A Poem in Honor of Our Lady

New Zealand Tablet, Volume LII, Issue 26, 15 July 1925, Page 13

A Poem in Honor of Our Lady

(By Rev. ; Wm. E. McGlyn*,C.M., in the Missionary.)

; \ We rarely- take in our hands a Catholic inagazine that does not contain somewhere //within its covers a poem written in honor of ■J Our Lady. It is fitting that this .should, be so. And it is. a fact for which we . should thank God. Me should thank God for ft because in honoring the Mother we honor the Son, and ’God will not forget those * who show their love for His Mother. It is fitting that Mary’s praises should be sung in poetry because, of creatures, she is the sweetest and the noblest. And .what poems; in honor of Our Lady we have! An anthology of these poems would contain some of the most beautiful lines that man has written. Lofty in thought they are, tender in sentiment, and beautiful in , diction. • Each of her prerogatives has been praised in verse, and all her virtues. But there is one poem that holds before our mind •; most of her virtues and most of her prerogatives. It is the most beautiful of all her poems. And yet, perhaps, we do not think of it as poetry at all. I speak of the “Lit--any of Loreto.” --/"The “Litany of Loreto” probably dates from the end of the fifteenth century. It was indeed preceded by other litanies sung - m Mary’s honor. But they, because of their .|cumbersomeness, did. not attain the popularity of the litany we use. Neither did they equal the litany of Loreto in beauty, although their thoughts were taken from the medieval Latin poetry The additions that have been made to the original litany of ,| Loreto during the past three hundred years 1 are few. .“Mother of Good Counsel,” j. , Queen of the Most Holy Rosary,” “Queen Conceived without Original Sin,” “Queen of Peace,” include them all. And the entire litany is a hymn of highest praise to Our Lady, and a poetical composition of great .merit, ' - .

In our litany -this 1 same : .idea is “apprehended. And in imaginative language, in words that are beautiful, simple, and sweet, it is “interpreted for us. All the joys of salivation, all the rejoicings that the gates of heaven have been thrown open for us, a deep recognition of the fact that praise is due to Mary for bringing forth the Redeemer, all this joy, all this praise, all this rejoicing l and much more, are caught in the simple, dignified words, “Gate of’ Heaven, Cause of Our Joy, Pray for Us.” To tell us of Our Lady’s youth and v of He : beauty of her soul that ordinarily would have come only after many, many years of practised virtue Robert Herrick writes: “To work a wonder God would have her showi^ At once a bud and yet a Rose full-blo .vn, Hut simpler still, and certainly as beautiful is the language of the litany, “Mystical Rose, pray for us. ’ What a wealth of meaning is hidden in that short phrase! “MYSTICAL Rose.” It tells ns of that beauty of My-,"'" ; fair soul that is beyond the comprehension of man. It expresses in one word the thought in 'the writings of St. Germanus, “Hail, Mary, full of grace, holier than the saints, higher than the heavens, more glorious than the Cherubim, more worthy of honor than the Seraphim; hail, Mary, thou art to be venerated above all creatures.” In a word it gives us the substance of a chapter from St. John Chrysostom wherein he says, “The ever blessed Virgin was a very miracle. What creature throughout "all time shall we find greater or more illustrious? There is no creature so holy—nor the Prophets, nor the Apostles, nor the Martyrs, nor the, Angels, nor the Seraphim.”' “-Mystical Rose.” “Ark of the Covenant.” What ideas are seized upon in this ejaculation! Within her chaste womb there rested the TRUE Holy of Holies, not a symbol, not a sign, but the fulfilment of symbols and the dearest Treasure of Heaven. Mary was a sign of God’s promise to redeem mankind. Morning Star” ! As the morning star foretells the coming of’day, so Mary’s birth foretold the dawn of hope for the human race. , ■ . “I see’ Him, on thy lap He lies ’Mid that Judean stable’s gloom.” ™; ,s . 1 A "', ,r °y Do Vorc! But the one word Mother is it not as poetical—is it not more sweet? “Mother of Christ, Mother most pure”— they not tell us all? There are, of ‘ course, marty definitions of poetry. We have measured the litany according to the requirements of one.’ But it meets the requirements of all. ' To choose another definition—“ Poetry is metrical, imaginative language interpreting nature.” Imaginative language the litany has. Interpret nature it does. But has, it metre? Has it rhythm ? . ;

A Poetry is defined as “The art of apprehending and interpreting, ideas by the faculty of imagination.” In the “Litany of Loreto” all- the requirements of this definition -arc satisfied. Indeed they are. fulfilled with a beauty not frequently surpassed, arid with a dignity and simplicity not frequently equalled. Possibly the , best way for. one to realise how much poetry the 1 litany comprises is' to consider it in comparison with poems of recognised worth. ..For example, in his poem. “0 Gloriosa Domina,” Richard . Crash aw sings:. / ' ■ >

“Let heart and lips speak loud . and say. Hail Door of Life and Source of Day ! The door was shut, the fountain sealed, * Yet light was seen and life revealed/ The fountain; sealed, yet life found way.”

i Ben Jonson has a somewhat similar idea in his lines: A * ; -

' “The Seat of Sapience, the most lovely Mora- ther, / v. . v ' .//■ f / And most to be admired -of thy sex; ,r Who made us happy all, in thy reflex, . - By bringing forth God's Only • Son, no other.” t '

