Part IV : How to give thanks to the Mother of God : Chapter 11 : § 9.1-4

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)

§ 9. On her wondrous kind-heartedness and how it should be imitated by everyone

 1   According to the Angelic Doctor[1], this virtue is a gentleness of spirit coming from a certain goodness of heart which has a horror of anything that could cause distress to another. This is the reason why it is closely allied to charity and why it is ranked amongst the principal virtues. St Basil[2] esteemed it so highly as to name it the greatest of all in view of it being placed amongst the first of the Beatitudes[3]; this consideration alone should suffice to convince us that the MOTHER OF GOD could not fail to possess it to a most excellent degree. If she has been found to be so perfect in charity as we have seen previously, does it not follow that she should also possess in its fullness the virtue of kind-heartedness which always accompanies it, as a necessary emanation of her gentleness? If it is a royal virtue, as we learn in St Ambrose[4], how could it be appropriate or fitting for the Princess of the universe not to possess it to perfection? If, as St John Chrysostom says[5], it is one of the foremost attributes of a good nature, how could it be lacking in her whose nature was so entirely noble, as we saw in Part I?[6] We should also recall the eloquent words of St Ambrose who depicted the Holy Virgin’s gentleness in vivid language as the most pleasing feature of her beautiful and richly endowed nature. If this virtue is almost inseparable from the maternal instinct, then to whom should it more fittingly belong than to the Mother of love and the Mother of all the children of the Saviour? If this same Saviour, who was the very embodiment of kind-heartedness, commended this particular virtue as the high point of His teaching, how would it be possible for the glorious Virgin who was the soul and spirit of His divine school not to partake of it, or for this great Teacher not to have carefully infused her with it? It is accordingly with very good reason that the Holy Church[7], after having called her Virgo singularis, immediately follows this with Inter omnes mitis, attesting that this beautiful title befits her in an excellent way above all others. 

Footnotes

[1] II-II, 157.

[2] In Psal. 33.

[3] The Douay-Rheims (1582) translation of Beati mites in Matt. v. 4 is Blessed are the meek. The first sense of meek given in the OED comes from the period 1175-1616: “Gentle, courteous, kind,” which it describes as now obsolete. In later use, the word meek acquired a disparaging sense of “cowed, timid, biddable.” I have opted to translate the French equivalents (débonnaire / doux) as kind-hearted / gentle.

[4] Lib. II Offic., c. 7.

[5] Homil. 23 ad populum Antiochenum.

[6] Cap. 5, § 4.

[7] From the liturgical hymn Ave Maris Stella, attributed to St Bernard : Virgo singularis / Inter omnes mitis: Virgin all excelling / Most gentle of the gentle.

 2  If you want me to highlight the most remarkable properties of this virtue as I did with the others , then I will say that it was most heartfelt, most obliging and most amiable[1]. 

Footnotes

[1] In the now historic sense of worthy of being loved, lovable; lovely.

The Virgin’s kind-heartedness was most heartfelt

 3  I use the words most heartfelt because you would be gravely mistaken to imagine that the Holy Virgin paid mere lip service to this virtue or simply made use of flowery language, offering little services and paying compliments – such as is the way of people at court, for instance. She was far too sincere to indulge herself in these affectations or studied manners and she had nothing to do with putting on false appearances. Her gentleness came from the bottom of her heart which was so sensitive that she found it impossible to hear of someone’s affliction without being immediately moved. The miseries suffered by others became in a sense her own and she regarded no one as a stranger to her. Indeed she could say with St Paul[1] and more truthfully than St Paul : Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is scandalized, and I am not on fire? She could say with Job[2], and more truthfully than Job, that from my infancy mercy grew up with me: and it came out with me from my mother’s womb. She could say to God with David[3], and with more reason : O Lord, remember Mary, and all her meekness. If ever there were a heart tender, compassionate and gentle, it was that of the Mother of Love. 

Footnotes

[1] 2 Cor. xi. 29.

[2] Job xxxi. 18.

[3] Ps. CXXXI. 1.

