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AMPHORA
AMPHORA
BURNS AND OATES ORCHARD STREET LONDON W 1908
Letchworth: At the Arden Press
Prologue
MOTHER and maiden! on the natal night Embowered in bliss of roses red and white, Westward three Magi move to minister To Him with gold and frankincense and myrrh.
Those Pagans gazing on the Heavenly Host Were blest of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; And me, though I be as an heathen Mage, Thou wilt accept in this my pious page.
AMPHORA BOOK I
I
THE worlds were drunken as with wine When, shimmering from the throne divine, The soul of Mary fixed its ray Within the meek and maiden clay.
The stars in mightier music rolled; The sun achieved a gladder gold; The moon less pure acclaimed the morn; —Mary immaculate is born.
Rejoice, O children of the earth, At your salvation brought to birth! This is the perfect period. Mary is born that shall bear GOD. Amen.
II
BEHOLD within the veil withdrawn Thy mighty star on chaos dawn, Thy beatific breath complete The purpose of the Paraclete.
Where sinful sorrow doth oppress, Thy sinless sorrow doth redress, O maid whom seven demon lords Thrust through the heart with seven swords!
O sweet and sober mother-maid, Within my heart each bleeding blade Shudders, as, meditating Thee, Thy mercy sheds its shower on me!
O mother Mary, from Thy soul Distil the balm to make me whole; And when the dreary days are done Lead up my spirit to Thy Son! Amen.
III
WE praise thee, blessed maid of GOD, That art the spirit in the sod. Thou art the bird within the bower, And Thou the honey in the flower!
Thou art the moon in Egypt’s night; The shade from Afric’s blasting light! In all the world of ill we bow To the one good, and that is Thou.
For blazing in Thy blessed womb Glitters the Christ, a star of doom To cast the stars of evil kings Into the blind abyss of things.
Hail, Mary, hail! Thou didst conceive The Holy Child whom we believe. Draw Thou our loyal spirits hence In rapture and in reverence!
Still be the beatific balm To heal, to comfort, and to calm! Still make to bud the barren rod, And bring our spirits back to GOD! Amen.
IV
THOU star at sea, that still dost point The unimaginable goal, With eucharistic rays anoint The wounds of this my sinful soul!
The seas are strong, the charts obscure; The compass spells a traitor rune. Do thou exalt thy loyal lure Above the dead deceitful moon!
The sailors mutiny; the storm Wilder and wilder shrieks and wails, And phantoms ghastly and difform Haunt thy poor captain as he sails.
Grant, as death’s iceberg threatens me, Sin’s fog, Satanic spite that bars, That I may keep these eyes on Thee, Star on the sea that blots the stars! Amen.
V
THE shadows fall about the way; Strange faces glimmer in the gloom; The soul clings feebly to the clay. For that, the void; for this, the tomb!
But Mary sheds a blessed light; Her perfect face dispels the fears. She charms Her melancholy knight Up to the glad and gracious spheres.
O Mary, like a pure perfume Do thou receive this failing breath, And with Thy starry lamp illume The darkling corridors of death! Amen.
VI
GO seek, O my soul, thy veridical home In the palace of GOD where the work as the will is! There are wonderful lilies afloat in the foam, And Mary is throned in the midst of the lilies.
Go seek, O my soul, in the sorrowful sea, The Cross where GOd's agony culminates, closes! The roses are heaped till they cover the tree, And Mary is throned in the midst of the roses.
Go take, O my soul, thy poor heart that has bled To pallor and death for thine evil behaviour! The heart of the Saviour redeems it to red, And Mary is throned in the heart of the Saviour. Amen.
VII
O HAPPY flower, on whom there fell The dew of the Ineffable! O jewelled cup, wherein was poured The precious liquor of the LOrD!
Through thee by the infernal goad The seven bleeding sorrows flowed: Thou keepest secret and apart The wounds of Jesus in Thine heart.
Through Thee by the divine consent The seven ecstatic joys are sent: Thy secret worship shall inspire Our hearts with His devoted fire.
O mother, to Thy house of death We fly from life’s deceitful breath. O star of love upon the sea, We sail to Thee—we sail to Thee! Amen.
