THE ANGELUS

THE ANGELUS*

The angel of the Lord declared unto Mary

that the Creator of heaven and earth

uncontainable in creation

bethought to enfold Himself now in a lily-flower,

the angel of the Lord avowed unto Mary

that God had fallen enraptured

on seeing immaculateness

and desired to encase Himself in it.

And she conceived by the Holy Ghost

the Inconceivable.

She composed by the Holy Ghost

Love's unutterable rhapsody.

Mary wove on the ghostly loom

the seamless robe of salvation.

And behold! The handmaid of the Lord

being handmaid, cannot retrench her pledge*

though her dream of being serving maid

to the elect beyond all others

is thrown into unspeakable juxtaposition.

The handmaid of the Lord

must wait on His will

even if it declares her blessed to all generations.

So it was done unto Mary by the Word

Gabriel caught from the lips of God.

By the Word generated in the bosom of the Father,

proceeding into very life and love,

it was done unto the handmaid of the Lord.

And the Word was made flesh in that moment

from which all other moments take their place

as being before or after,

the Word was made son of a virgin,

Flesh of her lily-flesh,

God was a quick pulsing under the maiden's heart.

And he dwelt among us in that initial moment,

the beginning of redemption in a city of Galilee.

There would be shouting throngs

at redemption's culmination,

protesting, sorrowing men at its ascendant sequel,

tongues of fire and rushing wind

at its paracletic achievement.

But now was redemption's beginning, silent, serene,

Secret of archangel and a girl.

Mother M Francis PCC

Marian Library Collection. Used with permission

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*The angel of the Lord (declared unto Mary)

*Luke 1:38

From 'A Silence full of bells'