Part II : The Crown of Power : Chapter 9 : § 2.1-3

Chapter 9 The Eighth Star or Splendour of the Crown of Power of the MOTHER OF GOD

She commands the Church’s armies

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)

§ 2. The Mother of God Commands His armies

 1   At a propitious time, the era of heroines returns and we are permitted to catch site of a maid[1] (and what a maid!) at the head of God’s armies. We may have heard how Queen Thalestris marched at the head of three hundred thousand Amazon warriors; but here is something very different : Mary leads the troops raised by the Saviour of the world for the defence of His Church. Deborah foretold the defeat of the general Sisara whose skull was pierced through the temple with a tent peg, taking away the life of his body and skewering his head to the ground[2]; but this is also quite different from seeing how the MOTHER OF GOD vanquished and scattered thousands of millions of enemies, both visible and invisible. We can now say that whilst the bravest were resting, Mary was up and at work, and that the Mother of Israel performed wondrous exploits. We can now make it known without fear how the Lord found a new way of making war that no one had ever heard tell of before. Now we can sing in truth how a woman produced by the Hebrew people cast confusion into the house of King Nabuchodonosor. Now we can say of Mary what Solomon said of the valiant woman whose wonders he made known, namely: Many daughters have gathered together riches: thou hast surpassed them all[3]. Now we can say with the pious Peter of Blois, the Great Archdeacon of London, that:

It was not without reason that the Angel when greeting her said she was blessed among women, since amongst all of them she alone had a courage more than manly and she never experienced the weakness characteristic of her sex.

Footnotes

[1] maid : The French word used here is la pucelle, which is the one used by her contemporaries for the Maid of Orleans (St Joan of Arc). 

[2] Judges iv.

[3] Prov. xxxi. 29.

 2   In truth, who will not be astonished to find a woman at the head of the victorious army of the God of armies Himself, which is made up of a million blessed Spirits, countless regiments of Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles, Martyrs, Confessors, Virgins and Married women? Who will not be filled with wonderment on learning that she commands not 1,300,000 men at arms, 500,000 horsemen and 100,000 chariots, as once was the case with Semiramis[1], Queen of the Assyrians? Or 120,000 men like Boudicca, whom we might with good reason call the British Amazon? No, she is in command of the troops of the great God of battles, whose numbers are greater than the stars in the sky and the grains of sand on the seashore. She is in charge of each unit, along with their quarters and their postings; she alone who is responsible for this world of spiritual warriors. Who will not be overwhelmed by the number of foes she has vanquished, the important victories that she has won and the magnificent triumphs[2] she has deserved?

Footnotes

[1] Semiramis: See, e.g., The Library of History, Diodorus Siculus (1st century BC).

[2] Boudic(c)a: sometimes known as Boadicea, d. AD 60-61. See: The Revolt of Boudica according to Tacitus (AD 56-c120).   

[3] triumph : (Hist.) The entrance of a victorious commander with his army and spoils in solemn procession into Rome, permission for which was granted by the senate in honour of an important  achievement in war.

 3   If there are any amongst you curious to know why God wished to honour her with this role unlike anything else in the world, you should first consider the fact that He chose her for His Mother. Once this role of Mother is understood, a role which cannot be surpassed by any other, then we can no longer be surprised that He should honour her with everything that this role might require. Add to this that the glory He derives therefrom is by no means small, since through her He reveals the incomparable power of His grace which is able to accomplish great things by means of a creature so lowly (when she is considered in terms of nature alone). If we take account, moreover, of the characteristics of the enemies that are to be fought and how their dreadful pride meant they saw themselves as being above God Himself, then it was indeed fitting that they should be brought down to the dust of the earth and that they should see themselves beaten not by the omnipotence of God but by the breath of a woman drawn from the lowest level of rational creatures. 

