Deep in the Church's Breast, instinctively
Grew thy devotion, Mary: for in thee
Thy children recognized all gifts that be
Shrined in thy union with Divinity,
Nor grudged thee ought that proved thy sanctity.
Yet thou didst hide thy Sovereign Dignity,
Since for His sake alone was given to thee
To be the Mother of Humanity.
He is the First and Last. 'Tis He must be
Acknowledged by the nations - and through thee.
So, in the hour when rampant heresy
Denied the Manhood of thy Son, then, see,
The Church arose, and with one voice did she
Proclaim the Mystery of His Birth from thee
Proclaim thy rights in thy Maternity.
Then, Mother, didst thou seem to speak, to be
Expoundress of thine honours, willingly.
Then didst thou stand in regal dignity,
Proclaimed the Queen, near God's Own Majesty,
And take the Throne thy Church prepared for thee.
Theotokos, acclaimed: oh, verily,
Great was her joy and high her jubilee.
Didst thou not make in Heaven that Light to be
Which filleth all the earth exceedingly?
Thyself the Cloud, wherein His Rays we see?
The voice we hear in distant prophecy,
How clear, how sweet. 'My dwelling is on high,
And in the Pillar of the Cloud am I
Enthroned. The circuit of the Heaven have I
Alone encompassed; in their depths am I.
'The all-engulphing waves of Deity
Have been my path, whereon I fearlessly
Have trodden; every nation unto me
Hath bowed; while all the peoples cheerfully
Have owned my rule, my gift of majesty.'
- text taken from Mary: The Perfect Woman, by Emily Mary Shapcote