[4], Nicephorus[5] and a number of others. They agree that she was offered to God and received in the Temple when she was only three years of age so that she was preserved perfectly innocent in her ways, being adorned and enriched with every sort of virtue so that she might become a worthy Mother and Spouse of God. This was a privilege of chosen souls that had never been encountered before in this life but one causing wonderment among the Holy Angels on high, blessing unceasingly the infinite bounty of their Creator towards those to whom it is granted. The Prophet Jeremiah had a special understanding of this when he proclaimed so elegantly[6]: How good for a man when he hath borne the yoke of the Lord from his youth, placing himself at His service early in life.

Footnotes

[1] In commentariis et in epistola dicta fw/j, id est lumen, apud Nicephorum, lib. II, cap. 3.

[2] In historia de ortu Virg.

[3] Orat. de oblatione Mariæ.

[4] In Compendio Hist.

[5] Lib. I Hist., c. 7.

[6] Lam. iii. 27.

 10   Ye blessed spirits who have a proper feeling for this happiness : help me to represent it for the benefit of those men and women whom God separates from the common lot in order to infuse them with the prevenient graces of His infinite mercy. 

For what lot or condition is there in all the world comparable to this : 

    • giving everything back to God from whom we receive everything;

    • honouring Him by following the example of the Angels from the first dawn of our lives; 

    • loving Him from the first moment we can, and never having any other master; 

    • ignoring vice rather than struggling with it,  so as to be able to say one day on high: I see now Him whom I have never offended with iniquitous intent, Him whose grace I have never lost since I once received it, Him for whom I have preserved the beautiful robe of innocence which was given to me at Baptism, Him who has been the sole object of my love and the focal point of my affections; 

    • glorying with His chaste spouse[1] in having kept for Him all fruits, the new and the old; 

    • being able to say to Him with Jacob[2]: Thou art the Lord who hast carried me in thine arms from my childhood; 

    • saying with David[3]: Thou art my God, the portion of my inheritance and my all; and

    • saying with Blessed St Francis: My God and my all?  

The man who accustoms himself early in life to serve God, says St Ambrose[4], and who in his youth presents his tender neck for the yoke of the Lord, will find himself preserved and sheltered from unwanted passions, rejoicing peacefully in the gentle repose of recollection and contemplation of heavenly things. He will no longer be troubled by struggling every day with the flesh and the assaults of concupiscence forasmuch as the yoke he bears from his youth will have weakened the forces of his spiritual foes. How different it is to be able to say with this young soldier of Christ[5]: My God, that feedeth me from my youth; rather than lamenting with the penitent who says[6]: My God, the sins of my youth and my ignorances do not remember. These latter words represent a remedy for weakness, but the former ones are a sign of solid health ; in the one case, there is a need to swallow the necessary medicine; in the other, nourishing graces are supplied; in the one case, it is not over when the sinner finally embraces service of God, for he must endure burning remorse in punishment for his past sins, he must suffer the harsh consequences produced by bad habits, he must bear the troubled promptings and instability of a heart ruined by error, and he must struggle incessantly against vices grown old and stubborn; in the other case, it is simply a question of enjoying the pleasing fruits of a sacred silence, and of entering into the profound mysteries of divine oracles reserved for those souls that are pure and who withdrew in time from the hurly-burly of the world. In short, in the one case there is always fear and danger, in the other all is peace and confidence.  

Blessed is that person’s soul for whom God has such tender thoughts, for whom He opens up so early in life the treasures of His grace; blessed indeed is this person who for his part allows himself to be ruled and possessed by his sovereign good, for he will be able to say in all truth : I have found all that I could have wanted, I have met Him whom I shall never leave. 

Footnotes

[1] In our gates are all fruits: the new and the old, my beloved, I have kept for thee : Cant. vii. 13.

[2] God that feedeth me from my youth until this day; Gen. xlviii. 15.

[3] The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup: it is thou that wilt restore my inheritance to me. Ps. XV. 5.

[4] Serm. 2 in Psal. 118.

[5] Gen. xlviii. 15.

[6] Ps. XXIV. 7.

© 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.