This is an idea which the Blessed St Bruno, founder of the Carthusian Order, develops perceptively and piously in his sermon on the Nativity of the Virgin where he explains the words that God addressed to his friend Job, saying to him: Canst thou draw out the leviathan with a hook, or canst thou tie his tongue with a cord? Shalt thou play with him as with a bird, or tie him up for thy handmaids?[1] He compares St Matthew’s genealogy of the Saviour to a fishing line, at the end of which is the hook covered in flesh which is the Divinity of this same Saviour hidden beneath our humanity in order to catch the devil and hold him to strict account. The person who prepared the hook and who clothed it with flesh is the Blessed Virgin, who not only accepted that she was the handmaid of the Lord but esteemed herself to be the lowliest and the least of all creatures. Nevertheless, by means of this humble handmaid, God achieved what Job would never have thought possible: for by her He hooked and landed Leviathan like a tiny fish; by her He made him the plaything of all nations (as I shall explain later). Through her, He attacked Behemoth and laid him out on the ground : Behemoth, I say, who mocked all the powers of the world; Behemoth, the King of the children of pride; Behemoth, who aimed his attacks at the highest; Behemoth, who swallowed rivers in one mouthful and thought he was strong enough to empty the Jordan[2]. In order to overcome this presumptuousness and to lay low this pride, God did not dispatch one of the great Spirits from on high but was content to send a little handmaid who trampled under her feet all these monsters of pride.

Footnotes

[1] Job xl. 20 & 24.

[2] Behold, he will drink up a river, and not wonder: and he trusteth that the Jordan may run into his mouth. Job xl. 18.

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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 2025 

Part II : The Crown of Power : Chapter 9 : § 1.3-4

Chapter 9 The Eighth Star or Splendour of the Crown of Power of the MOTHER OF GOD

She commands the Church’s armies

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)

§ 1. Commander-in-chief of the Church’s armies : third attribute of the Incarnate King of glory

 3   Having said all this, however, we should remember that Solomon was only a shadow of the Saviour and his prowess as a warrior was merely a prefiguration of the wisdom and courage of the latter. Solomon was born into the royal purple, and he made his entry peacefully into a flourishing state which welcomed him with open arms. The Saviour, on the other hand, was forced to acquire His kingdom at the point of a sword, meeting his enemies head on. His prophet Isaiah[1] alludes to this when he describes him as being covered with the blood of his enemies, looking like one who had been treading grapes for a long time in the harvest. John, in his Apocalypse[2], shows him mounted on a white steed, bow in hand and with a crown on his head even before going into battle, as testimony to the complete confidence He had in victory. If you consider the enemies arrayed against him, they are just as formidable in their might as they are frightening through their sheer numbers. They will appear in a flash with an unheard of fury determined, if they have their way, to eliminate completely the memory of this heavenly Prince. His courage, however, is quite unrivalled just as his power cannot be resisted. Soon we will see Him trample on them all beneath His feet; the rivers will run red with their blood and their dead bodies will be strewn across the land.

Footnotes

[1] I have trodden the winepress alone, and of the Gentiles there is not a man with me: I have trampled on them in my indignation, and have trodden them down in my wrath, and their blood is sprinkled upon my garments, and I have stained all my apparel.  Isaiah lxiii. 3. 

[2] And I saw: and behold a white horse, and he that sat on him had a bow, and there was a crown given him, and he went forth conquering that he might conquer. Apoc. vi. 2.

 4   St John describes Him in this way a second time[1] under the name of faithful, true and Word of God, mounted on a white horse with eyes ablaze, wearing not one but several crowns, his cloak stained with His enemies’ blood. In His mouth is a sharp two edged sword, ready to inflict terrible carnage; in His hand, He holds a rod of iron to break the heads of His enemies, whom He will crush like grapes in a wine press; upon His coat of arms are written these words: the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords. The heavenly host follows Him on white horses, their capes of fine linen streaming behind them. All around Him may be seen crowns and sceptres scattered on the ground, and everywhere the bodies of Kings, Princes, Colonels, Field Marshals and Captains; in short, on surveying this scene you would think that all the great ones of the earth had fallen. This is a prefiguration of the Saviour’s conquests described in a mystical manner by St John. I would have good reason to speak further of these conquests but my plan in this work is to speak more of the great achievements of the Saviour's Spouse rather than His own wonders. In all that will be said about the Queen, however, it is the King who will always have the better part, for it was under His auspices that she gained all those victories which I shall be describing.

