Part II : The Crown of Power : Chapter 10 : § 3.4-6

Chapter 10 The Ninth Star or Splendour of the Crown of Power of the MOTHER OF GOD

She is in charge of the Church’s resources and Treasurer of the Saviour’s graces

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. Understanding what has been said : that the Holy Virgin is empowered to distribute all the graces of the Saviour 

The Holy Virgin is empowered to distribute all the graces of the Saviour

 4   Finally, here is conclusive proof of something I have mentioned several times elsewhere, namely that she received the plenitude of graces and favours of all the states and conditions that may be found, whether among Angels or among men. I cannot believe that she would have been enriched with so many blessings just for her personal greatness. I feel we may rest assured that all these favours were granted to her because, since she is a universal cause of salvation for all of God’s children, she must have a general influence over all the actions which help them along the right path in order to enter into possession of the heritage which has been promised to them. I have shown on two separate occasions that it was only right and proper that she should merit all the graces of the Saviour which were His in virtue of justice, (except those relating to her initial sanctification). In view of this, is it not clear to us that her beloved Son would entrust her with a distribution of all his favours?

 5   I must confess that I do not know whether we should be struck more by our ignorance or by the way we fall short in our actions. By ignorance I mean that, despite enjoying almost uninterrupted blessings obtained for us by the Holy Virgin, we show so little feeling in our hearts and make such poor use of them. To have a better idea of this fallen human nature of ours, I sometimes imagine that there is someone in the world so rich and powerful that there is nothing we could ask of him that he would be unable to give us; so munificent that he delights in sharing his goods with us; and so noble that he feels a moral obligation to dispense gifts. These gifts, moreover, are not insignificant but are things such as palaces, country retreats, Lordships and highly desirable posts – in short, all the blessings of this world that the human heart could wish for, and even more, such as health rest and spiritual contentment. Where could we find sufficient ways of expressing gratitude to such a person? How many panegyrics would we offer to him in thanks? How many books would be dedicated to his name? Who would not keep a portrait of him in their home as a token of their happiness? Who would not always have his name in their heart and on their lips? 

But how long are we going to remain absorbed in worldly interests? How long will we have feelings only for things fleeting and ephemeral, paying so little heed to those which are true and eternal? Is this not good reason to rouse us from our drowsiness and to make us blush at our insensitivity? Just consider the shame in seeing how little gratitude we have for the graces that we receive unceasingly from the hand of the Princess of Heaven! In fact, I want the gifts that come from her hand to be supernatural graces and favours, which are infinitely preferable to those fleeting and perishable things which I agree should be considered far less important. Let us at least acknowledge their number and weigh the significance of what I am going to say:

Lampridius relates a story about Elagabalus, an emperor (if ever there were one) who liked to play the clown. He discovered a remarkable way of conveying to posterity an idea of the grandeur of the city of Rome. He commanded that all the spider-webs that could be found in the city should be collected and weighed. The weight came to almost one thousand pounds and from this it was simple enough to estimate the huge number of houses in this, the capital of the world. 

In order to give people some idea of what we owe to the Virgin, our peerless benefactress, I would really like to be able to put a number on even the smallest favours that we receive from her, often without being aware of them. I am convinced that anyone spending a moment thinking about this would be astonished at what he learned. Just think how many quarters of an hour there are in a single year: nearly 35,000. Now picture that every quarter of an hour we obtain through her means one grace, and no more, even though they come down upon us like the showers of spring or the snows of winter. Great God! How many of these graces will there be after several years have gone by? And after adding them together, who would not feel himself deeply obliged by what he has received from this benefactress? Consider too those graces which have a value and an impact so great that each one alone would make us indebted to her for the whole of eternity? There is no doubt in my mind that, were we to receive such a grace from someone like ourselves, we would never be able to thank them sufficiently.  Are we going to let it be said that we attach less importance to such a grace that has come from the hands of the MOTHER OF GOD and which comes (as is frequently the case) without our even being aware of it?

 6   Now, if we show great ignorance in relation to these graces, I believe the poor use we make of them is no less problematic. If we were to make proper use of them they would produce for us every day effects that would cause delight in heaven and on earth. Whilst the most punctilious try to manage them well, they slip from our hands and leave us only with a feeling of sadness at having made poor use of them. Let us think about this, so that we may avoid displeasing our loving Father who acquired these graces at such a high price, and our beloved Mother who distributes them with such tender care. 

