Oh Mary,
Mother Most Merciful,
you saw me,
you watched over me,
and remained close by
—as mothers are sure to do with their children—
when pridefully
I walked away
from the Holy City,
down from such heights,
toward such low places
as in Jericho.
On the way down
robbers innumerable
assailed me,
and plundering my soul
in a ditch was I left
covered in sores,
smothered in dirt,
utterly ashamed,
terribly disgraced.
Other travelers
upon seeing me,
and hearing my pleas,
cared for me not.
Yet you, O Tender Mother,
saw and heard me
in my distress
and swiftly aided
my half-dead soul.
My wounds
you bound.
Oil and wine
you poured in
to soothe,
to gladden,
to heal.
Gently, peacefully
you sang to me
as to a babe,
“All shall be well,
and all shall be well,
and all manner of thing shall be well.”
Never did I hear
from your mouth
a degrading word,
never did I sense
from your hand
a condemning strike;
yea, as you are
Mother Most Merciful,
so are your words,
so is your touch.
‘Hail, full of grace’
and so you are;
Loving-kindness
and mercy
dwell superabundantly
in your heart—
an endless ocean
of Grace,
an infinite torrent
of Love Divine.
My distress so pained
your maternal heart,
both Immaculate
and Sorrowful;
which pain so moved
this ocean of Grace,
this torrent of Love Divine,
to flow upwards and out,
like a fountain
bursting forth
from those secret,
quiet depths
of the earth.
Thus you procured
the oil and wine,
that such balms as these
may be applied
with utmost compassion
to my soiled,
wounded soul.
Thus am I soothed,
by your words
of loving-kindness;
thus am I gladdened,
by your joy;
thus am I healed,
by your merciful touch.
Thus am I ministered to,
while yet still
lying half-dead
in the ditch;
thus am I raised up,
into the safe refuge
of your bosom,
a harbor of love.
In such harbor as this,
I am comforted,
I am nourished,
and I am carried
as a babe to his crib,
to rest peacefully,
for a time,
to recover strength
and awaken anew.
Made new
I begin again
to walk uprightly,
along the sure path
of humility and charity
with steadfast faith
and unwavering hope
returning triumphantly
to the Holy City,
my true homeland.