Footnotes

[1] Apoc. xix. 11 et seq.

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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 2025 

Part II : The Crown of Power : Chapter 9 : § 1.1-2

Chapter 9 The Eighth Star or Splendour of the Crown of Power of the MOTHER OF GOD

She commands the Church’s armies

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)

The following discussion will shed further light on the previous chapter, and what we learn about the Virgin’s martial skills in leading the armies of God will serve to strengthen us in the trust we must have in her protection. In this undertaking, I shall need the help of the Son and of the Mother: accordingly, I humbly entreat the former, along with the valiant Judith, to fortify me in this task; and the latter, along with the Church, to accept the praises that I offer her, and to fill me with the courage necessary to do battle against her enemies.

§ 1. Commander-in-chief of the Church’s armies : third attribute of the Incarnate King of glory

 1   At first glance, would you consider King Solomon was a great military general? I am talking of Solomon part of whose name means peace, who made peace flourish during his reign as a Prince in this world, and who was never seen at the head of an army shedding the blood of his enemies. Nevertheless, once you have had the chance to reflect upon certain considerations that I shall bring forward, I am convinced that you, like me, will conclude that this was a king most accomplished in the fortunes of both peace and war. Otherwise, how would he have maintained this long and happy peace which he enjoyed for some forty years, especially since his father had attacked the majority of his neighbouring princes, making them his vassals? We would have expected this to leave him facing a succession of wars, unless he had been judged by his enemies to be a king as courageous and valiant as he was wise and well advised. If his reputation had not corresponded to the reality, how would he have halted the factious intrigues of his brother Adonias[1], whose heart was always set upon the throne? How would he have dealt with the insolence of Joab, his military commander, in whose hands were all the armed forces of the kingdom? How would he ever have contained this multitude of people whom God had placed under him, and whose numbers were so great that scripture compares them to the grains of sand on the seashore[2], and tells us that from all time they had been inclined to mutiny and rebellion?

Footnotes

[1] III Kings (I Kings) i. 

[2] III Kings iv. 20.

 2   If we proceed beyond mere conjecture such as these, has he not born sufficient witness himself that he received from God a wisdom which was not limited to the brain and to the study but could be used when it came to practical challenges or military campaigns should this prove necessary? Here is how he speaks of this in the eighth chapter of the Book of Wisdom: Moreover by the means of her I shall have immortality: and shall leave behind me an everlasting memory to them that come after me. I shall set the people in order: and nations shall be subject to me. Terrible kings hearing shall be afraid of me: among the multitude I shall be found good, and valiant in war[1]. 

Let us continue with our evidence. We learn in the book of Paralipomenon[2] that this Prince had a heart so noble that he would not allow any Israelite or Jew to be employed in Servile Labour, whether in the construction of the temple or as servants in his household; from this we can form an idea of the great number of soldiers he had in his kingdom. The learned bishop of Avila[3], moreover, believes that none of his forebears or his successors had so many soldiers under arms as he did, even though we know that King Josaphat[4] could number in the city of Jerusalem alone one million and eighty thousand men bearing arms, all in excellent health and condition, without mentioning those who occupied other positions within the kingdom. We also find[5] that the military discipline which was maintained in the garrison cities was such that there were two hundred and fifty veteran officers made responsible for training these soldiers in every sort of military exercise. In view of this, who of us can be astonished that Solomon’s reputation preceded him everywhere, and there could not be found any Prince strong or rebellious enough to make an enemy of him rather than keep him as a friend?

Footnotes

[1] Wisdom viii. 13-15.

