Her Feet Shod with Holiness
And, if our faith had given us nothing more Than this Example, of all Womanhood, So mild, so merciful, so strong, so good, So patient, so peaceful, loyal, loving pure~ This were enough to prove it higher and truer Than all the creeds the world had known before. Virgin, who lovest the poor and lonely, If the loud cry of a mother’s heart Can ever ascend to where thou art, Into thy blessed hands and holy Receive my prayer of praise and thanksgiving. Let the hands that bore our Savior bear it Into the awful presence of God; For thy feet with holiness are shod, And, if thou bearest it, he will hear it.
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
For Reflection:
What qualities does Longfellow cite that underscore for him why Mary is the “Example of all Womanhood”? How have we seen these virtues expressed in the excerpts from A Woman Wrapped with Silence? Which of these virtues do I need most to acquire? What does the poet admit is the benefit of offering our prayers to Jesus through Mary, His Mother?
© 2016 Living His Life Abundantly® / Women of Grace®
