'Hearken, ye Daughters. Not alone was I
Destroyer of Man's holy destiny.
Oh, had I been alone, Man would not be
The fallen creature that he is. But see,
Your Father fell through tenderness for me
'I was the cause of his distress. Through me
Came sin and suffering. Lo, the Woman, she
Who is ordained Mother of Life to be
Must be the Cause of Joy through Him whom she
Shall bear - yea, Joy, eternally.
'Yet listen, O my Daughters. Verily,
The anguish overtakes me: for I see
On her my punishment must heaped be:
She, Faultless and Obedient; yet must she
Of Disobedience bear the penalty.
'My first estate through infidelity
I lost. Through great fidelity must she
That place regain, which God ordained to be
The portion of the creature. Yea, must she
Climb to the Gate of God's great Majesty
'And enter in unscathed. Oh, where shall be
The Woman found, our Advocate to be
With God, and prosper? Ages roll and we
No glimpse in this our prison house may see -
No Light of this our Hope, our Joy, to be.'
Then sank she, silent in despondency -
When lo, a distant echo claimed to be
A song of triumph, yea, of jubilee,
Far off and indistinct. They long to be
More near its source, and answer wailingly:
When lo, upon them breaketh cheerfully
The light of Joseph's presence. On his knee
Before the form of Eve, he reverently
Inclines - prevents the unspoken question: 'See,
Thy Daughter, Mary, sendeth me to thee.'
- text taken from Mary: The Perfect Woman, by Emily Mary Shapcote