[2] II Paralip. viii. 9-10.

[3] Tostatus III Reg. 9, q. 12, et II Paralip. viii. 

[4] Paralip. xvii..

[5] Paralip. viii. 

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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 2025 

Part II : The Crown of Power : Chapter 8 : § 4.4

Chapter 8 : The Seventh Star or Splendour of the Crown of Power of the MOTHER OF GOD

She is the Protectress of the Church

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)

§ 4. The third Image represents the wondrous power and strength of the MOTHER OF GOD : the third quality she shows as Protectress

 4   The Abbot Rupert[1], Honorius and Alanus[2], see this tower as symbolising the power and strength of the Mother of God as Protectress of the Church. Indeed a close consideration will reveal to us that the Holy Spirit prepared the tower like a preparatory model prefiguring the holy Virgin. If David built his fortified city and his tower after defeating and casting out the Jebusite – the Saviour only raised His Mother as a defensive fortification after having first trampled underfoot[3] the ancient enemy, who had taken possession of the world. If David employed every human skill and effort to produce a work of perfection then, as I have shown throughout Part I, the Saviour has taken immense care to make the holy Virgin the wonder of the universe. If David’s tower was so high that it could be seen from a great distance – then the Saviour has elevated His Mother to such a height that she can be seen by Angels and men from every place on earth and in Heaven. If David built his tower on a rock and did everything he could to make it strong so as to keep in check the enemies of his people – then the Saviour placed His Mother on the highest mountains so that the enemies of His Church might be discovered from afar and filled with fear and trembling simply at the sight of her. If David made his tower into an arsenal, storing every sort of weapon and munition, offensive and defensive – then the Saviour made of His Mother a Protectress, equipped with everything necessary to defend and keep safe faithful in the Church, as I shall explain in the next chapter but also at other points in Part III. If David considers his tower and his fortified city such a work of accomplishment as to honour them with his name : the City of David – then the Saviour has rendered no less honour to His Mother, giving her the glorious title City of God, as I have shown elsewhere[4]. Finally, if David also makes use of the name Tower of learning – then the Saviour has even more reason for giving the same name to His Holy Mother; for she is indeed the Tower of learning which can be seen from the country’s highways, returning those who have strayed back onto the right path, giving confidence to those who are persevering on this path, and serving for the whole church as a lighthouse and as a safe haven. She is a Tower of learning inasmuch as she has and makes available to her children rare texts and hidden wonders of the divine wisdom, as I will be discussing at greater length in the next Part[5]. Tower of learning, because in her can be found God’s teaching par excellence. For over sixteen hundred years the Blessed spirits have been contemplating her, astonished to see in her so many perfections, so much skill and power. The more they explore these, the more they find there is to study, and, if we are blessed to receive her favourable help, we hope to have an entire eternity to contemplate these same great qualities and to wonder at a mere creature who is capable of supporting the world, taking on all the enemies of the Church and crushing them under foot.

Footnotes

[1] In illum locum 4 Cant. : Sicut turris David collum tuum, etc.

[2] In illum locum 4 Cant. : Sicut turris David collum tuum, etc.

[3] Jebusæus, id est, Conculcatus. Jebusite. i.e., trampled down. From the verb בוס (bus), to trample down.

[4] Part I, ch. 13.

[5] Ch. 10.

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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 2025 

Part II : The Crown of Power : Chapter 8 : § 4.1-3

Chapter 8 : The Seventh Star or Splendour of the Crown of Power of the MOTHER OF GOD

She is the Protectress of the Church

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)

§ 4. The third Image represents the wondrous power and strength of the MOTHER OF GOD : the third quality she shows as Protectress

