Chapter 6 : The Fifth Star or Splendour of the Crown of Goodness of the MOTHER OF GOD
She is a true model of generosity towards her children
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)
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§ 2. The generosity of the MOTHER OF GOD towards her children when it comes to good fortune and bodily good
How the Holy Virgin influences the good fortune of her children
1 Dear children of the Virgin, now is the time to spring into action and make known the desires of your heart; for I seem to see your beloved Mother holding the golden key which can open up the treasury of God’s generosity. Every manner of good can be found therein and she is inviting you to ask her for something. All you have to do is let her know what your wishes are.
2 Are you seeking status and material possessions? She will readily be able to say to you what her Son once said[1] to an overly indulgent mother focused on the ambitions of her sons : You know not what you ask. The great Apostle, moreover, would give you the following advice[2]: They that will become rich, fall into temptation, and into the snare of the devil, and into many unprofitable and hurtful desires, which drown men into destruction and perdition. She could not agree to grant you such things at such a price and I am sure that you would not want to go down this path. Nevertheless, if such things would truly serve you on the path to your end, be in no doubt that she would grant them. Theodorus the Abbot[3] gives proof of this truth in the following account.
During the time he was Abbot in the Monastery of Our Lady there was a shortage of wheat in the days leading up to Palm Sunday when crowds were expected to arrive from the surrounding villages. He ordered the monk in charge of the granary to place what little flour was left in the Monastery on the altar of the Holy Virgin. Once this had been done he began to pray, asking Our Lord through the intercession of His Holy Mother to supply them with what they needed to live and to meet the needs of those led by their devotion to come to the monastery. After this, something strange happened for on the very next day some thirty ships arrived from Cyprus, laden with enough flour to last many months. Everyone had very good reason to bless the Lord and the Holy Virgin for this miracle.
St Gregory of Tours relates[4] that there was a Monastery in Jerusalem dedicated to the MOTHER OF GOD :
This Monastery had been richly endowed to meet the needs of poor pilgrims. This notwithstanding, the day came when as a result of various factors the Monastery was reduced to such an extremity that not only did the monks no longer have the wherewithal to meet the needs of visitors, but they themselves were facing hunger. They went to see the Abbot and asked him to seek out a solution for the famine which faced them or to allow them to leave the Monastery to find provisions. The Abbot reassured them, saying that she who had given to a famished world the pure grain of celestial wheat would never allow wheat to be wanting in her own house. He then led them into the Church and they passed the night in prayer. In the morning, they went to the granary and found it was so full of wheat that they could scarcely open the door to gain access.
On another occasion when they found themselves once more in dire want of resources, the sacristan went into the Church to prepare the altar as normal, and he found that it was covered with gold and silver. This was to teach this dear Mother’s children never to be wanting in their trust that she will meet their needs.
I might well add here the experience of those in our Society who laid the first foundations of the house we have in Loreto. This was dedicated to the service of the glorious Virgin and people would flock from all the surrounding regions to offer their devotions in this holy chapel. On more than one occasion, the founders experienced[5] the helping hand of the Queen of Angels, whether in the multiplication of provisions which had been running out, or in the relief coming out of the blue for the extreme need in which they frequently found themselves.
Footnotes
[1] Say that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left, in thy kingdom. And Jesus answering, said: You know not what you ask. Matt. xx. 21-22.
[2] 1 Tim. vi. 9.
[3] Gregorius Presbyt., in the life he wrote of his Master Theodorus.
[4] Lib. de Gloria Martyrum, c. 11.
[5] Histor. Societ., t. II, lib. VII, § 34, an. 1557, etc.
How she helps her children achieve true honours
3 Are you seeking advancement to lofty positions and honours? I am afraid to say that she takes no pleasure in such requests. Saint John Chrysostom says that it is most difficult not to be dazzled by the temptation of honours and greatness; in fact people need a superhuman almost angelic virtue to reject the honours on offer. Do not, however, think I am avoiding the issue; on the contrary, I promise you that if they will truly lead to your greater good and you will be able to make use of them in a proper fashion, then she will place you on the throne of honour and glory. I ask readers to show a little patience until we come to the next Chapter where I hope to answer your questions and show how she has indeed awarded sceptres and crowns to her children but only when she has judged it appropriate to do so.
Footnotes
[1] Homil. 44 ad populum Antioch.
4 Are you seeking a successful conclusion for your undertakings and projects? You would do well to remember what happened to the Emperor Heraclius and to Theodore his brother.
The latter enjoyed the favour and support of the MOTHER OF GOD[1] and in 625 he attacked a Persian army commanded by Shahin, a senior general of King Khosrau. These hand-picked troops, numbering some 50,000 men, were esteemed so highly by the King that he called them Chrysoloras, the Golden Host. Such was the Holy Virgin’s support for Theodore, however, that Heaven came to his aid with a violent hailstorm that rained down upon the Persians. Theodore’s men were not affected and they won a glorious victory.
The victory of Heraclius, however, which occurred in the following year was even more memorable because it brought great relief and joy to the whole of Christendom when the pious Emperor successfully recovered the Holy Cross which had been held captive by the barbarians.