VIII
ALL hail, dread LOrD, all hail! Smite through Thy rended veil Light till our sun grows pale— Eclipsed, discrowned! Now might not men withstand, Save that one maiden bland Aids with Her splendid hand Them whose poor power is spanned By earth’s sad ground.
All hail! dear Christ, all hail! None could endure Thy pale Anguish; all creatures veil Their woeful eyes. Joy fills the hells of hate. Thou shalt their rage abate, Conquer the lords of fate, Virgin immaculate, Serene and wise!
All hail, bright Ghost, all hail! Thou didst Thy splendours veil In that entrancing pale Maternal maid. Nor could thy flame carouse On our unlighted brows, Save that Thy sweet sad spouse Sends from Her holy house Her puissant aid. Amen.
IX
HAIL to Thee, Lady bright, Queen of the stars of night! Ave Maria! Spouse of the Breath Divine, Hail to Thee, shrouded shrine, Whence our Redeemer came! Hail to Thy holy name! Ave Maria!
Hail, Hail, O Queen, to Thee, Spouse of Eternity! Ave Maria! Mother in Maidenhood! Saintly Beatitude! Queen of the Angel Host! Bride of the HOly Ghost! Ave Maria! Amen.
X
ROLL through the caverns of matter, the world’s irremovable bounds! Roll, ye wild billows of ether! the cymbal is shaken and sounds! Wild and sonorous the clamour, vast in the region of death, Live with the Fire of the Spirit, the essence and flame of the breath! Sound, O sound!
Gleam in the world of the dark, where the chained ones shall tremble and flee! Gleam in the skies of the dusk, for the Light of the Dawn is in me! Light on the forehead, and life in the nostrils, and love in the breast, Shine, O thou Star of the Dawning, thou Sun of the Radiant Crest! Shine, O shine!
Flame through the sky in the strength of the Chariot wheels of the Sun! Flame, ye young fingers of light, on the West of the Dawning that run! Flame, O thou Meteor Car, for Her fire is exalted in thee! Lighten the darkness, and herald the daylight, and waken the sea! Flame, O flame!
Crown Her, O crown Her with Stars as with flowers for a virginal gaud! Crown Her, O crown Her with Light and the flame of the down-rushing Sword! Crown Her, O crown Her with Love for maiden and Mother and wife! Hail unto Mary! Hail! for She is the Lady of Life! Mary crowned! Amen.
XI
O QUEEN of Heaven, who didst conceive The Almighty without sin, Give us the rapture to receive Thy sinless love within!
Our souls are stained, our thoughts impure; O Queen of Heaven, assoil Our error, our distemperature With Thine anointing oil!
Our censers fume before Thy feet. Through all the starry host Whisper the sacred words and sweet: “Receive the HOly Ghost!” Amen.
XII
BE still! before the altar gates The incense steam aspires; The priest of Jesus stands and waits At those consuming fires; The grey cathedral dominates Our pitiful desires.
O Mary! of Thy Motherhood To all Thy worshippers, Bring us to Thy beatitude Whose sweet impulsion stirs The soul lethargic unto good, The slaves to ministers!
Our Lady, sorrowful and sweet, Thy precious gift bestow! Thy holy spouse the Paraclete Breathe down on us below That all the chrism be complete, Thy servants pure as snow!
Our Lady, let Thy darling dove Our holy wishes heed! Bring down the Spirit from above, With Jesus intercede, Till all the night dissolve in love That shall be Light indeed! Amen.
XIII
MARY, Mother of our GOD, Hear our faint ecstatic prayer! Kindle Spirit in the clod! Kindle hope in our despair! Be His saving mercy spilt Like a fountain on our sin! Match His Godhead with our guilt! Light the love of GOD within!
O majestic! O Divine! O most merciful and pure! Let our spirits at Thy shrine Humbled, gladden and endure! Help the weakness of our sight Blind before Thy radiant face! Bring us to Thy full delight By the ardour of Thy grace!
Darkling doors and dangerous In the ways of life and death:— Cleanse us! help us! succour us By the beatific breath! Till the fullness of Thy light Shine upon the untrodden way, Drown this dull, deceitful night In Thy sempiternal day! Amen.
AMPHORA BOOK II
I
NO flower have I. O Queen, receive This sere and sodden leaf! O Mary maiden, I believe! Help Thou mine unbelief!
