General (Vol. 2)

The Calling of Mary

  1. The calling of Mary so humble and true
    United our God with his people on earth;
    He took human form as a wandering Jew
    Whose passion and death were innate in His birth:
    And Mary whose maidenly service was given
    Was called by her Son and assumed into heaven.
  2. She shared all the grief and the joy of her child,
    The threats and the exile, the taunts and the tears,
    The way He was loved by the poor and reviled,
    The lives that He changed in His wandering years:
    But then she was struck by the worst that can fall;
    She outlived her own Son who had come to rule all.
  3. She outlived our Saviour again at the end
    Who took earthly shape after rising again;
    And saw him ascend and the Spirit descend
    Completing a mission she could not explain:
    The greatest of saints by a sudden request
    To serve God's own Son with her womb and her breast.
  4. O Mary, we beg you to act as our guide
    In reaching the dwelling of Your loving son
    And help us to serve Him with patience and pride
    Until our brief life in His service is done:
    Then may we be quartered in Naz'reth to share
    The love of Your family which lives with you there.