The Virgin’s kind-heartedness was most obliging

 4   This virtue in the holy Virgin was not only heartfelt but also most obliging. Her gentleness was not only based upon feeling but also showed itself in results. No sooner had it taken possession of her heart than it began to show itself in her eyes, her tongue, her hands, her feet and through all the faculties of her soul and all the parts of her body. The Virgin cherished her beloved solitude more than can be imagined, but ask St Ambrose[1] if that prevented her from leaving it when she was drawn outside by someone in need. He will explain to you that: 

There was none more quick than she was to help the needy, to visit the sick, to comfort the afflicted and to take upon herself, if such a thing were possible, all the burdens of those in distress. 

Were there times when she did not have the necessary things to help those in need? Well then she would console them with her words and they derived a hundred times more satisfaction from what she said than from any help given by others. Was she unable to do either of these things? In such cases, nothing could prevent her charitable prayers which never failed to be followed by an outcome favourable to those for whom the prayers were offered.

Footnotes

[1] Lib. II de Virg.

© 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.

Part IV : How to give thanks to the Mother of God : Chapter 11 : § 8.3-7

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)

§ 8. On her great patience and how it should be imitated by everyone

 3   Even more remarkable is that this patience was most kind-hearted, in that the Holy Virgin never felt the slightest feeling of indignation, anger or vengeance against those who treated her Son so cruelly. On the contrary, from the very bottom of her heart she commended them most earnestly to God, praying that He would, by virtue of the Cross and the death of His beloved Son, pardon them for their blindness; and when their fury caused them to show no mercy in shedding the precious blood of this most gentle Lamb, she offered Him to the eternal Father for them, praying that He would avert His gaze from the carnage and focus upon the adorable face of His only-begotten Son who was undergoing this martyrdom to obtain forgiveness for them.    

The patience of the Holy Virgin was most accomplished

 4   Finally, this same patience was most accomplished in that with truly incredible perseverance she stood firm right to the end in order to offer God a sacrifice which was entire and complete in its perfection. This is what the Evangelist[1] was referring to when he said that she stood by the cross. By this he was giving us to understand that, even though her heart was plunged in an abyss of pain and sorrow, she nevertheless held firm right to the end : without worrying about the enmity of the Scribes or the criminal acts of the executioners, with no fear of the works of darkness and the confusion amongst creatures, retaining an unshakable focus upon the limitless patience, the terrible justice and the infinite mercy of God, and with a firm expectation of the glory of His Son and the fulfilment of all Heaven’s promises. Her patience did not stop there but accompanied her to the end of her life, making her accept it with resignation, sustaining her amidst the trials with which this mortal prison assailed her, and enabling her to bear meekly the absence of her beloved Son. In all of this she was strengthened by the holy word of God which accompanied her and guided her through the vicissitudes of this life as far as Mount Horeb.

Footnotes

[1] Now there stood by the cross of Jesus, his mother: John. xix. 25.

 5   In view of this you will surely want to hasten to this school, dear children of the suffering Virgin, and learn how you must conduct yourselves amidst the afflictions which beset you. First of all, you must remember that in order to be justified in claiming this title it is not enough that you should demonstrate patience as such, but it must be a patience which is noble and heroic, like that of your dear Mother. Remember to take all that happens to you as coming from the hand of God; to accept with equanimity the accidents befalling you which He permits – whether honourable or shameful, whether coming from wicked people or good, from friends or enemies, from family or strangers – and generally to receive these with all the circumstances accompanying them. Remember that all the little sources of relief that you seek elsewhere will serve only to increase your trouble and to weaken your courage. Remember that it is too great an honour for you to keep company with the Lord in His sufferings, that God has not granted this mercy to everyone, and that to those who have shown greater resolution than you He has given the greater part, as the most exquisite favours that He is accustomed to give His friends. Remember that if you frown, if you turn up your nose, if you look askance, if you complain, then He will withdraw His hand and this will be greatly your disadvantage. Let rather your principal endeavour be to offer your neck meekly to receive His sweet yoke and to present your back in readiness for the blows which He may be pleased to permit you to suffer. Remember that the purest of all consolations consists in suffering with Jesus Christ; that the fruits you will gather in suffering will be truly exceptional since through it you will be purged of your sins, prevented from falling into greater evils, perfected in charity and made like unto the King of Heaven; and if the Saints who are on high could envy any condition, it would be yours and that of people who endure suffering for God and with God, like you.