The time has come now however To continue with our study of her great qualities.

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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 10 : § 3.1-3

Chapter 10 The Ninth Star or Splendour of the Crown of Power of the MOTHER OF GOD

She is in charge of the Church’s resources and Treasurer of the Saviour’s graces

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. Understanding what has been said : that the Holy Virgin is empowered to distribute all the graces of the Saviour 

The Holy Virgin is empowered to distribute all the graces of the Saviour

 1   To provide greater clarity about what has been said so far, it should be noted that there are three different ways of understanding how the graces of Heaven are conferred upon us by the sacred Virgin. The first is by realizing that it is through her that we have received the Author of all grace and this means we are in consequence obliged to her for all the graces and favours that come from Him. This why, or so it seems to me, St Bernard calls her the inventrix of Grace[1]. The second way goes beyond this but is still within the terms of a general prayer, inasmuch as her role as mediatrix  means that she obtains in a general way the graces which are necessary for the salvation of all men. The third way is the most excellent of the three for it touches upon the least of our personal needs, so that there is not a single, particular grace or favour that does not pass through her hands, no need expressed that she does not relieve, no request that she does not answer.

In order to deal methodically with a subject of such importance, it seems that we can say of the three ways that the first is beyond question and does not cause any difficulties; and that the second  is supported and explained by the writings of the Fathers that we have been considering. As far as the third way is concerned, it takes nothing away from the greatness of God to say there is no grace allocated to men which is not procured, obtained and communicated through her. There are several reasons I could give to show this but here are three which will be even more persuasive when they are reinforced by the authority of the Holy Fathers.

Footnotes

[1] Cf. example of 17th century usage cited in OED: 1604, This inuentrix of grace, this mediatrix of Saluation. (R. Parsons, Relation Triall before King of France)

The first reason

 2   For a better understanding of the first reason, we need to recall what was said about her glory in Part I[1], that she can clearly see in detail everything that God knows because of a knowledge she has which we call vision: Through this ability, she can see what has been, what is, or what is to be – no matter what time difference there may be. In consequence, there can be no event or conjunction of events, no temptation,  no danger or any case of need which she does not perceive. This is what moved Saint Epiphanius[2] and St Ephrem[3], in my opinion, to call her the Virgin with many eyes. The pious Richard of St Victor develops this idea when he says[4] that:

She has such a good and tender heart that it is not possible for her to learn of our miseries without immediately supplying a remedy; for once our needs have been presented to her, having compassion in her heart and the power to act (as the Saints have shown us), there is no way that she can forget us.

Footnotes

[1] Part I, ch. 2.; see also ch. 11 §4.4

[2] Serm. de Laudibus Virg.

[3] Orat. ad Deiparam.

[4] On the words: Thy two breasts like two young roes:  Cant. iv. 5.

The second reason

 3   The second reason will support what I have just said and I am basing it on the fact that she is at one at the same time both MOTHER OF GOD and also our Mother. The better to set forth this explanation, I am borrowing from an excellent speech written by Theophilus, Patriarch of Alexandria, who lived at the time of St Jerome; it can be found in the book he wrote about the Incarnation of the Word. There he writes that it is impossible for children to equal in a perfect manner that which they have received from their father and their mother; but he makes an exception to this general rule in the case of the Saviour who, apart from the natural life that he gave to His Mother insofar as He was God, as I have shown elsewhere[1], He also communicated to her a spiritual life which He enriched with so many extraordinary favours that He rendered her incomparably more noble than she was in her temporal life. He does not stop at that, but adds:

This peerless Son, desirous of recognizing in a very special manner what He owes to His most dear Mother, takes singular pleasure in granting her whatever she requests for us and is delighted to oblige her in this way. 

It is not possible to state, says St Bernard[1], just how much our condition is better for having a Mediatrix whom the Saviour wishes to please in all things and at all times; this is so much the case that, because of His love for her, we often obtain what our own unworthy state would never deserve.

