It is referred to in the French work by Fr François Poiré called The Triple Crown of the Holy Mother of God (1630) which I translated on this blog starting on the 1st of May 2024.
I offer this annotated edition of St Bonaventure’s work as a small gift to our gentle Queen and Mother in gratitude for all her graces and favours, requesting her continued help and protection for the author and his family.
👈The Annunciation, early 1460s; by Willem Vrelant (Flemish, died 1481, active 1454 - 1481). The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.
The Latin text and references are based upon Speculum Beatae Mariae Virginis (1904). The English text is based upon that attributed to Sr Mary Emmanuel O.S.B. (published by Herder in 1932). Amazon's various editions ackowledge that this text is in the Public Domain worldwide, attributing it to the text of a Dublin edition (author unknown) published in 1849.
Chapter 3
Part 3 : Illuminatrix
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| The Virgin & Child. Willem Vrelant (early 1460s). The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles. |
Mary may also be interpreted as she who is enlightened or she who enlightens : illuminatrix. For this Virgin was wonderfully illuminated by the presence of the Lord, according to those words of the Apocalypse[1]:
“I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power: and the earth was enlightened with his glory.”
The Son of God is the Angel of Great Counsel[2]; the earth truly illuminated by the glory of the Son of God is Mary, who, as she was illuminated by His grace in the world, is now illuminated by His glory in Heaven; being thus illuminated or enlightened, she becomes the illuminatrix or light-giver in the world and in Heaven. Therefore, we must consider that Mary, she who is illuminated, is an illuminatrix by her example, her benefits, and her rewards. Mary is illuminatrix, I say, through the example of her life, an illuminatrix through the benefits of her mercy and an illuminatrix through the rewards of her glory.
Firstly, consider how Mary is illuminatrix by the example of her most radiant and enlightening life. She it is whose glorious life giveth light unto the world[3]; she it is whose celebrated life enlightens all the Churches; she is the lamp of the Church in every respect, enkindled by God for this very purpose that by her the Church might be enlightened against the darkness of the world. Let the faithful soul pray these words[4]:
“For Thou lightest my lamp, O Lord, O my God, enlighten my darkness.”
The Lord has lit this lamp most radiantly, and by this light he has driven away and dissipateth the darkness of our souls. St. Bernard felt this when he said:
“O Mary, by the magnificent example of thy virtues thou stirrest us up to the imitation of thee, and thus dost enlighten our night. For he who followeth thy ways, walketh not in darkness, but shall have the light of life[5].”
Thus we see how Mary is the Illuminatrix of the world through the radiant example of her life.
Secondly, consider how Mary is illuminatrix through the benefits of her radiant mercy, by which so many in the night of this world are spiritually illuminated, as the Israelites of old were physically illuminated by a pillar of fire, according to the Psalm[6]:
“And he conducted them with a cloud by day: and all the night with a light of fire.”
Mary is to us a pillar of cloud, for she protects us like a cloud from the fiery heat of the divine indignation. She also protects us from the heat of diabolical temptation, as it is also said in the Psalms[7]:
“He spread a cloud for their protection.”
Mary too is a pillar of fire, illuminating us and indeed the whole world with multiple benefits of her mercy. What would become of us wretched beings surrounded and lost in the darksome the night of this world, if we had not so bright a lamp and so luminous a pillar ? What would become of the world without the sun ? St. Bernard says[8]:
“Take away this lightsome body, the sun, what will give light to the world, and where is day? Take away Mary, this Star of the Sea, and what remains save an enveloping cloud, the shadow of death, and the densest darkness?”
Thus we have seen seen firstly how Mary is illuminatrix by her most transcendently luminous life, and secondly how Mary is illuminatrix by her most resplendent mercy.
Thirdly, consider how Mary is also illuminatrix by her most resplendent glory, which illuminates the whole of Heaven, as the sun doth the world, according to Ecclesiasticus[9]:
“The sun giving light hath looked upon all things, and full of the glory of the Lord is his work.”
The sun giving light is Mary who is fair as the moon, bright as the sun[10]: fair as the moon through grace and bright as the sun through glory. For the work of the Lord is full of His glory; the most excellent work of the Lord is Mary. This work, full of the grace of the Lord in this world, is full of the glory of the Lord in Heaven. Mary, therefore, is the illuminating sun, shining in her glory; she looks over all things, because the illumination of her glory spreads over all the angels and all the saints. What wonder if the whole of Heaven is illuminated by the presence of Mary, who also doth illuminate the whole earth? For as St. Bernard saith[11]:
“The presence of Mary lights up the whole world, and the very heavenly homeland itself glows more brightly from being irradiated by the splendour of that virginal lamp.”
Thus we see how Mary is illuminatrix by her light-giving life and also by her resplendent glory.
Footnotes
[1] Apoc. xviii. 1.
[2] Isai. ix. 6. sec. Septuagint.
[3] Breviar., respons. ad 1. lect. in festo Nativ. B.M.V.
[4] Psalm. xvii. 2.
[5] Ioan. viii. 12.
[6] Psalm. lxxvii. 14; cfr. Exod. xiii. 21.
[7] Psalm. civ. 39.
[8] Serm. in Nativ. B. M. V. sive do Aquaeductu, n. 6.
[9] Ecclesus. xlii. 16.
10] Cant. vi. 9.
[11] Serm. 1. in Assumt. B. M. V. n. 1.
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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. 30-31.30-31.
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