No sails have I. The tempests reave My wreck on Error’s reef. O Mary maiden, I believe! Help Thou mine unbelief!
No wheat have I. O Queen, receive This coarse and oaten sheaf! O Mary maiden, I believe! Help Thou mine unbelief!
No lands have I. Do Thou retrieve My soul, the forfeit fief! O Mary maiden, I believe! Help Thou mine unbelief!
No joy have I. My follies grieve Me with exceeding grief. O Mary maiden, I believe! Help Thou mine unbelief!
No Christ have I, save Thou achieve This miracle-in-chief! O Mary maiden, I believe! Help Thou mine unbelief! Amen.
II
ALL hail to Mary wandering Adored by shepherd and by Mage! The fury of the ruthless king Inspires Her desert pilgrimage.
O sorrow of pure eyes beneath The heavy-fringed ecstatic lids, Seeing for maiden song and wreath Sphinxes and pagan Pyramids!
O sorrow bitterer than death To leave the dear delighted land, And change the groves of Nazareth For lonely leagues of sterile sand!
To us who wander desolate In Earth’s sad wilderness do Thou Bend down Thy lips immaculate And touch and kiss the adoring brow! Amen.
III
O CHANT in cadence dark and deep The dread mirific Name, The corners of His robe that sweep The Universe with flame!
O chant in cadence softly sighed The Saviour's grace Who came And for our sins was crucified Upon the cross of shame!
O chant in cadence whispering The HOly Ghost that poured On Mary’s bosom soft as spring The unction of the LOrd!
In silence let our hearts adore The Mother-maid Divine, And all our vows like swallows soar To Her celestial shrine! Amen.
IV
FROM winter’s bleak and bitter prison Up-surges the delighted spring. The tomb is broke; the LOrd is risen. Hail! Thou anointed King!
Now, O Thou pitiful and pallid, Who to the cross didst cleave and cling, Thy tears to life from death have rallied Thy Son, the Holy King!
Eater of flesh and soul and spirit, The Lord of Hell on dropping wing His doom of dolour doth inherit From our anointed King.
See! headlong where he reels and plunges To the abyss, a noisome thing! He falls! Our sin Thy Son expunges! Thy Son, the Holy King!
Then, O thou mildest maiden mother, Thou feedest us! our crowns we fling Here at Thy feet, who art no other Than Lady of our King
O bring us swiftly to the waters Of peace; our souls in joyance bring, As we adore, Thy sons and daughters, Thy Son, the Holy King!
Thy seven sacraments deliver That so Thy sorrows may not sting! O lead us upward to the river Of our anointed King!
With these desires my life be laden! These two adore, my soul! and sing! Mary, Thou mildest mother-maiden, Thy Son, the Holy King! Amen.
V
THE earth is dark, save where desires Exhale their black and bitter fires. Save for Thy sorrow, heaven is bright With cool and soft celestial light.
But gazing deeper as we dare By virtue of retreat and prayer, Of fasting and of vigilance, We pierce beyond to brilliance.
For all the blessed blood that poured Out of Thine heart at sorrow’s sword Is borne in God’s cherubic cars About the sky to make us stars.
We in the world of woe who stray Lift up our hearts to Thee and pray: Turn all our pain to virgin might, And all our sorrow into light! Amen.
VI
LIFT up, mine heart! Lift up, mine heart! The autumn leaves of earth depart Before the buds in heaven that bloomed To greet Thee, Mary maid, assumed.
All earth and heaven compose Thy throne; All saints and maids and martyrs own The joyous gift of God to Thee, And Angels quire Thy sanctity.
Abase, my head, to this Divine Decree, and worship Mary’s shrine Wherefrom the healing springs upstart:— Lift up, mine heart! Lift up, mine heart! Amen.
VII
I BEFORE the veil of death divide And usher man to bliss or bale He hath an hour to heal his pride And greet Thee with a glad “ All hail ”!
Chorus; Hail Mary, blessed through the ages! Hail Mary, blessed to the term! Thou hast stilled the heathen as he rages, And trod upon the laidly worm.
II In calm and storm, in peace and strife, There is a lull; be ours to scale Therein the pinnacles of life By greeting Thee with Mary hail!