 1   I am taking the third image from the second book of Kings[1], the second book of Esdras[2] and the fourth chapter in the Canticle of Canticles[3]. There we learn that David, having reigned for six years in Hebron, defeated the Jebusites and took their fortress of Jerusalem located on Mount Sion. After the conquest, he determined to make this the capital and at the same time the central point of his kingdom, with reference to the seven nations[4] that the people of God had conquered in order to take possession of the promised land. With these thoughts in mind and judging that the site was of prime importance, he called together the most skilful architects he could find and together with them he produced a plan for a fortified city that would be renowned throughout the world. He and the architects decided to fill in a deep valley between two hills in order to produce a solid foundation forming a platform large enough to meet the needs of the project. One end would provide a site for the Temple and the other for the construction of his Palace. This fortress and Royal Residence was to be called henceforth the City of David and was one of the foremost fortified cities in the world, not only from the natural qualities of the site but also because of the skill of the master builders employed.

Footnotes

[1] II Kings (II Samuel): v. 1-9.

[2] II Esdras (Nehemiah) ; iii.

[3] See, e.g., Thy neck, is as the tower of David, which is built with bulwarks: a thousand bucklers hang upon it, all the armour of valiant men. Cant. iv. 4.

[4] Deut. vii. 1; Acts xiii. 19.

 2    Amongst all these wonders, not only of nature but of human skill, the Sacred Scriptures give particular prominence to a tower so high and so impressively surrounded by bulwarks[1], where everything was designed and constructed with such proportion, such care and with such beauty, that for these reasons it merited the name before all others of the Tower of David. Now, if this Prince took such great care to perfect what is on the outside, do you think he would be any less attentive about the interior ? On the contrary, amongst other unusual features he made a chamber to showcase all the rare and beautiful works of art and nature that he could find; he established a library and filled it with the most excellent works by the best minds that could be found; he built an arsenal and, as he was not only a warrior Prince but also had an inquiring mind, he stocked it with all manner of items, where utility and effectiveness vied with excellence of quality and craftsmanship for pride of place. As we read in the eighth chapter of the second Book of Kings[2], he took to Jerusalem the arms of gold that he had seized from the men of Adarezer.  I leave you to imagine how he would have been enriched by the spoils seized after the score of remarkable victories that he won. This is what we learn, for example, from the sacred text in the book of Canticles[3], where it is written that a thousand bucklers hang upon the Royal Tower (meaning an almost limitless number) with all the armour of the valiant men, lords and Princes whom David had overcome.

Footnotes

[1] bulwarks : (or ramparts) this is the Douay-Rheims translation of the Vulgate’s propugnaculis in Cant iv. 4. Fr Poiré uses the word boulevards which might be translated as battlements; the Fillion Bible (1888-1895) uses the word créneaux which refers to the crenels or embrasures in a parapet.

[2] I Kings (II Samuel) ; viii. 7.

[3] Cant. iv. 4.

 3   I cannot forget an insightful comment made by Rabbis Solomon and Ibn Ezra who, with reference to the text[1] we have cited about David’s tower built with bulwarks, interpreted this as meaning that he made it a Tower of Learning. Some think that this is because it was very high and could be seen from afar, serving as a landmark for travellers in the same way as those tall towers that were built on the coast which were called lighthouses by the ancients. It may be, as we read in the learned Philo’s book On the Embassy to Gaius, that David maintained in the Tower a collection of all the best books and masterpieces of art and science that he could lay hands on. Finally, as others prefer to believe, this tower was in itself such a supreme masterpiece that the finest craftsmen in the world came to study it and the longer they spent in their study, the more they found to learn.

Footnotes

[1] Thy neck, is as the tower of David, which is built with bulwarks: a thousand bucklers hang upon it, all the armour of valiant men. Cant. iv. 4.