Indeed, were there to be no other consideration than this, the Saviour’s gratitude would have caused Him to place everything in her hands and place her in charge of his resources – not with a duty to keep and produce accounts like a mere court official – but with plenary power to dispose of them and make use of them according to her own will, as Mother, as Spouse and as Queen. In fact, I would go further than this and say that propriety requires this should be granted to her by virtue of her being Mother of all the Saviour's children. I am basing this on a fertile idea of the great St Augustine. In his book Of Holy Virginity, having said that:

The Virgin is our Mother by spirit and by grace just as she is the Saviour’s Mother by nature,

he develops this thought and says that:

she is delivered of her spiritual children when she brings them forth for Heaven; consequently, she bears them in her womb whilst they are here below waiting for this new life.

Whence it follows that, just as a tiny infant who is not yet born has for his food only that which has passed through the mouth of his mother and then been digested in her stomach; in the same way, for as long as we are here below, no grace is communicated to us that the Holy Virgin has not obtained through her prayer, as through her mouth, and which she has not in her charity converted into that which is able to nourish us.

Footnotes

[1] Part I, § 1, Part II ch. 1.

[2] Serm. de Vigilia Nativit. Domini.

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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 10 : § 2.1-4

Chapter 10 The Ninth Star or Splendour of the Crown of Power of the MOTHER OF GOD

She is in charge of the Church’s resources and Treasurer of the Saviour’s graces

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 power the MOTHER OF GOD has over the Saviour’s resources

 1   It is now time to turn our attention to the MOTHER OF GOD since the main point of this discussion is to highlight the remarkable power she has been given over the incomparable treasure of graces and favours of her Son. Out of a considerable number of Doctors who pay homage to the holy Virgin because of this very power, I have chosen a small number as witnesses. The pious Idiota[1] in the first chapter of the contemplations which he composed on the Holy Virgin called her the Treasury of Heaven’s graces[2], forasmuch as she is able to dispose of them according to her will. This is a favour which St Bernard[3] calls singularly general, and generally singular.

Singular in as much as it uniquely applies to her in a personal capacity; general because she is granted a general power to use the treasury for the common good of all those who have need of God’s graces, which they are to receive through her hands. 

Elsewhere[4] he exhorts us

To honour with our whole heart and soul Her whom God ordained to be the means by which we receive all that we ask for.

In another place[5] he tells us that:

If ever we hope to receive some grace from the Author of all goodness, this grace must first reside in Mary. 

All the treasures of the mercy of God are in thy hands, says Blessed St John Damascene[6], and thou alone hast been chosen to keep the keys and to distribute them to men according to thy good will. 

St Bonaventure[7], paraphrasing the words of the Angelic salutation: The Lord is with thee, speaks as follows:

Most Holy Virgin! The Lord, who is with thee, is very generous with His riches; and since He is most generous with thee, it must follow that thou art thyself most generously enriched in all the ways that He is with thee. 

This is supported by what is said in Proverbs[8]: With me are riches and glory; or, as another version has it: From me come riches and glory[9]; the Saints, who are able to perceive things in ways we cannot, have recognised almost everywhere in the universe the signs of this sovereign power she enjoys.

Footnotes

[1] Idiota in this context means private, simple, or peculiar; there is a consensus that it was a nom de plume used by Raymundus Jordanus. See Idiota in Catholic Encyclopedia.

[2] Thesauraria gratiarum existis.

[3] Serm. 3 in Missus.

[4] Serm. de Nativit. B. Virg.

[5] Serm. in Salve.

[6] Serm. de Nativit. B. Virg.

[7] Speculi B. Virg., c. 8.

[8] Prov. viii. 18.

[9] Cf. Wealth and glory belong to me / πλοῦτος καὶ δόξα ἐμοὶ ὑπάρχει (Septuagint).

 2   The Saints have seen that the marks of her sovereign power were engraved on the Sun and the Moon, as I showed in Part I of this work[1]. They have said as much about the elements and St John Damascene make some excellent points on the second Oratio of the Assumption where he astutely observes that:

It is one of the wonders of nature to see how the same rain accommodates itself so well to different terrains that it can bring forth all manner of things. In one place it produces a grape; in another, an orange; here, a pomegranate; there, a lemon or a melon; in one plot of the same parterre it produces a rose; in another, a carnation, a lily or a tulip. In one place, the rain produces stone; in another, wood; in another, metal. In short, you would say that the rain seems as though it were endowed with sense so as to meet the needs of everything in nature.

