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).
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| Notre Dame des Grâces, Cotignac (Poggi, 2020) |
§ 6. On her wondrous devotion and how it should be imitated by everyone
5 Following the example of the MOTHER OF GOD, her faithful servants always set their sights on the most eminent devotion it is possible to have. With this in mind, they apply themselves as diligently as they can to prayer and to contemplation of heavenly things; they give themselves over to reading good books; they listen to the word of God, they frequent the Holy Sacraments and take pains to ensure none of these actions become simply routine and that lukewarmness, the great enemy of devotion, finds no place in their hearts. With the same intention , they apply themselves to acquiring through their diligence that which is not theirs naturally or which they have not merited to receive through special favour; they receive with loving gratitude the elucidations sent to them from Heaven to purify their understanding; they fortify their wills with good and holy habits; they fill their memories with good thoughts, they take care to ensure they profit by the graces they have received; they look out for all the most effective ways of dealing and conversing with God; they try to make themselves responsive to the movements of the Holy Spirit, so as to invite Him to become their guide; they apply austerity in their lives to overcome the rebellion of the flesh; they mortify the depraved passions of their appetite; they seek to tame their imagination by degrees, rendering it unconsciously subject to duty and subjecting it to reason; they overcome ignorance by studying the Sacred Scriptures; they declare war to the death against sin and imperfection. This should give you some idea of the steps they ascend to attain eminent devotion.
6 Through this devotion they could well be caught up to the third heaven along with St Paul[1], and it could equal that of the Angels, but if it is not pure then they have no reason to consider themselves true imitators of the MOTHER OF GOD. For if devotion is nothing more than the best of love and just another flame in charity’s fire – as some have suggested – how can it truly be devotion if it is not pure, granted that purity is one of the essential ingredients of perfect love? If, as others have said, it is the essential strength and vigour of religion, by what means can it subsist without purity? For in the end religion is not a mere trade in contentment nor a shameful pursuit of personal satisfaction. This would be to degrade the nobility of this divine virtue completely and to debase it immeasurably by wanting to make it serve people’s vanity or their personal interests. Devotion is motivated by other feelings entirely and those who are honoured to possess it have very different ideas in mind. They serve God Himself and not the goods that come from Him; and in the practice of devotion their focus is only upon God Himself. Consolation and affliction are to them in this respect a matter of indifference, and their spiritual peace of mind is affected no more by drought and want than by abundance, granted that both these conditions lead them to God. A happy outcome to the exercises of devotion does not uplift them any more than a bad one casts them down; and in order to be faithful to God, they believe they have to accept with equanimity everything that comes to them from Him.
Footnotes
[1] 2 Cor. xii. 2.
7 This does not mean to say, however, that this indifference to events means they neglect the means necessary for their devotion to achieve its end. On the contrary, they are never more careful or recollected than when they are most under pressure. When they experience a dark night of the soul or feel a great sense of inner abandonment they remember the Saviour of the world who in the agony of His Passion intensified His customary diligence and resorted to prayer which was longer and more fervent than usual. They remember St Bernard who says that:
Many complain about devotion when in fact devotion has good reason to complain about them, seeing that they only practise it for the sake of appearance and to attract favourable comments.
When life is smiling upon them, these men are first in the queue and they are all fire and fervour; but at the first sign of a setback, then you see them struck down and they become colder than ice in the dead of winter. They are lacking in courage and determination. It is as though they have no hands for action, no feat for walking, no tongue for speaking and no heart for making decisions. This is very far indeed from true devotion and the dispositions which the MOTHER OF GOD brought to her own!
§ 7. On her generous humility and how it should be imitated by everyone
1 According to St Cyprian[1], humility is the introduction to the devout life, the foundation of the other virtues and a guaranteed help for souls desirous of pleasing God. The Holy Virgin’s humility was most profound, most courageous and most grateful.
Footnotes
[1] Orat. de Nativ. Christi.
The humility of the Holy Virgin was most profound
2 Most profound in the opinion she had of herself, for in relation to what proceeded from her she could see only evil, misery, baseness and nothingness. In fact, several learned Exegetes[1] write that she meant nothing less than this when she proclaimed in her Canticle that God had regarded the lowliness of His handmaid and He that was mighty had been pleased, out of nothing and in nothing, to do great things to her[2]. Most profound in that her heart never failed to recognise any favour she received nor any excellence to which she was raised. Most profound in her rejection of men’s praises and no less in the way her heart was troubled when the Angel called her full of grace, a Lady in whom the Lord dwelled in a singular manner, and blessed among women. Her humility was most profound in the way she kept secret the favours she received from Heaven, even from those who might know about them anyway; and even from her most holy Spouse whose faithfulness, prudence and integrity were well known to her, and this during times when it might seem she had some obligation to safeguard her honour and put the mind of her husband at rest. Most profound in the help she showed to her cousin by visiting her.
In this, says the pious Saint Bonaventure[3], she showed herself to be a faithful handmaid, quite different from Agar of old who, perceiving that she was with child, despised her mistress[4].
Most profound in the way she dealt with conflict and opposition, seeing that all the insults that were heaped upon her Son and all the injuries He received also wounded her, piercing heart over and over again, without her letting this be known to anyone. Most profound in her speech, which always bore faithful witness to the humility abiding in her soul. Most profound in her silence, in her choice of the lowest place and the meanest tasks in her dealings with the poor; in short, most profound in all that can make a soul appear as nothing before God.
Footnotes
[1] Theophylactus, Euthymius, Jansen., Maldon., in c. 2 Luc.
[2] Luke i. 48-9.
[3] Speculum B. Virg., c. 8.
[4] Gen. xvi.
The humility of the Holy Virgin was most courageous
3 None of this, however, meant that this same humility was not most courageous. Even though she considered herself completely unworthy of the least of Heaven’s favours, yet she did not hesitate to accept the greatest when they were presented to her and in these she saw the greater glory of God. It is also certain that there is nothing more generous than true humility which, unwilling to place any trust whatsoever in itself, is established and founded on God alone as on a most solid rock.
© Peter Bloor 2026
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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.
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