“Petition is ineffectual when it is a barren entreaty that implores God… Read the rest…

      Our Lord and Our Lady

They warned Our Lady for the Child

That was Our Blessed Lord,

And She took Him into the desert wild,

Over the camel’s ford. 

And a long song She sang to Him

And a short story told:

And She wrapped Him in a woolen cloak

To keep Him from the cold. 

But when Our Lord was grown a man

The rich they dragged Him down,

And they crucified Him in Golgotha,

Out and beyond the Town. 

They crucified Him on Calvary,

Upon an April day;

And because He had been her little Son

She followed Him all the way. 

Our Lady stood beside the Cross,

A little space apart,

And when She heard Our Lord cry out

A sword went through Her Heart. 

They laid Our Lord in a marble tomb,

Dead, in a winding sheet.

But Our Lady stands above the world

With the white Moon at Her feet.

                           -Hilaire Belloc 

For Reflection: 

Of the seven swords that pierced Our Lady’s heart, how many are represented in this poem? How do her swords relate to the pains of my heart?

“Faithful Cross, above all other, one and only noble tree… Read the rest…

“Though the waves and the sea and the anger of princes are roused against me, Read the rest…