It is different with the MOTHER OF GOD who, like a cloud replete with a rich store of graces, drops down heavenly dew, showering over all the earth the longed-for favours of her beloved Spouse. In one place she melts the sinner’s hardened heart, moving him to repentance; in another place, she causes the soul of the just man to bud and blossom by advancing in virtue. Sometimes she gives encouragement to those who are struggling, sometimes she awakens those who have fallen asleep; here, she calls upon people to live well and lead a good life, there she helps them to die well, and make a good death; one person she will keep safe from an occasion of sin, to another she will provide an opportunity of doing something pleasing to God; in short, she works everywhere in a thousand different ways, guiding souls on the right path to achieve their end – which is eternal salvation.

Footnotes

[1] Chap. 13, § 4.

 3   St Bernard presents a different image[1] when he describes the sacred Virgin as being like a great aqueduct stretching down from heaven to earth, there to provide in abundance the living waters of God’s graces.

This does not mean to say, he writes, that God Himself could not distribute His own gifts; but it pleased Him to grant us the favour of giving us a Mediatrix whom He found so pleasing that she was able to obtain for us what we ourselves would never have deserved. Accordingly, he goes on to say, let us recognise how highly God wishes us to honour her who is the repository of all His graces and favours; so that if there remains for us any hope of obtaining pardon, or if we hope for some share in God’s graces, we can rest assured that it is to her that we should address our requests.

Footnotes

[1] Serm. de Aquæ ductu.

 4   It is worth remembering at this point that man, as Sophronius[1] has explained, along with other creatures, bears the image of this same power imprinted deep in his natural faculties. Just as we see how in animals everything originates in the head and then passes through the neck so as to be communicated to all the parts of the body; in the same way, it is from the Saviour, as from the Head of the Church, that flow all the graces which, through the mediation of the Holy Mother, are made available to all the members of this mystical body. This power is of such great import that it certainly deserves to be considered in greater detail.

Footnotes

[1] Serm. de Assumpt.

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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 10 : § 1.2-5

Chapter 10 The Ninth Star or Splendour of the Crown of Power of the MOTHER OF GOD

She is in charge of the Church’s resources and Treasurer of the Saviour’s graces

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. Unrivalled in Greatness and Riches : fifth attribute of the King of glory incarnate

 2   Add to this, secondly, the 666 talents, (that is to say 12,000,000 pieces of gold), that the fleets from Tharsis and Ophir would bring each year, as we read in the third book of Kings[1]. Take into account, thirdly, the goods that he possessed: namely the wealth derived annually from his lands  livestock which produced a truly enormous income, as may be seen in the first book of Paralipomenon[2]. In the fourth place, we need to mention the taxes and levies that he imposed upon his people; these were higher than those of his father David’s and this gave rise to the complaints we find reported in the third book of Kings[3]. Fifthly, we also have to take into account what came to him from the merchants who carried on business with foreign lands to whom he had opened up his borders for trade[4]. We should not forget to include, in the sixth place, the tribute levied by his father from a number of foreign princes and countries which we find mentioned in the second book of Paralipomenon[5] and elsewhere in sacred scripture. Finally, in addition to everything we have mentioned so far, mention should be made of the numerous and varied gifts he received from all over the world, for the princess of foreign lands were most eager to win his friendship[6]; the extent of these was so great that some serious writers[7] find no difficulty in saying that, through this means alone, he amassed more wealth than his father had acquired in twenty major victories. Add together what he received from all these different sources and then see if you can tell me what the total figure would be for the wealth and income of this great Prince, the most magnificent whoever lived, according to the testimony of the Holy Spirit.

Footnotes

[1] Chap. x.

[2] Chap. xvii.

[3] Chap. xii.

[4] I Reg. x.

[5] Chap. viii.

[6] III Reg. iv & x.

[7] Pineda, Salomonis prævii, lib, IV, c. 2.