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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 2025 

Part II : The Crown of Power : Chapter 8 : § 3.5-7

Chapter 8 : The Seventh Star or Splendour of the Crown of Power of the MOTHER OF GOD

She is the Protectress of the Church

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)

§ 3. The second Image represents the wondrous care shown by the MOTHER OF GOD towards the Church : the second quality she shows as Protectress

 5   One of the fiercest persecutions to be raised against the Church since the time of the pagan Emperors was that of the Emperor Henry IV which began towards the beginning of the year 1100.  He was in opposition to the Holy See on the question of the investiture of Bishops and managed to win over to his side the greater part of the Empire. He wanted to take this right by force, along with many other which he claimed but without any basis in justice. During the years that this storm raged, God gave signs of His wrath so clearly[1] that the most passionate of those involved in this struggle could not deny that He was greatly angered. It seemed that everywhere, but especially in the lands of the Empire and throughout Italy, houses, châteaux and towns were devastated by fire from Heaven; there were earthquakes, floods, extraordinary signs in the sky, and rivers were swallowed up by terrible landslides; the river Po burst its banks and when its rising waters were later heard returning to their natural course, the sound could be heard from far away; there were avalanches and rock falls in the mountains, and other dangerous events which made some people fear these were signs presaging the end of the world and the final judgement. The result was that almost the whole of Italy went on a fast and kept the fifty hours devotion. At that point, something remarkable happened which was described by a famous historian of the time[2]:

In the city of Cremona, there was a little baby still in his cradle and being breastfed; he called out to his mother to tell her that he had seen the Saviour on a royal throne, with His holy Mother next to Him; she was humbly yet earnestly imploring Him to suspend the judgement of the world which He seemed eager to begin. Once the baby had passed on this message, he became silent and did not utter any words until that time when infants normally start to speak.

Footnotes

[1] Sigebertus, in Chronico ; Nauclerus, Rogerius, Baron., ab an. 4 ejus Imperii.

[2] Dodechinus, an. 1117.

 6    In the picture which I described earlier, I remember having seen the Holy Virgin positioned above the ship like the Star of the Sea and the heavenly cynosure[1] which serves as one of the principle guides for mariners. This awakened in me the memory of a wonderful story told by St Anthony. 

In the year 1128, he says, the city of Soissons was severely afflicted by an illness in which the main symptoms were poisonous pustules and dangerous inflammations. Several people died whilst others, having recourse to the Holy Virgin who had been honoured in that city for a long time, received the relief and healing that they had hoped for. One day there was a public procession, and it so happened that a poor woman who had a little boy aged 11 (who used to watch over a flock of sheep) found that he had been struck by this illness. His mother carried him to the church where he fell asleep by her side until the return of the procession. As people slowly started to appear inside the church, the boy suddenly woke up and, giving thanks to God and to his holy Mother, he cried out in a loud voice with words so moving as to bring tears to the eyes all those who heard him. They crowded around him and wanted to know what had happened. He explained quite openly that during his sleep he had seen the MOTHER OF GOD kneeling before her dear Son, imploring Him to calm His just anger and to extinguish this plague He had cast upon the city, which was one she had taken under her protection. The Saviour had replied to her:

“My dearest Mother, thou art the Star of the Sea; may what thou desirest be accomplished.”

Events were to seal the truth of this narrative, for the spread of the illness came to a halt and a prediction also made by the boy came true, namely that he would not survive very long, for he did indeed die a month later.

Footnotes

[1] cynosure [dog’s tail]: The northern constellation Ursa Minor, which contains in its tail the Pole-star; also applied to the Pole-star itself.

 7   If a single spark of God’s anger is capable of engulfing a great city in flames, let us take just a moment, dear Reader, to consider what would happen if He were to apply the torch of His wrath in its entirety? Reflect a little upon the wretched state of those bound hand and foot who are thrown into the furnace of His indignation which he Himself had lit and which would consume through eternity those driven crazy through their sins. Just think on what a dreadful state the Church would be in if God had withdrawn this gentle Star which provides it with light, consoles it, guides it and protects it in the midst of so many dangers and tribulations. After this reflection, join with me, or rather with her devoted St John Damascene[1], when he says:

“Most holy Lady, thou art the sacred anchor for all our hopes in this storm-tossed barque;”

and with the pious St Ephrem[2]:

“Thou art the Queen of all, hope for the hopeless, safe haven for the shipwrecked, deliverance for those in prison, mother for orphans, ransom for captives, joy for the afflicted and the salvation of all men.”

