Mother of Merey. Mother of Mercy, day by day My love of thee grows more and more; Though poverty and work and woe But scornful men have coldly said The very path my Saviour trod. They know but little of thy worth Get me the grace to love thee more; Sweet Mother! if I love not thee? Immaculate! Immaculate! O Mother! I could weep for mirth, I think of thee, and what thou art, And I keep singing in my heart-- The angels answer with their songs, O, I would rather, Mother dear! OI would forfeit all for thee, One jewel from thy majesty, One glory from thy bliss. Conceived, conceived Immaculate ! I think of thee, &c. 0 Purest of Creatures ! O purest of creatures, sweet Mother! sweet Maid! The one spotless womb wherein Jesus was laid! Dark night hath come down on us, Mother! and we Look out for thy shining, sweet Star of the Sea! Deep night hath come down on this roughspoken world, And the banners of darkness are boldly unfurled; And the tempest-tossed Church-all her eyes are on thee, They look to thy shining, sweet Star of the Sea! He gazed on thy soul; it was spotless and fair; For the empire of sin-it had never been there; None had e'er owned thee, dear Mother! but He, And He blessed thy clear shining, sweet Star of the Sea! Earth gave Him one lodging; 'twas deep in thy breast, And God found a home where the sinner finds rest; His home and His hiding-place both were in thee, He was won by thy shining, sweet Star of the Sea. O blissful and calm was the wonderful rest That thou gavest thy God in thy virginal breast; For the heaven He left, He found heaven in thee, And He shone in thy shining, sweet Star of the Sea! To sinners what comfort, to angels what mirth, That God found one creature unfallen on earth, One spot where His Spirit, untroubled could be, The depths of thy shining, sweet Star of the Sea! O shine on us brighter than ever, then shine, For the highest of honours, dear Mother! is thine; "Conceived without sin," thy chaste title ever be, Clear light from thy birth-spring, sweet Star of the Sea! So worship we God in these rude latter days; Deep night hath come down on us, Mother! deep night, And we need more than ever the guide of thy light; For the darker the night is the brighter should be Thy beautiful shining, sweet Star of the Sea! Hail, Queen of Heaven. Hail, Queen of Heav'n, the Ocean Star, |