 3   I provided the details in the above account because I am convinced the Holy Spirit wanted us to know about them inasmuch as his plan was by this means to elevate our thoughts to the spiritual riches of Jesus, our true Prince of peace. The Apostle St Paul makes reference to these riches in the Epistle he wrote to the Romans[1], where he says: It was not with the Saviour’s grace as it was with the first man’s sin[2]: The former abounded in blessings, but the latter in misfortune. In the first place, only the original sin of Adam has passed on to us like a disease; whereas the Saviour’s grace has been a cure not only for the original sin but also for all actual sins. Adam’s sin was only of one particular kind, whereas the Saviour’s graces are various and multifaceted. The former brings with it only the punishment which we call damnation, or the deprivation of God; the latter frees us from the pain of feeling. Through the former, the sensitive part of Man has indeed been reduced to a disordered state; but the Saviour’s grace has not only supplied a remedy but has made it possible for victory to be based on this disorder. The former caused us to lose the grace which would have enabled us to persevere; through the latter we are now able to obtain that perseverance. The former gave entry to temporal death; the latter opens the door to eternal life. The effects of the former were limited to men and their descendants; the latter reaches even unto the Angels, who have nothing in common with him by nature. Through the former, man lost none of his natural rights; through the latter, he is given possession of a plenitude of supernatural rights.

Footnotes

[1] Rom. v.

[2] But not as the offence, so also the gift / Sed non sicut delictum, ita et donum :): Rom. v. 15. Cf.  Only, the grace which came to us was out of all proportion to the fault (Knox).

 4   Since our aim here is to arrive at a better understanding of the immeasurable treasures of the Saviour’s grace, try to form an idea if you can of the number of people who have ever lived, who are living now and who are yet to be born; then add up all the good thoughts that they have ever had, all the holy words that they have ever spoken, all the virtuous actions they have performed and all that they will produce until the end of the world. Then let it sink in that for each and every one of these there needs to have been at the very least as many graces from God. Because of the failings of those who receive them, you may rest assured that the number of those which have been of no effect has been incomparably greater. Run through the graces of the Sacraments which all have their own different offices. Consider the many different conditions of the people that are in the world, all of whom need suitable graces proportionate to their state. Consider now those elevated graces by means of which people of every age and condition have undertaken things altogether going beyond their nature, such as perpetual chastity, voluntary poverty, self denial, the solitary life, mortification of the flesh, love of enemies, martyrdom and such like – all worthy of eternal memory. Place before them, if you will, those graces which no disposition can merit, such as the first grace conferred upon the sinner whose heart is hardened, the grace of final perseverance for the just and other similar favours. When you have done all that, learn that you are still only at the beginning : for these treasures of grace are infinite and could not be exhausted by 100,000 million worlds, were they to exist.

 5   Do we not therefore have every reason to call out with the Apostle: Oh the height of the riches of the graces of the Lord![1] Oh death perfectly conceived that hath amassed so many treasures! Oh what a blessed obligation on men and on Angels to praise and thank throughout eternity Him who hath acquired for them so many graces! Oh what munificence from the Prince who hath shown such generosity with His graces! What joy and satisfaction to see one day revealed the greatness of His infinite merits which at present we see only as through a glass in a dark manner[2].

Footnotes

[1] Eph. iii. 18.

[2] I Cor. xiii. 12.

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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 10 : § 1.1

Chapter 10 The Ninth Star or Splendour of the Crown of Power of the MOTHER OF GOD

She is in charge of the Church’s resources and Treasurer of the Saviour’s graces

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)

We have talked enough about war and let us now move on to explore the benefits of peace. According to ancient writers, the sweetest fruit that flows from peace is plenty. We shall be seeing in our discussion the incredible effects of peace within the spiritual Kingdom of the Saviour; and just as the greatness of the King is reflected in the amplitude of his resources, so to the Queen’s greatness will shine forth in the management the King has given her of these resources, meaning the full powers she has regarding the distribution of the graces and favours of her Son.

§ 1. Unrivalled in Greatness and Riches : fifth attribute of the King of glory incarnate

 1   King Solomon was no less a type prefiguring the king of Glory Incarnate in the inestimable riches he amassed than in the other royal qualities which we considered earlier. There are two noteworthy things about his wealth : firstly, it is written[1] that he surpassed all the princes of the earth, not only those who had come before him but also those who were to come after him; secondly, it is written[2] that under his reign gold and silver were just as common in the city of Jerusalem as stones and pebbles. I cannot deny there is a certain amount of exaggeration in these words, but the reader who studies carefully the seven sections which follow, describing the seven veins of gold and silver from which he mined his great riches, will hopefully understand the point I am making.