I will borrow next the words of her faithful servant St Bernard[3]:

“Whoever you may be, make this belief truly your own, namely: when amidst the turbulence of this world you find yourself borne away by the storms of the raging sea or when you no longer find yourself on solid ground, be sure that you do not take your eyes off the beautiful Star above if you do not wish to be swallowed up by the waves. When the winds of temptation blow strongly, when you are being forced on to the reefs of tribulation, look up to the Star and call on Mary. When you come up against the swollen flood of pride, or the surging waters of ambition, detraction and envy, look up at the Star and call on Mary. If you are being swamped by a rising tide of anger and avarice, or by the torments of carnal desire, keep your gaze fixed upon Mary. If it seems that the very excess of your sins, the weight of your conscience and the dread of final judgement are making you sink into the depths of sadness and engulfing you in an abyss of despair, remember Mary. Have recourse to Mary every time you encounter danger, distress and tribulation; she should ever be in your heart just as her name should always be on your lips. To be more confident of receiving the help of her intercession, take great care to imitate the good examples that she gives you. By following her, you will never go astray; by imploring her aid, you will never fall into despair; by thinking on her, you will not fall into error; when she holds you safely, you will never fall; when she is protecting you, you need have no fear; when you follow her as your guide, you will not weary; and for as long as Mary offers you her help and support, you will achieve any worthy goals you set yourself.”

Footnotes

[1] Orat. de Assumpt.

[2] Orat. de Laudibus Virg.

[3] Homil. 2 in Missus.

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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 2025 

Part II : The Crown of Power : Chapter 8 : § 3.1-4

Chapter 8 : The Seventh Star or Splendour of the Crown of Power of the MOTHER OF GOD

She is the Protectress of the Church

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)

§ 3. The second Image represents the wondrous care shown by the MOTHER OF GOD towards the Church : the second quality she shows as Protectress

 1   You must all have seen a painting of the Royal Flagship and I invite you now to consider how this can represent Holy Church for us, noting how it is able to carry a large number of people, armed and equipped with all the necessary weapons, munitions and supplies. St Peter is at the helm, the Apostles and the Prelates their successors surround him and help him in steering and running the ship; the Doctors get the vessel under way so that it moves according to the cadence of the oars, so to speak, of Sacred Scripture; Ministers of every rank and grade are in charge of defending the vessel, having charge of the necessary weapons and munitions; Preachers sound the trumpet, whilst Confessors are at hand to purge foul waters from the bilge – there is in fact no office or ministry on board lacking in honour or importance. The almost infinite number of people of all ranks and quality that you can see on the main deck represent the generality of the Christian faithful. Aloft may be seen God the Father within a bright cloud surrounded by several thousand Angels; above the mainmast is the Saviour, who is Admiral and Captain of the ship; at His side is the Holy Spirit who provides favourable winds; on the mainsail, the MOTHER OF GOD is like a seated presence guiding and watching over the vessel. Here you have a fair idea of how the Church might be portrayed and the loving care that the Holy Virgin has in protecting it.

 2   Do not imagine that the image we have been considering is a new idea, for over fifteen hundred years ago Pope St Clement published an Apostolic Constitution ordering that Christian Churches were to be built in the form of a ship. We must remember, moreover, that (according to the opinion of all the Fathers) it was over four thousand years ago when God provided details for the design and building of Noah’s Ark, which was at the time the only Church and the first ship in the world. 