 6   Let your patience be accompanied by true Christian generosity of heart and never let yourself complain against such and such a person, or accuse such and such a person, or bear within your soul some bitterness against those who have brought about a problem which is afflicting you. You should rather kiss the hand of God which strikes you, pray for them with love in your heart and try to consider them as the best friends you have since they are obtaining for you the greatest of all good. Show this feeling outwardly and when the opportunity presents itself let them experience the effects of a truly Christian heart. Do not wait for those who have sinned against you to come and find you but rather go and seek them, for this is the way to win over the fiercest of hearts, to obtain pardon for your sins and to arrive in a very short time at a most high level of perfection. Finally, always bear in mind what St Jerome said:

It is nothing to make a good beginning; amongst Christians we do not pay so much attention to good beginnings as to holy outcomes; and out of all the virtues who enter into the lists, perseverance alone receives the crown.

 7   You should frequently raise your eyes towards Him who awaits you at the end of life’s course[1], and who in order to give you courage made a mockery of His foes who called upon Him to come down from the Cross, which would have meant leaving our Redemption incomplete. Fortify yourselves by thinking of the eternal rest which shall assuredly be yours and even more by thinking of the pleasure the whole of Heaven receives from seeing you in the struggle, and especially the great King Jesus who makes ready to share His palms and laurels of victory with you, since He has deigned to make you participants in His combat. Within this devout resolve, as in a celestial bonfire, will be kindled and lit the fire of a most ardent desire to suffer more and more for God; and this will consume everything within you that could be contrary to pure love, raising you up to the Empyrean – which is the place where this celestial fire is never extinguished.

Footnotes

[1] 1 Cor. ix. 24.

© 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.

Part IV : How to give thanks to the Mother of God : Chapter 11 : § 7.4-7 > § 8.1-2

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)

§ 7. On her generous humility and how it should be imitated by everyone

The humility of the Holy Virgin was most grateful

 4   The gratitude in the humility of the Holy Virgin may clearly be seen at the Visitation. Just as her cousin Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, began to shower her with blessings,  

    • calling her the Mother of her Lord, 

    • expressing her astonishment that she had gone to the trouble of visiting her and saying that the infant in her womb leaped for joy as soon as the voice of her salutation sounded in her ears,

    • praising her great faith and

    • proclaiming her blessed to have believed the voice of the Angel, 

the Holy Virgin, on the contrary, turned her own thoughts and the words of St Elizabeth away from herself and, raising them to God, she sang her mysterious Canticle, just as though she were saying : 

My dear cousin, thou dost say great things of me; but my soul doth magnify the Lord, the unique author of all these good things that thou dost admire in me. Thou art surprised that I should come to thee; but I have my own reason for being astonished, considering that the God of Majesty hath deigned to come down to me. Thou art elated by thy baby son leaping within thy womb; but my spirit doth leap for joy and is enraptured by the honour God will one day receive from these wondrous mysteries. Thou sayest that I am blessed for having believed the words of the Heavenly Messenger; but for my part I acknowledge I am infinitely indebted to God for being the object of His great mercy, in that He hath deigned in His goodness to look upon the lowest and meanest of His creatures.

 5   What an excellent way to acknowledge God’s graces, and draw down still more favours from His generosity. I have written at length elsewhere[1] in praise of the Most Holy Virgin’s humility and it is time now to consider some of her devout imitators.

Whoever wants to build a tall tower, writes St Gregory, begins by digging deep foundations ; and whoever would build a tower of personal perfection must ensure it is founded on very deep humility.   

Those who have a love for this incomparable virtue discover reasons for motivation everywhere. If they contemplate themselves and what they have become, the awareness will make them fall into a deep abyss of their own nothingness. If they consider what they have become through their sin, they find that they have gone from one abyss to another until finally falling into one much deeper than the first. If they cast their eyes upon the Queen of Angels, who recognises in herself only baseness and abjection even though she was chosen to be MOTHER OF GOD, they wish that they could descend even further; but when they see in their thoughts a God nailed to a cross and reduced to perfect nothingness, it is then they wish they could go to the limits, losing themselves as they plunge into the depths of self-abasement. This is the point when they esteem themselves to be less than nothing; when they judge that in truth there is nothing so vile that would not be too good for them and when they develop an insatiable thirst for opprobrium and ignominy. 

Footnotes

[1] Part I, ch. 3, § 7 ; ch. 5, § 3 ; Part III, ch. 2, § 4.