The first concerns the huge wealth bequeathed to him by his father David. Without drawing on other sources, I will cite here the evidence of Josephus, the famous historian of the Jews, who writes that when this young prince buried his father he wanted to follow the custom of the Kings of the east by sharing with the deceased a portion of the riches he had acquired during his lifetime. Accordingly, he placed a great quantity of gold and silver in various chambers carved out around his father’s tomb. I have not been able to find anyone who can put a value on these riches but the same historian tells us that several centuries later, the city of Jerusalem being under siege by Antiochus the Pious, the High Priest Hyrcanus came to an accommodation with him whereby the payment of a huge sum of money made him lift the siege. Being unable to raise such a sum through normal channels, he was obliged to open one of the chambers of David’s sepulchre from which he withdrew 3000 talents – which is to say 44 million pieces of gold and 550,000 ecus. Several years later, King Herod opened up another chamber which was deeper in the tomb complex and withdrew a seemingly limitless supply of gold. If we assume this sum would have been by no means less than what was taken from the first, then we already have a total of some 1000 million pieces of gold. The historian adds that in neither case did they enter the chambers closest to David’s remains where assuredly the greatest wealth would have been stored. One highly qualified French Doctor[3] calculated that if there had been eight similar chambers, without including what was stored in those closest to David’s remains, there would still be some 4000 million pieces of gold buried with David as a small token of his son’s affection. Even if you do not go so far as that and suppose (for example) that only half as much was buried, try to imagine what a massive quantity of gold and silver Solomon must have found in the Treasury of his father David since, merely to show how he felt in his heart and as a simple gesture of his royal munificence, he buried in the ground such an enormous sum of money.

Footnotes

[1] Wisdom and knowledge are granted to thee: and I will give thee riches, and wealth, and glory, so that none of the kings before thee, nor after thee, shall be like thee.  II Paralip. i.12.

[2] I Paralip. ix. 27.

[3] Petrus Comestor, lib. III Reg., c. 3.

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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 : § 10.7-8 & Pæan to the Warrior Queen

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)

§ 10. The fourth victory of the MOTHER OF GOD : defeating the Blasphemers, enemies of her Son and His followers

 7   The next example I shall give is no less remarkable and I hope that the Mother of Mercy, who uses chastisement in order to win souls rather than as a merely corporal, will be no less struck by what happened especially considering the number of Calvinists Present when this happened.

The following event took place last year in 1631 when I saw my work for the first time in the city of ..., in ... 

A Catholic and a heretic were engaged in a debate with each other about the virginity of the MOTHER OF GOD – the one defending this teaching with constancy and the other stubbornly attacking it. While the Catholic was vigorously defending the proposition, the heretic said he would be happy to be struck down by the plague if what the Catholic told him turned out to be true. Something striking was to happen! Not long afterwards, pustules erupted in sixteen different parts of his body, and he died in accordance with his wishes.

No one had any idea of whose hand it was that had brought death to him until after his burial. He had been interred in a Catholic cemetery because of the large number of Calvinists living in the district. The consecrated ground in which they laid his body could not accept this enemy of the MOTHER OF GOD and rejected it that very night. The next day this body was found on the ground but no one knew how that had happened and it was re-interred on the same spot. The following night, however, the same thing happened as before. At this, the heretics made several complaints alleging that this must have been done by Catholics digging up the body. A local Justice ordered that on the following night the place would be guarded by a number of Catholics and Huguenots with torches. During the night, whilst they were discussing the question together, the earth was seen to move – as though a mole were at work. Eventually, in the sight of everyone present, the body appeared on top of the plot.

The Justice when presented with all the evidence was duly persuaded of the blasphemy committed against the Virgin and, since divine justice required that a crime so grave as that should not go unpunished, he ordered the corpse to be burned.

At the time of writing, Monsignor the Archbishop and Cardinal of Lyon has issued a judicial declaration on this matter so that the truth may no longer be in doubt. Through the bountiful goodness of God, as we may hope, and through the prayers of the Mother of Mercy, this example will serve for the benefit of a number of poor souls who have strayed, in the same way that it has already served to confirm the true servants of the Virgin in the esteem they must have not only for her power but also for her virginal integrity.

 8   There we have some of the triumphs of our warrior Princess and there too we see her enemies trampled beneath her feet[1]. I feel moved by this to construct a trophy[2] for her and to sing a Pæan[3] in honour of her heroic valour – even though it comes nowhere close to her sublime merits.

Footnotes

[1] Germanus Constantinop., Orat. de Oblatione Deip. : Erubescant, et deficiant, et pereant, et co-gnoscant quia nomen tibi Domina.