In fact, if you consider the measurements and proportions of a ship you will find that they actually correspond to our Church buildings as well as to the true Church itself as the assembly of Christians. In the first place, note how we use the word vaisseau[1] both for a ship and for the nave of a Church; inasmuch as a Church is like a ship on dry land whilst a ship at sea has the form of a Church. The main entry at the west end of our Churches is square and corresponds to the stern on a ship;  the choir corresponds to the prow of a ship;  the spires are the masts and they also, with the yards, represent the cross; the three decks of a ship correspond to the three orders in the Church, namely: marriage, celibacy and virginity; the three longitudinal divisions of a ship correspond in Church to the law of nature, the Synagogue and the Gospel; fresh water on board corresponds to the waters of Baptism; ship’s biscuit is the bread of life and the food for souls that the Saviour left us in the Eucharist; other provisions on board correspond to the other Sacraments, to the Word of God and to everything else that the Church provides for the faithful.

Footnotes

[1] vaisseau = vessel: in French this can refer either to a ship or to that part of a church between the main entrance and the sanctuary, which in English would be called the nave. Since nave is derived from the Latin word navis which means ship, the parallel is seen to exist in English usage as well.

 3   We could in fact explore these parallels further but all I will say for the moment is that no ship on the high seas is exposed to so many risks and dangers as the Church endures amidst the turbulence of this world. The winds that howl from all quarters, together with the storms they bring, almost capsize this poor vessel; they are the demons who are rightly called in this context the powers of the air[1]; these have sworn to bring about the ship’s total destruction, but the wicked wretches will never succeed in their plans. The waves and surf of the raging seas are stirred up by these same winds and correspond to the ten waves of persecution suffered under the pagan Emperors who were incited by the toxic enemies of the faith. It is said that the tenth wave is always the worst and so too, out of these persecutions, the tenth was the cruellest and the bloodiest of all. The reefs and hidden rocks are heretics, masquerading with a superficial reforming spirit which gives them an appearance of being with us, but actually planning an ambush so as to smash our ship into pieces. The sea monsters, dreadful on account of their massive size, are the powers of the earth working together against the rights and privileges of Holy Church. The treacherous sand banks are scourges sent from God : wars, plagues and famines which at least for a while halt the progress and spread of the Gospel. Finally the Mahommedans are like the pirates and scavengers of the seas who steal the fruits of Christian labour and the booty won in conquests, so that they themselves can enjoy that which the Christians acquired through so much effort in Asia, Africa and a large part of Europe.

Footnotes

[1]  See Eph. ii. 2. & vi. 11-12.

 4   God understands how amidst so many attacks the poor Church has real need of help and how the loving care of the MOTHER OF GOD would never to see this is so. God knows how she controls the sails, how she summons forth propitious winds, how she keeps a watchful eye to prevent the Church from drifting off course, to avoid dangerous situations, to calm storms and tempests and to steer His barque to its safe haven. God knows how many times it would already have been blown off course by the winds, overwhelmed by the waves, broken on the rocks, stranded on sandbanks, overturned by monsters or pillaged by pirates – if she had not taken it in hand and her loving care had not protected it against these hazards. We can be in no doubt about this since the Saviour himself, whilst complaining one day to the blessed St Bridget[1] that Christians had grown distant from Him, added this warning, that:

their sins had become so excessive that, were it not for the prayers of His Mother, there would be no hope of mercy left for them anywhere in the world.

The Saviour has never ceased to insist on this truth, and he has even made use of words from the mouths of his enemies. Caesarius, a learned and pious member of the Cistercian Order (German by birth), recounts[2] a memorable incident that happened in his province during his lifetime, around the year 1222. 

He tells us that whilst Holy Mass was being sung in a Church the image of the Virgin began to shed large teardrops, something everybody saw and which caused great wonder and alarm amongst all those present. The Ladies in the Church approached the image and used their scarves to wipe away the tears. People of all ranks and ages flocked to this remarkable and moving sight. Amongst their number, there was by chance a man possessed who, after he was exorcised, was heard to cry out that the Son of Man had determined to punish men and that if His Mother had not stayed His arm, the world would have been reduced to nothing. This was the reason for the tears on this image.

Footnotes

[1] Lib. VI Revelat., c. 26.

[2] Lib. VII, c. 2.

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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 2025