It had seemed at one stage that everything was going against him, for he had already been warring against the Persians for seven years; and his Turkish allies, who had fought alongside him in Persia, had slowly been deserting him. He decided his best recourse was to pray for help from the MOTHER OF GOD and he then assembled his soldiers and spoke to them in the following manner:
“Dear brothers-in-arms, you do not need me to tell you how everyone has been deserting us and that now we have on our side only God and his Holy Mother. Let us be of good heart, however, for we can have have no doubt that with Heaven’s help we shall see a happy conclusion.”
The outcome of the battle confirmed his prediction for he lost only fifty of his own men, whereas the whole Persian Army was put to flight. Heraclius had a personal encounter with general Rhazates, whom the Persian King had substituted for Shahin, and he slew him on the field of battle. Such was the confidence of this valiant prince in the MOTHER OF GOD that, having been proclaimed Emperor in Africa, he suddenly undertook a voyage to Constantinople. Amongst his fleet were several elite ships which bore aloft beautiful images of the Holy Virgin whom he had taken as his Protectress for the project.
Footnotes
[1] Paulus Diaconus, lib. XVIII Histor., et Theophanes, in Annal. Græcorum, ann. 10 Heraclii, et eodem anno Cedrenus, Baronius, etc.
She gives children
5 Are you seeking children? That most wise and virtuous lady Anna, Mother of St Stephen the Younger, shows by her example to whom you should address your prayers.
Anna had already been married for some years without providing a son for her husband. One day she felt an extraordinary impulsion to go and present her prayers and requests to the Mother of all sweetness. She went into the Church of Blachernae near Constantinople to ask the Holy Virgin to grant her a son, and in return she would dedicate him to her service. Eventually, she fell asleep and shortly after seemed to see a Lady of extraordinary majesty who tapped her gently with her foot saying:
“Arise, the son thou hast desired has been given thee.”
After the birth of her son, she did not forget to return with her husband to the same place where she had received the promise, so that she might offer to the Virgin the baby boy she had obtained through her intercession. Events were to show how pleasing her offering was, for once the boy had come of age he joined a religious order and fought so courageously for the honour of holy icons that he gained a Martyr’s Crown.
I cannot pass over in silence the most pious Queen Blanche, mother of the wonderful Saint Louis, for it was through the merits of the Holy Virgin that she obtained this most marvellous of Kings, this sacred jewel of Heaven?
The whole of France was afflicted[1] because their Queen, already married for several years to King Louis VIII, had so far been unable to produce a son and heir for him. She herself felt greatly saddened and in the midst of her anxious thoughts she addressed herself to St Dominic. It was said of him that he had never failed to obtain anything that he had asked for from the glorious Virgin, and so she asked him to obtain a son for her. The Saint promised her that if she would take the trouble to help promote devotion to the Rosary, which he had recently instituted at Heaven’s Command, she would see the fulfilment of her desires. No sooner said than done, for as she was working to make this holy devotion more widely known, God for His part fulfilled the promise of His servant and made her the mother of one of the greatest Kings ever to have reigned.
I should include at this point a similar favour no less remarkable which was granted from Heaven in our own days, when
we have seen the foremost Queen on Earth, after the offering of his Kingdom to the Queen of Heaven made by her great King her spouse, offer her son the Dauphin – the hope of France – on the altar of this same Princess of the Angels. We have witnessed her public profession in the Cathedral of Paris and in another Chapel which is dedicated to the Holy Mother, that she had obtained this child after twenty-two years of her prayers, waiting for Heaven’s reply. I shall leave it to historians to bring to light the wondrous details that the passage of time will certainly reveal when the opportunity arises of telling the story in full[2].
If we pass now from our own France over to Spain, we should note that the great Ildephonsus was also a son obtained as a result of prayers[3] and he came into the world through the intercession of her whom he was to honour so greatly throughout his life. The same is true of Blessed Charles the son of St Bridget.
Whilst this saintly woman[4] was in her confinement and suffering extraordinary labour pains, there appeared at her side a Lady clad in white whose demeanour and comportment were altogether divine. She caressed Bridget gently with her hand and this brought her so much relief that very soon she was happily delivered of her new baby boy.
Footnotes
[1] Ferdinandus Castellanus, in Chronico Ordinis Prædicatorum, part. I, lib. I, c. 7.
[2] Addendum by Translator: In 1637, King Louis XIII of France consecrated his person and his Kingdom to Mary, and with the Queen, Anne of Austria, he multiplied prayers and pilgrimages to obtain the heir they had awaited for 22 years. The Mother of God responded by appearing to Brother Fiacre, a religious from the church of Notre-Dame-des-Victoires in Paris. Mary asked for three novenas: one to Our Lady of Graces in Cotignac (Provence), another to Our Lady of Paris, and a last one to Our Lady of Victories. The apparition was recognized as authentic and the Virgin Mary’s message conveyed to the Queen. Brother Fiacre finished the three novenas on December 5. Exactly nine months later to the day, Louis XIV was born. The heir received the baptismal name of “Louis Dieudonné” (God-given). As soon as the Queen was certain of her pregnancy, Louis XIII published an official edict on February 10, 1638, which solemnly consecrated France to Mary. See, e.g., 1) The Birth of Louis XIV, by the Rector of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Victories; and 2) The Church of Our Lady of Graces in Cotignac. [3] Mariana, lib. VI de Rebus Hispan., c.10.
[4] In ejus vita apud Surium, 23 Julii ; Vide Hist. D. Virg. Monteserrati, mirac. 82.
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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.
© Peter Bloor