 6   If God nevertheless wishes through His infinite mercy to confer a gift upon them or make them the instruments of some good, there are none more generous or more magnanimous than they are. For when from the depths of their abyss they go up to the throne of His Majesty, they find that in a certain sense they have become almighty like Him. They go up again but by a different path to the one they took when they came down, for they immediately forget what they are and what they have become through sin. They put behind them any considerations that could undermine their courage and instead they are raised by noble thoughts worthy of the greatness of Him upon whom they rely for support. They focus their gaze upon the grace of divine adoption by which they are raised unto a resemblance of God and made heirs to all His goods. They allow themselves to bathe in the infinite tenderness of the loving heart of Jesus, where love and trust have brought them to a place they would not abandon for anything in the world. They see clearly that nothing can equal the merits of this same Saviour who condescends to place in their hands what he has achieved through His Redemption. The experience makes them appreciate that nothing is impossible for those who know how to use these gifts appropriately and that it is within their power even to move the heart of God should they once undertake to do so. Enlightened by thoughts and feelings such as these, they climb upwards step by step until they come to share in God’s omnipotence. The more they climb, the greater their confidence grows and their courage increases. The more they experience the faithfulness of God, the more they know they are right to place their trust in Him; the more they dispose themselves to render great and signal services to Him, the more these services advance them in the good grace of His Majesty.

 7   Their gratitude grows in them along with their courage and the low estimation they have of themselves. They see clearly enough that in themselves they have nothing but poverty and wretchedness, but God nevertheless makes use of them to achieve great things; and because of this they offer in sacrifice to Him all the honour which results from their actions. They take great care not to touch the glory which is uniquely reserved unto Him, since they understand very well that nothing is capable of making them fall from favour as usurping this possession of God which He prizes as the apple of His eye. In this we see just how good and rewarding the Lord is in His heart to those who are faithful to Him. 

§ 8. On her great patience and how it should be imitated by everyone

 1   In the words of St James[1], patience is a trait of perfection, purifying virtue. The Holy Virgin’s patience was most heroic, kind-hearted and accomplished.

Footnotes

[1] The trying of your faith worketh patience and patience hath a perfect work; that you may be perfect and entire, failing in nothing. James i. 4.

The patience of the Holy Virgin was most heroic

 2   Most heroic: for if spiritual pain is incomparably greater than physical pain, what must that of the Blessed Virgin have been like when she became aware of St Joseph’s distress, when torrents of anguish flooded her afflicted heart and when her own soul was pierced by a sword of sorrow? If love is the measure of suffering, then what must she not have endured seeing the dear fruit of her womb and the unique object of her affection on His arrival into this world reduced to such great objection and extreme poverty? What pain would she have felt : 

    • when she saw Him after eight days shed His own blood, and immediately afterwards being  hunted by those seeking His death and necessitating the family’s flight into Egypt? 

    • when she lost Him at the age of twelve? 

    • when she heard Him denounced as a Samaritan, as someone who had a devil, as a drinker of wine, a seducer and a breaker of the law? and 

    • when she learned that He had been condemned to die on a cross like a criminal?

If the suffering we see in a person who is dear to us causes deep pain within our hearts, then what must have been the feelings of this dear Mother when the innocent Lamb, her Son, was bound with cords and chains, dragged through the streets of Jerusalem, taken from one tribunal to another with indescribable insolence by soldiers, accompanied by fearful jeers from the people who saw Him pass by? When He was mocked, struck, spat upon, bruised and wounded by blows, covered from head to foot in blood, pierced with nails, given vinegar and gall to drink, blasphemed and ill-used in every conceivable way? If a person would need a strong heart to bear separation from Him she loved more than any other and to see His soul torn out through torture and cruelty then, great God!  What must the state of this loving Mother’s heart have been like when her Son spoke His final farewell to her from the Cross; and when she accepted John in place of Jesus, the disciple for the Master, and the man for God? If the high point of patience consists in suffering the greatest evils with a firm and resolute spirit, must it not be said that the Virgin's patience was wondrously heroic, since she saw the best of all the children ever born enduring all these excesses, since she saw him die and held the body of her deceased Son in her arms with no change of countenance and without showing any signs of weakness? I would have so many things to say here if I had not written elsewhere[1] in some detail about the sword of sorrow which pierced the most sacred Virgin’s soul, and the incredible patience with which she bore this mortal wound.

Footnotes

[1] Part II, ch. 6, § 5.

© 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.