III Some of us conquer and succeed; Some in the battle flinch and fail: Thou art enough for either need:— All greet Thee with the glad “All hail”! Amen.
VIII
WHEN all the world is wrapt in cloud, The storm-fiend yells and raves aloud, Our heads in peace to Thee are bowed With Hail, O holy Mary!
When on the burnt and blazing plains The hard sun withers up our veins, We raise to Thee our subtle strains Of Hail, Thou holy Mary!
When on the sea its combers grim Circle the sky from rim to rim, We sing to thee the holy hymn Of Hail, Thou holy Mary!
When on the mountains in the ice We hang above some precipice, We offer Thee the sacrifice, And hail Thee, holy Mary!
Still, when the icy breeze of death Cuts through the bastions of breath, Thou hearest him who murmureth All hail, O holy Mary! Amen.
IX
HARK to the cry of the heavenly choir Earth with their music that rouse and inspire! Hark to the lordly celestial lyre! Ave Maria!
Martyrs and virgins in ecstasy bow; Angels and spirits their radiance vow Unto the vision supreme that is Thou, Ave Maria!
See where the cherubin pallid and plumed Swing with their thuribles praises perfumed! Jesus is risen and Mary assumed:— Ave Maria!
We who are men—shall we flag in the praise Due to the Holy One, Ancient of Days? Soar, O our song, in a crystal amaze! Ave Maria! Amen.
X
MIRACULOUS birth of the roses In the fervour of summer aswing Awaken the soul that reposes To praise of our Saviour the King. Let myrtle and honey and amber Be mixed in the censer and spiced That our worship may cluster and clamber To the mother of Christ and the Christ.
Miraculous birth of the lilies, Afloat in the fountains that spring, One Voice on the lake that is still, is The voice of our Saviour the King. Let corn for His Body be gilded! Pour wine for His Blood the unpriced! That a temple of worship be builded For Christ and the Mother of Christ.
Too pale the libation we spill is; Too cold is the censer we swing; The glory exceeds of Thy lilies, O Mother Divine of the King! Yet daily our worship shall quicken The dust, till our souls are sufficed With the fire from the stars of Ye stricken, O Christ and O Mother of Christ. Amen.
XI
SEVEN are the Spirits and the lamps are seven; I saw a wonder in the house of heaven. Behold a woman girded with the sun Beneath whose feet the liquid moon did run!
Twelve were the stars that crowned that shining head Whereon the HOly Ghost His silence shed, That so Her womb a Saviour should environ To rule the nations with a rod of iron.
I saw moreover how She bore the Child, And how the Dragon drave Her to the wild, Loosing a flood of venom; but the earth Gaped and devoured it in her warrior girth.
I saw red war in heaven; Saint Michael fell With all his angels on the host of hell. Saint Michael! praise to thee who didst prevail And pen the demons in the hollow vale!
Now is the royal mystery outrun; Mary is gathered to the Holy One. The vision fails; and we abase our eyes In silent praise and solemn ecstasies.
Hail, Mary, hail! Our song goes up to Thee; From Thee descends the quickening decree. Like trembling flowers our souls accept the stress Of Thine exalted dew of holiness. Amen.
XII
UNDER the shade of flowering trees We kneel (Thine ardent devotees) And in Thy mercy find our ease.
Beside the pleasant streams we move, Our thoughts concentrated on the above, And find our joyance in Thy love.
When Death’s cold stream runs black and chill, And yew and cypress haunt the hill, Be Thou our love and comfort still.
Receive us (by Thy Motherhood) By deathless stream and fadeless wood In Thy celestial solitude. Amen.
XIII
AS in the sleeping lake we view A pallid image of the blue, So in Thy Chapel may we see A faint enshadowing of Thee.
Our minds are dull, our lives are base; We cannot see the maiden face. Imagination may not run From moonlight to the self-lit sun.
Darkly as in a glass we gaze And lose ourselves in pious praise. How then when risen and pure of heart In heaven we see Thee as Thou art?
O let the film of earth and sin Each day by love grow clear and thin! O let Thy worship done aright Prepare us for the eternal Light! Amen.
