Edgar Allen Poe's Hymn of Mary

Public Domain, Wikipedia / ChurchPOP

You probably know Edgar Allen Poe’s dark poetry (“The Raven“) and short stories (“The Tell-Tale Heart“), but did you know that he wrote a hymn to the Blessed Virgin Mary?

The 12-line hymn to Our Lady was first published in 1835 within his short story Morella, sung by the title character. Ten years later it was published as a stand alone poem with the title “A Catholic Hymn.” In a collection he later sent to a friend, he removed “Catholic” from the title, leaving it to be titled simply “Hymn.”

There’s no indication Poe was Catholic, so what inspired him to write the poem? Onesource says he was walking on a the street when he heard a nearby church ring its bells at 12noon. Perplexed as to why the church was doing this, he entered the church, and a Jesuit inside explained that they rang the bells at 6am, 12noon, and 6pm to call people to pray the Angelus. The Angelus is a prayer reflection on Mary’s faith in assenting to God’s plan to have her conceive and bear Jesus. This apparently inspired him to write his hymn to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Here is the full text of “Hymn”:

At morn – at noon – at twilight dim –
Maria! thou hast heard my hymn!
In joy and woe – in good and ill –
Mother of God, be with me still!
When the Hours flew brightly by,
And not a cloud obscured the sky,
My soul, lest it should truant be,
Thy grace did guide to thine and thee
Now, when storms of Fate o’ercast
Darkly my Present and my Past,
Let my future radiant shine
With sweet hopes of thee and thine.

Source:http://www.churchpop.com/2015/10/04/edgar-allen-poes-forgotten-hymn-to-our-lady/

The Ladder of St. Augustine

                                                       The Ladder of St. Augustine

By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

artist: Philippe de Champaigne 17th-century

Saint Augustine!  well hast thou said,
That of our vices we can frame
A ladder, if we will but tread
Beneath our feet each deed of shame!

All common things, each day’s events,
That with the hour begin and end,
Our pleasures and our discontents,
Are rounds by which we may ascend.

The low desire, the base design,
That makes another’s virtues less;
The revel of the ruddy wine,
And all occasions of excess;

The longing for ignoble things;
The strife for triumph more than truth;
The hardening of the heart, that brings
Irreverence for the dreams of youth;

All thoughts of ill; all evil deeds,
That have their root in thoughts of ill;
Whatever hinders or impedes
The action of the nobler will; —

All these must first be trampled down
Beneath our feet, if we would gain
In the bright fields of fair renown
The right of eminent domain.

We have not wings, we cannot soar;
But we have feet to scale and climb
By slow degrees, by more and more,
The cloudy summits of our time.

The mighty pyramids of stone
That wedge-like cleave the desert airs,
When nearer seen, and better known,
Are but gigantic flights of stairs.

The distant mountains, that uprear
Their solid bastions to the skies,
Are crossed by pathways, that appear
As we to higher levels rise.

The heights by great men reached and kept
Were not attained by sudden flight,
But they, while their companions slept,
Were toiling upward in the night.

Standing on what too long we bore
With shoulders bent and downcast eyes,
We may discern — unseen before —
A path to higher destinies,

Nor doom the irrevocable Past
As wholly wasted, wholly vain,
If, rising on its wrecks, at last

To something nobler we attain.

Obsessions & Keeping Vigil for God

Some of us are obsessed with beauty, some of us are obsessed with finding a soulmate, some of us are obsessed with physical pleasures, some of us are obsessed with truth, some of us are obsessed with justice, and some of us are obsessed with the energy, color, and mysteries  of this world. 

But very few of us are obsessed, or even much interested, in God who is the author of beauty, intimacy, truth, justice, energy, color, and pleasure.  

Why aren't we more interested in the One of which these things are only a pale reflection?"

Our souls too thirst for God and they keep vigil for God, even though mostly we are unaware of it.