[2] A sign of victory, monument or memorial commemorating a victory; Latin tropaeum, from Greek tropaion "monument of an enemy's defeat," noun use of neuter of adjective tropaios "of defeat, causing a rout," from tropē "a rout," originally "a turning" (of the enemy).

[3] "hymn of praise, song of triumph;" in general use, "a loud and joyous song," Originally the physician of the gods (in Homer); literally "one who touches" (i.e. "one who heals by a touch"), probably taken from a phrase or word at the beginning of the hymn, from paio "to touch, strike."

[Translator’s note: In writing this English verse translation, I have retained the metre and rhyming scheme of the French original and sought to mirror as far as possible the author’s language and imagery.]

If living trumpet can’t be found

To laud this Virgin so renowned,

Or praise her in the highest height,

How may my humble, lifeless quill

All heaven and earth with praises fill

And boldly of her greatness write?

I have no wish, most dear Princess,

To use as proof of thy prowess

Mere earthly things that all are mortal;

To sing of thy divine conquest

Please grant my words be truly blessed

By all that’s heav’nly and immortal.

The Muses’ lyres and voices sound

Too soft to make our prayer resound;

Apollo’s lute doth sound too low:

Our need is for Angelic phrases

Describing in celestial praises

How gloriously her triumphs grow.

To mark within the fields of glory

Her double victory’s splendid story,

Let’s gather flowers, bright and tender;

On Hymettus, they are too jaded

And those on Pindus are too faded

To crown her with sufficient Splendour.

The best of Parian quarry stone,

Which after dressing men do hone

And fix upon triumphal arches,

Cannot provide a proper base

On which to carve with fitting grace

The stories of her victory marches.

Not gleaming pearls spawned by the sea,

Nor gold in all its majesty,

Suffice her feats to celebrate;

They lack the qualities supernal

To match her triumphs sempiternal:

Full timeless and esteeméd great.

The beaches like a golden plain

Surrounded by the azure main

Must bear her arms and eke her name;

The Moon in darkness of the night,

The Morning Star that heralds light

Must spread abroad the Virgin’s fame.

Some things which absent seem to me

When God is here are plain to see;

Since He hath kept a sign of signs

Beneath His throne: the evil features

Of all these wicked, hideous creatures

Arranged below in ranks and lines.

Above, I see this vaulted ceiling,

In crystal sparks the stars revealing:

They form within the firmament

A broad and lengthy astral band

That for her victories may stand

An everlasting monument.

A thousand twinkling starry burgeons

Transparently do shape two Virgins

Who in the centre take their stand;

The one is wondrous for her beauty,

The other wields a sword for duty

To mete out justice her command.

An Astræ she, in courage grounded,

By monsters four hath been surrounded: 

But Crab and Lion are no match;

The battle cometh to a close

With cut and thrust; in deadly throes

She Snake and Scorpion doth despatch.

Princess, these monsters, in their rage

A furious war against thee wage

Until thou dost them overpower;

Their stubborn pride must now surrender

Acknowledging thy triumph’s splendour,

Thy victory’s most glorious hour!

No substance in the Crab is found,

He wanders aimlessly around,

His guide the fickle lights of night;

This stubborn heretic and proud

Bewails the fate wherein he’s cowed

And crushed; how he doth hate his plight.

The Lion is the Demon furious

Who roared with hatreds (all injurious)

And planned to seize the heavenly heights;

But now he’s vanquished, hear him groan

As pow’rless neath the Virgin’s throne,

He harms no more her children’s rights.

The Master of all occult things

Is like a Scorpion when he stings;

And festering with poison vile

He wars against the God of might;

Thy vengeance putteth him to flight

By serving him with his own bile.

Blasphemer, one who plays his part

By poisoning his evil dart

With venom from the blood of Snakes;

He’s powerless, with no recourse,

The Queen of Heaven doth him force

To spew his bile for his mistakes.

Thy victory, O Queen of glory,

O’er evil is a wondrous story –

An evil dark and bestial.

Thy triumphs are for aye preserved,

Their memory in souls observed

And in the realm celestial.

These deadly hammer-blows of thine

Will to their final fate consign

The rest of all thy mortal foes.

The blessed souls who honour thee

Will in thy love dwell peacefully

Til earthly life doth reach its close.

👑   👑   👑

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