AMPHORA BOOK III
I
SAINT MICHAEL! by the altar stand And mark our praises sink and swell, The fire of heaven in Thine hand That bare the glad ensanguine brand, And smote the sons of hell.
Be present all the starry host Of cherubim and seraphim, While, hasted by the HOly Ghost, We raise on Time’s eroded coast Our rare and royal hymn.
Let all the ripples of our song Exulting evermore converge In one the virgin wave and strong, Combine their chorus loud and long Re-quicken and up-surge!
Hail to the Virgin! Hail! we cry. Hail, Mary! Hail! All hail! All hail! The utmost caverns of the sky, The abysses of eternity, Repeat the hail! All hail!
O plumed and puissant couriers! O Angels clothed and crowned with light! O mild and matchless ministers Of GOd, how deep the silence stirs At this our choral might!
Hail to the Virgin! Hail! the streams Are gathered in the starry river; The incense column subtly steams Up past the palaces of dreams:— To Mary, Hail for ever!
Hail to the Virgin, Hail! the sea Is one; the stars divide and pale Before Thy single ecstasy Of light, O moon of majesty! Hail to Thee! Hail! All hail! Amen.
II
ENSHRINED in cloistral sanctity I sit and worship solemnly. Mary is everything to me. I hail Thee holy Mary.
By day and night I sit alone Mute as a monument of stone, And meditate before the throne Of bright and blessed Mary.
I see Her glory from afar Gleam like some cold and sacred star Among the solitudes that are The shrines of blessed Mary.
Bid Thou these filmy eyes to see! Turn Thou this heart to grace and gree! Bring Thou my sense-dulled self to Thee, O bright and blessed Mary!
The song may cease, but through the air Ever shall course the perfect prayer Even to Thy heart, O royal, rare, And holy Virgin Mary!
In every various circumstance Thou healest with Thy holy glance, If but our trembling souls advance With—Hail, O Mother Mary.
Pour forth, we pray, the dewy ease Thou sheddest on Thy devotees, Who greet Thee humbly on their knees With—Hail, O holy Mary.
Thy mystic mercy as a Dove Let overshadow us above! Receive us to Thy House or Love Who hail Thee holy Mary! Amen.
III
BE still, my soul, and let the sense Of Her intuitive influence Steal like the whisper of young rains Upon thy bleak and barren plains.
By many a mental martyrdom Our sterile souls to Mary come. Who passeth through the surge and fire At last shall win to his desire.
Thy grace for us sufficient still To smite the arbiters of ill Shall grant the exceeding great reward To look by Thee upon the LOrd.
Be still, my soul, whate’er assail! Through Mary they shall not prevail; And thou resigned in peace await Her peace at Her appointed date. Amen.
IV
Vigil
THE race of day is duly run, And men, the children of the sun, Turn them to sleep; but I awake For Mary’s sake—for Mary’s sake. And while these eyes outwatch the stars My soul runs through the golden bars.
O clusters that with warp and woof Make up Fate’s web, I stand aloof. The child of Mary stands apart Both from the terror and the dart. No fear, no evil can engage The knight of Mary’s pilgrimage.
So in this still and solemn hour Of vigil we proclaim Thy power. Thy benediction, like a balm, Unite our ardour with our calm, And ere the black night pale to grey, Discover Thy diviner day! Amen.
V
Sacrament of Penance
THRICE blest and four times blest is he who goes With bleeding feet about this world of woes, And prostrate casts his aching diadem Before Thy shrine, O mild and mystic Rose! Him all the stars and all the sky begem, For Thou art all the radiance of them.
The lean scourged body and the tortured brain Glow with the light of Thy celestial rain. Thou art the secret of the pure keen pleasure Whose fountain springs from the abyss of pain. Thee do we praise in many a merry measure Who art of GOd most high the single treasure.
He hath ten jewels in His holy House; All these be mystic, clear and luminous; But only Thou art worthy of the throne, O Mother and O daughter and O spouse Of Him that reigns above, triune, alone, And joins Thine equal splendour with His own! Amen.
VI
Good Friday
AT the foot of the Cross is the Mother of God, And Her tears are like rain to enliven the sod, While the Blood of the LOrd from His Body that runs Is the heat of the summer, the fire of its suns.