But we never really understand this. If we did, we would, like the saints and mystics of old, become obsessed with God, instead of being obsessed only with what we find attractive here on earth. 


paraphrased from & inspired by an article I read at  Blue Eyed Ennis

November Colors

I love November

'though, no colors in Texas

They are in my heart

Catholic Teacher Musings inspired me to share my really, really, really bad Friday Haiku.
But the process of thinking in Haiku and actually typing it is calming and feels quite creative. And, I do believe it is all about the journey!
Thanks, Laura!

Poetry Corner

Hi Coo :-)

Keep losing temper,
Which saint am I to pray to:
Anthony or Jude?

--Tim Ferguson

I found this wonderful haiku over at Ironic Catholic by way of Patch o' Dirt.
Nadja, author of Patch o' Dirt, wrote some wonderful haikus, also. This is one of them:

Jesus lifted up,
Broken, bleeding on the cross.
My Lord and my God!

If you have a moment - go check out the others. No, wait . . . . I have to copy and paste one more to whet your interest . . . .

Here I am again.
Why do confessionals not
Have revolving doors?

Can you tell I have confession on the brain? Yesterday a post about it - today I end with this haiku (Gesundheit!) about confession.
We normally go on Wednesday evening but flag football has taken over that time slot. No problem, we can go Saturday morning . . . except that I have flat out forgotten the past two Saturdays. Ouch!! (That is the sound of me kicking myself.)
Time to look at confession times at other parishes. We are NOT waiting until next Saturday.

What's in Your Pocket?

Celebrate the first national Poem In Your Pocket Day!

The idea is simple: select a poem you love during National Poetry Month then carry it with you to share with co-workers, family, and friends.

Poems from pockets are being unfolded throughout the day with events in parks, libraries, schools, workplaces, and bookstores.

Too late to celebrate today? You can hold your own Poem In Your Pocket Day! Here is a copy and paste of ideas from the website.

Create your own Poem In Your Pocket Day event using ideas below:

In this age of mechanical and digital reproduction, it's easy to carry a poem, share a poem, or start your own PIYP day event. Here are some ideas of how you might get involved:

Start a "poems for pockets" give-a-way in your school or workplace Urge local businesses to offer discounts for those carrying poems Post pocket-sized verses in public places Hand write some lines on the back of your business cards Start a street team to pass out poems in your community Distribute bookmarks with your favorite immortal lines Add a poem to your email footer Post a poem on your blog or social networking page Project a poem on a wall, inside or out Text a poem to friends

Beginning April 1, Poets.org began sending one new poem to subscribers' inboxes each day to celebrate National Poetry Month. The poems have been selected from new books published this spring. Visit their Spring Books List for a complete guide to this year's best poetry titles.

What if you miss a day? Visit the 2008 Poem-A-Day Archive

sources:
npm@poets.org

NPR Houston

By Sun and Candlelight

Lord, Open Our Eyes

Our son's poetry recitation day is drawing closer. All the children at his (our) school choose a poem or prose that they like, memorize it and then recite it for their class. Our poetry recitation is taken very seriously and the children prepare for it with sincere excitement! My little guy chose words that Father Fleming wrote. It was actually part of one of Father Fleming's Sunday homilies.
Pabs and I edited just a bit so that it would not be too long. 2nd graders are limited to a certain number of lines.
Here is the quote (the formatting and bolding is mine - to help Pabs with timing and emphasis). Every time our son recites this we feel blessed. Thank you, Father Fleming!

We need to be wakened from a dark sleep
which can be so deep as to blind us from the darkness itself.
We need to rise up to light
that we might recognize the dark when we encounter it.
None are so spiritually blind
as those who are blind to their own blindness.

To seek the light;
to peer through the eyes of God;
to refract what we see through the prism of God’s word;
to color our vision with the wisdom of tradition and truth:
therein lies the cure for the blindness we often fail to see;
therein lies the truth to which we can often be quite blind.

Only faith helps us see our own blindness;
ONLY faith opens our eyes to the light and the truth.

Eyes of faith see bread and wine and behold!
the body and blood of Christ.
Eyes of faith see the risen One made visible
in the supper of the Lord.

Lord, open our eyes – and help us to see!