Arch of the Heavenly Spheres; the cloud shall be,
However dark, a resting place for thee;
Thus, where life's raindrops fall most heavily,
Art thou, O Mother, shining o'er the sea
Whilst we are toiling onwards wearily.
God shines on us through tears: we look to thee
And count His very rays which break in thee;
We dare not lift our eyes our Sun to see
Whose dazzling splendour needs some Veil, to be
Approached by us in our infirmity.
He veils His splendour in the cloud, that we
May gather up His promises in thee;
And as on it we bend our gaze, we see
His graces all reflected beauteously
In sevenfold glory, as they rest on thee.
Thou Rainbow of our dark humanity,
Exemplar beauteous of the One in Three,
Whose sevenfold Gifts are found to be in thee,
Whose every Grace doth blend harmoniously,
Each heightening the other, endlessly.
Light, uniform, declares the Unity;
Light, three in one, reveals the Trinity;
And from this threefold oneness, lo, we see
The Love of God reflected gloriously
In seven bright Rays, which find their home in thee.
Rainbow of our sad lives, we hope in thee,
For hope was given to them who look to thee.
Mother of Hope art thou; for where we be
There looms the thunder-cloud, and yet we see
God's Love therein, so long as we have thee.
Promise of God, Who lives and shines in thee;
Who may forget His wondrous Clemency?
Who but adore such Love as points to thee,
That made thee what thou art, so thou shouldst be
The Rainbow of His great Benignity?
- text taken from Mary: The Perfect Woman, by Emily Mary Shapcote