In the darkness and fear of the torturing hours, The Mother brings life in the strength of Her showers; The Son with the fire of His Passion withdrawn Enkindles the night to the life of the Dawn.
In the cup of the world, as pure water and wine, His sorrow is mingled and mixed into Thine, For a liquor to heal us the children of night, The Immaculate Light, the Immaculate Light! Amen.
VII
In Time of Trouble
O QUEEN, deliver me from the infernal kings! O shield me in your span, ye everlasting wings! I kneel at Mary’s shrine; the incense fumes ascend To bring my spirit through to GOd’s appointed end.
Though in the valley of the shade of death I be, I fear not; for Thy rod and staff they comfort me. I imprecate the aid of Mary, Mother mild! The asp and dragon bow before Her Holy Child.
The heathen did uprise; the folk of fear and doubt. Great bulls of Bashan did encompass me about. The lions roared for prey; the eagles screamed for food: All these were stilled before thy crownèd Motherhood.
Therefore, though men devise ill counsels and vain things, Thou wilt deliver me from the infernal kings; And when the pilgrimage of me Thy knight is done, Thy favour shall present my spirit to Thy Son. Amen.
VIII
In Time of Drought
WHEN drought of summer parches up Earth’s beatific bowers, O pour from Thy crystalline cup Ambrosial showers!
We wander shelterless athirst Throughout the wilderness, And Thou our pilgrimage accurst Alone canst bless.
The red sun scorches up our veins; The white moon makes us mad; Pitiless stars insult our pains With clamour glad.
But Thou art shelter and defence From them that rage and spoil. Assain our lives with penitence! Our souls assoil! Amen.
IX
Matins
NOW when the sun uplifts his rim Above the sea, let us rejoice! Exalt GOd’s Mother in the hymn With an united voice!
We gladly wake to toil and praise, Since these our purpose speed By walking humbly in Thy ways To worship Thee indeed.
Let all the life and love and light Of earth and sky and sea Soar in one flame’s surpassing might To Thee—to Thee—to Thee! Amen.
X
Vespers
NOW at the setting of the sun We turn our thoughts to rest and sleep. Do Thou, O chaste and Holy One, Our spirits keep! O shed Thy radiance forth in streams To keep us in the Land of Dreams!
The subtle enemy of man Marshals his hosts to work us ill. His demons bloat or deathly wan Sustain his will. More than day’s arrow doth affright The Fear that walketh in the night.
Keep Thou our dreams! Let holy words And angel voices breathing balm And sweetly-tuned celestial birds Uplift their psalm! Our meditations on Thy grace Blend to the vision of Thy face.
So shall we sleep without alarm And wake refreshed to worship Thee, Thy children from infernal harm For ever free, Until we pray Thine holy breath To keep us in the Land of Death. Amen.
XI
Feast of the Nativity
THE cool December breezes Appease the glowing sun. The agonies and eases Of all the year are done:— When eastward through the lampless night There shone a strange and splendid light.
The noise of pomp and battle Of Israel died away. Amid the lowing cattle The Holy Mother lay, While at Her breast the Child Divine Drank in the starry milk and wine.
Three magians Chaldean Have bowed their royal knees Before the Galilean, The GOd of stars and seas, And tasted all the fervent grace That shone from Mary’s maiden face.
That star of resurrection Still stands above the night; Its portent of perfection Shall bring us all to light; And by the peace of Mary’s prayers Our rapture stands, exceeding theirs! Amen.
XII
AWAKE the earthly choir To match the host of heaven, Where the seven lamps of mystic fire Shine, and the spirits seven!
In this religious gloom Invoke the light divine As, Mary, in Thy blessed womb GOd made the Daystar shine.
This common fruit of earth Be made the Body of grace Even as the flesh by Jesu’s birth Was holy for a space.
All things by heavenly power To that redemption come Equal before Thee in the hour Of joy or martyrdom. Amen.
XIII
Sacrament of Penance
BY night I waste upon my bed For Her to whom my worship soars; By day I bow my weary head Within Her melancholy doors.
I shall not ever be content With earth and all its tedious pleasure. I look toward the great event, To Mary’s bliss, the starry treasure.
I scourge my body till the blood Pours from this heart that hateth light, Mix with its tide Thy crystal flood! O Mary, cleanse Thine acolyte!