Part IV : How to give thanks to the Mother of God : Chapter 11 : § 6.5-7 > § 7.1-3.

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)

§ 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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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.

Part IV : How to give thanks to the Mother of God : Chapter 11 : § 6.1-4

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)

§ 6. On her wondrous devotion and how it should be imitated by everyone

 1   Devotion, which according to Saint Ambrose[1] is the foundation of the moral virtues and the path of the soul to God, was in the Holy Virgin most eminent, most pure and most recollected. 

Footnotes

[1] Lib. I de Abraham.

The devotion of the Holy Virgin was most eminent 

 2   Most eminent in that she was the mystic Eagle who, supported by the firm wings of her contemplation, soared high above all creatures and with her clear-sighted eyes could withstand the rays of the Sun of Justice. She was most eminent in that she was not lacking in help to guide her devotion to the greatest height, for she was endowed with a wondrously keen and pure intelligence, with a will focused on every sort of good and with a powerful memory. She had received the benefit of excellent, prevenient grace which she reinforced by her continual exercises of holiness. She had a most perfect knowledge of herself, of God and of all the mysteries of our redemption. She spent a good part of her days in the company of the Word incarnate and uncreated Wisdom. She was honoured in a most singular manner by having as teacher her Spouse, the glorious Holy Spirit. She received to a most high degree the gifts of wisdom, knowledge, understanding and counsel, the four mainstays which enable the soul to comprehend the most elevated truths and those which are most distant from our own senses. Her devotion was most eminent in that she did not suffer from those difficulties which cause such trouble to our own devotion. The weakening or loss of the use of reason, not unknown to our age and making us behave like animals, never had any place in her. The body, which can become corrupt and weigh down the soul, never caused her any difficulty whatsoever. The passions of the sensitive appetite which lead to disordered affections within us, troubling our spiritual calm and recollection in prayer, were in her more gentle and manageable than little lambs. Imagination, which blessed Teresa of Jesus called the craziness of the soul[1], never went beyond its due limits to cause her trouble since it was in all things and everywhere subject and obedient to reason. Ignorance had no place in her understanding, any more than frivolity or inconstancy in her will. In short, sin which is like a wall we build between God and ourselves, blocking off our sight of Him, was never able to come near her. This being the case, who would be surprised to learn that she surpassed the Cherubim in knowledge and the Seraphim in love?  

Footnotes

[1] Translating the French text which is is slightly different to the Spanish expression attributed to the Saint: la loca de la casa / the crazy woman of the house.

The devotion of the Holy Virgin was most pure

 3   Her devotion was most pure in that she had no other aim than to apply herself to the utmost of her powers in divine worship and service. It was most pure in that she never served God for some interest or satisfaction of her own, nor for any reason outside of Him but only to be as pleasing as possible to His sovereign Majesty. It was most pure in that never was it stained by any mixture of sorrow, weariness, heaviness or cowardice; on the contrary, it was always accompanied by courage, fervour, happiness and delight.

The devotion of the Holy Virgin was most recollected 

 4   Her devotion was most recollected as she lived continually in the presence of Heaven and for most of her life in the presence of the Word Incarnate. She was most recollected in all things, keeping watchful guard over her exterior senses, her words, her conversation and every aspect of her behaviour. She was most meticulous, taking care to do nothing which could be offensive in any way in the eyes of God, understanding very well that devotion is the pearl of great price spoken of in the Gospel[1], for the sake of which a man would sell all he had to obtain it; But it is the precious balm which evaporates as soon as it is exposed to the air; but it is the deep well  Treat is not possible to draw without effort the mysterious waters of Heavenly sweetness; that it is peace for the soul , which can be acquired only through victory over enemies; in short, it needs only one case of misplaced laughter, one superfluous word, one indiscreet glance, one over-inquisitive question, one vain word or act, one impatient or hasty reaction, one desultory word or act, To cause the partial or total disappearance of grace from devotion. She would withdraw herself whenever she could from the unnecessary company of men in order to enjoy that of Patriarchs, Prophets, Angels and of God Himself. Finally, even though she was aware of the prevenient graces she had received and the very special protection given to her by Heaven which turned away from her everything (however slight) that might trouble her spiritual calm, this notwithstanding, she set a wondrous example by living with as much restraint and circumspection as if the maintenance of her devotion had depended upon her alone and upon her care.

Footnotes

[1] Matt. xiii. 46.

© 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.