- Iho litany v not only, has rhythm but it uses rhythm, as it should be used in poetry, to carry quickly or slowly the movement of -the; piece. Compare for example, the thought and the rhythm of the verses: - ■. i ' Gate of Heaven, ■ Morn ing Star, with the thought and rhythm of these other verses: ,' ■ _ v . r - , ' ' •- Tow er of I to ry, 'f "v ’> - Ark ,of the Co ,ve nant, / * , ■. ■ " . . . "V -■ ■■■ ■•■ ’ ■ ’ -■■; . v? In the first two the movement is sprightly,' light, animated, suiting the thought,- “morning star. The movement in the second two verses.is much slower,-much more stately and dignified that it may correspond to the tremendous, solemn thought in .the phrase, I i - “Ark of the CO YE NANT.” Like many another poem of merit the litany changes its metre frequently. Consider Louise . Imogen Guiney’s “Virgo' Gloriosa' Mater Amantissima”: - t I “What shall inure Him Unto the deadly dream, - - \\ lien the Tetrarcll shall abjure Him, J The thief blaspheme, And scribe and soldier jostle About the shameful tree. r And even an Apostle Demands to touch and see ? •’ Jlut .she hath kissed her Flower • Where are to be.” In this stanza the metre changes frequently, as it does in John Donne’s “Annunciation,” Rossetti’s “Mary’s. Girlhood,” and countless other poems —including -.our litany. • >;■ “Mys ti cal Rose Tow er of David - ' v “ Tower of I yo ry ...< '| ■ House of Gold . •. Ark of the Co ve nant t ■ '. Gate of Hea veil v ' V i Morn ing Star,” ’* j ’ • . Hence we see that the Litany of Loreto fulfills all that is required by two of the more common definitions of poetry. By its very Structure l it deserves -the praise that Dean Millman gives to Milton, praise for the “rapidity with which new and distinct ideas or facts succeed each other.” One after the other in the litany those transcendant titles of Our Lady succeed each other .like} the mighty waves of the ocean* that break on the rocks with tremendous power and foaming-, sparkling beauty. Indeed this litany ; possesses that power which poetry, should have. But in acquiring power it has not lost its sweetness**, It still is “the blossom and the fragrance of human knowledge, human thoughts, human language.” * I think it is fairly well substantiated, that the Litany of Loreto is poetry, and beautiful poetry. But it is more; than this. It surpasses in merit some of the most beautiful lines English/poets have given us. There is one passage in Milton’s “L’Allegro” that is pointed out 'as exquisite because of the rich - .softness lent to it by the number of

labials employed. It is a beautiful passage; it trips off the tongue with a lilt , and a delicate smopthness not readily equalled. f “Lap me in soft Lydian airs. r -••.J ~ • nr • i '• 9 . * J Married to immortal verso '. ' Such as the meeting soul may pierce, In notes, with many a winding bout '' /Of linked sweetness long, drawn out, - With wanton heed and giddy cunning, The melting voice through mazes running, Untwisting all the chains that tie The hidden soul of harmony”; That Orpheus’ self may heave his head From golden slumber on a bed Of heaped Elysian flowers, and hear Such strains as would have won the ear Of Pluto, to have quite set free His half against Eurydice.” ' Tt But over against this excerpt from Milton, an excerpt chosen because it is an exempli»fication of particularly beautiful poetry, let us place an excerpt from our litany, the one quoted just above beginning, “Mystical ■ Rose.” And now let us judge it by that criterion of beauty of which Milton’s lines are said to be an elegant example. Milton’s verses are praised because of the mellifluent, | flowing gentleness given them by the use of labials and other smooth and delicate sounds. And yet I .find that while vowels and soft and liquid consonants comprise 55 per cent, of the letters in the passage from Milton they comprise 59 per cent, of the letters in the passage from Our Lady’s Litany. Perhaps, however, the imagery in the litany is open to criticism when the litany is considered only as poetry. A modern critic in comparing the poetry of Dante and Milton says, “The images which Dante employs > speak for themselves; they stand simply for what they are. Those of .Milton have a ~ signification which is often discernible only ;• to the initiated.” /: In order to grasp the deep leaning of the images in the litany one must be “initiated,” one must know of Our Lady’s prerogatives, of her super-eminent virtues. The entire meaning of . “House of Gold” i s clear only to him who believes - that the Blessed Virgin sheltered within her pure breast the Blessed Child, and that she is a dispenser 1 of the Graces of God. “Seat of Wisdom” is a phrase not wholly 6lear .to him who understands not that to, her are attributed by the Church the words of .Scripture,...“l, Wisdom, dwell in counsel, and am present in learned thoughts. Counsel and equity is mine, prudence is mine. By me. kings reign, and lawgivers decree just things. Blessed is the man that heareth me.. He that shall find me shall find life.” (Prov. viii, 12., 14,*15,^34,. 35).,• /■ No, perhaps the full r import of the im- ‘ agery in the litany; is" evident only to the “initiated.” But those who do not comprehend all that is wrapped up in the words ‘‘Tower of Ivory, Queen of Martyrs,” and in the. other phrases should be led, as when . they study other poems, to seek beneath the words themselves for the.-hidden meanings. They should follow the paths of thought the .words point out until the full ’significance. is Aiade clear. Then* they, with us, will appre- . ciate the glowing; resplendent beauty of the

■poem, and at the close .of their study say ■with Dante Gabriel' Rossetti” “THIS is that ' Blessed Mary pre-elect God’s Virgin.” •• 0