Accept this offering of pain! Receive Thy neophyte’s devotion, Till to Thy peace he rise again, O star of love on sorrow’s ocean! Amen.
AMPHORA BOOK IV
I
Feast of the Nativity
THE Virgin lies at Bethlehem (Bring gold and frankincense and myrrh!) The root of David shoots a stem. (O Holy Spirit, shadow Her!)
She lies alone amid the kine. (Bring gold and frankincense and myrrh!) The straw is fragrant as with wine. (O Holy Spirit, shadow her!)
There are three Kings upon the road. (Bring gold and frankincense and myrrh!) She hath thrice blest the Name of GOd. (O Holy Spirit, shadow her!)
There stands her star above the sky. (Bring gold and frankincense and myrrh!) She hath thrice blest the Trinity. (O Holy Spirit, shadow her!)
Her joyful ardour hath sufficed. (Bring gold and frankincense and myrrh!) She is delivered of the Christ. (The angels come to worship Her!) Amen.
II
Consecration of a Nun
THE suns of Terra pale; The mists of Terra flee; To lift Thy veil we take Thy veil, And give our lives to Thee.
Our hopes are sacrificed At Thy pellucid shrine. We worship Christ; to wed with Christ We take Thy vows divine.
O Thou supremely pure, Cleanse Thou this feeble clay! Thy grace endure that we endure To that mirific day!
Our virgin brows and pale The holy Crown shall gird. Who took Thy veil shall lift Thy veil And hear the final Word.
Chorus: O hear us, Mary blest! Thy heavenly love accord, That we may rest on Jesu's breast, Thy Son, our living LOrd! Amen.
III
Pro Gente Anglicana
I IN great cathedral cities, In cloisters old and dim, Wherever worth or wit is, We raise the choral hymn. To GOd’s eternal Mother We lift our hearts of flame; We join with one another To bless Her holy name.
II O hear us, blessed Mary! Thy graces send as dew, As kisses fond and faery Our spirits to renew! O bid our sinful nation, The broken from the rod, By Thine initiation Soar subtly up to GOd!
III Bewitched by sins and errors, By heresies defiled; Avert the avenging terrors Of Thine insulted Child! Schismatic from His Vicar, Despoilers of His flock: O Strike the saving liquor From out the barren rock!
IV Acknowledge our contrition! Accept our sighs and tears! Let English inanition Be lost in happier years! On this stagnated water Evoke Thy glowing tide! Our Church Thy worthy daughter, And His accepted Bride! Amen.
IV
Pro Gentibus
IN the choir’s delicious dim Fragrance let us lift the hymn Fiery as the Seraphim— Ave, blessed Mary!
Send the sweet and solemn strain Through the far enchanted fane, Till the skies ring back again Ave, blessed Mary!
Purest lips of grace and youth Invocate Thy royal ruth, Conjure by the Word of Truth— Ave, blessed Mary!
Maiden bodies vowed to Thee, Souls of stainless chastity, Cry Thy worship ardently— Ave, blessed Mary!
As from heaven the lightnings hurled Let our song be lashed and curled Round the shoulders of the world! Ave, blessed Mary!
Let the joys thereof assuage Heathen horrors in their rage Grisly war on Thee that wage— Ave, blessed Mary!
Let Thy foes be brought to shame. Turn their hearts to holy flame To the glory of Thy name— Ave, blessed Mary!
Crown our arms with water crossed! Bring to perfect Pentecost All the legions of the lost! Ave, blessed Mary! Amen.
V
Recovery from Sickness
O THOU whose mystic Motherhood was fain To journey with us through the Land of Pain, Let not delight quench that which sorrow fanned. O journey with us through the Pleasant Land!
Arise, O soul! be thy devotion’s dower Keener and gladder every glad keen hour! The rays of praise outglitter and outrun The candid brilliance of the choral sun.
Hear us, O Mary, blessed Queen of GOd! Bless Thou the wreath as Thou hast blessed the rod! Endow us from Thy star-embattled coast With the perfections of the HOly Ghost! Amen.
VI
Vigil
WITH the Cross on my sword as its sigil With the foes of Thy Church I would grapple, All night by my arms I keep vigil In the lonely and luminous chapel.
