Mother of Love undying, list to me:
Behold my weakness and infirmity;
See how the arrow sticketh into me
Which draws my vital strength, and leaveth me
All wounded and in pain to cry to thee.
Mother of dread Compassion, lo, in thee
Is consolation found and sympathy.
Mother of Grace and Light, illumine me;
And when temptation presses, stand by me
And shield me from the Dragon's enmity.
Jesus Himself thou shieldedst. Thou wert she
Who held Him in her arms when He would flee
From the pursuer's fangs. Ah, Mother, see
How the dire hate of this Arch-enemy
Seeks to disturb my confidence in thee.
My all I give to Jesus; all to thee -
Body and soul, with every faculty:
Yet darkness cometh and enshroudeth me,
Although I grasp at naught but Him and thee:
Mother of Jesus, drive this night from me.
Lo, on the confines of the Eternal Sea,
My soul lies struggling vainly to be free
From habits and occasions. Pray for me,
Whose intercession sure alone may be
The ray to pierce the cloud that darkens me.
Under thy mantle, Jesus hid with thee;
Under thy mantle, Mother, hide thou me:
Through the long night, as Joseph toiled by thee,
Lay Jesus sleeping: so would I rest with thee,
Safe from the malice of the Enemy.
O Jesus, Mary, Joseph; lo, I be
In heart and soul - in all - your property.
O Jesus, Mary, Joseph, be with me
Through the dark night of dying agony,
That I may pass in your sweet company.
- text taken from Mary: The Perfect Woman, by Emily Mary Shapcote