From the solemn monitions of even I brood; Thou dost shine from above. The veil of Thy mystical heaven Is melted in glory and love.
O Thou, of Thy mercy apply Thy grace to my spurs and my sword, That my banner may flame to the sky In the van of the hosts of the LOrd! Amen.
VII
In Partu
O THOU whose Son hath mastered the dread King, The curse of Eve, the serpent of desire! Aid Thou thy servant in her travailing! Ease Thou the dolour dire!
O Thou whose life brought Light into the Light, Be with us now to comfort and console That this Thy servant, through Thy maiden might, Achieve the goodly goal!
Or, if Thy pleasure be to take from earth Thy servant to Thy holy house above, That Thou mayst hold her, safe in happier birth, In Thine especial love:—
Or, if Thy pleasure be to take the child To join Thy choir of innocents in Heaven, We do assure Thee, Virgin undefiled, The gift is freely given.
But if Thou wilt let both live merrily, Two sparks of light in this our glamour dim! Still let Thy servant grow more like to Thee, The child more like to Him. Amen.
VIII
PRAISE unto Mary, Queen of Heaven’s array, Whose word shall save us on the Judgement Day! We serve Thee gracious, Thee compassionate— O keep us in the Way serene and strait!
O keep us in the Way of those who bless Thy favour filling out their feebleness, And keep us ever from the fatal way Of those unhappy ones who go astray! Amen.
IX
OFT when our prayers and praises fail On wings unfledged to reach the Throne, Thou takest them beneath the veil And makest them Thine own.
Of all our callow vows and cold, Born hardly to much bitterness, Thy mercy takes effectual hold And granteth them success.
Not by our passion or our will The eager suppliant is heard, But by the white ecstatic thrill Of Thy serener word.
Accept our prayer, accept our praise, O Thou all praise and prayer above! O fix our weak and wavering will On Thee, the Queen of Love! Amen.
X
O QUEEN of Wisdom, Queen of Thought, Bring us to Thine holy court! Us, who wander in the maze Of the world’s deceitful ways, Bring to Thine assured assent By Thy mystic sacrament.
Queen of Mercy, Queen of Might, Bring us to Thine ardent light! We are weak and violent: By Thy mystic sacrament Bring us to Thy power and peace, To the passionless release!
Queen of Splendour, Queen of Love, Bring us to Thine House above, Where in love and splendour dwell All the saints that praise Thee well. Bring us to their great content By Thy mystic sacrament! Amen.
XI
I BEHOLD the creatures Thou hast made, O LOrd, how frail we are and fickle, Ephemeral as the tender blade That falls before the eternal sickle!
Chorus: No shadow of turning in the LOrd! His purpose shall not change nor vary, Splendid and stedfast as a sword Live in the lambent heart of Mary.
II Behold us, how we strive to good And evil catches us and sways us, How from child-life and maidenhood Time creeps and springs on us and slays us!
III But all our feebleness in Thee Is firm, in Thee our ways are steady. Equal for bliss or agony Thou callest us—and we are ready.
IV By Mary’s tenderness and truth Make good our variable endeavour To live in endless peace and youth With Thee for ever and for ever! Amen.
XII
O MOTHER of Our LOrd, we ask Thy potent prayer in our distress; We nerve us for the royal task And sink supine in feebleness.
The Eye of Heaven to us is blind; Time is so sad, and earth so grey; But by Thine influence we find One steadfast star to shew the way.
Thine is the sympathetic balm That eases from Life’s bruising rod; And Thine the meek eternal calm That brings our souls in tune with GOd Amen.
XIII
VEIL not Thy splendour in the shrine, O Mary, let its glamour grow! Our cold hearts waiting Thee to shine Like sunrise on the utmost snow.
Thy favour melt our life in tears, Till, gathering force, our love be hurled An avalanche upon the years, A tempest on the barren world!
As all the clouds of India break In one wild gust upon the sand, And in one week of wonder wake The whole green gladness of the land;
So be Thy mercy on us poured, Thy beauty fill our aching brains! Although it smite us as a sword And fill us with immortal pains;
Yet in its life our souls revive; By virtue of Thee we endure. The end of endings must arrive, Madonna!—and the end is sure. Amen. |