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| Mary, Mother of the Eucharist by Tommy Canning |
Saint Ephrem the Syrian, called The Harp of the Holy Spirit, writes concerning the Blessed Mother of the Lord:
Mary says to God’s people:
‘Come, all you who have discernment,
vocal advocates of the Spirit,
prophets who beheld hidden things in your true visions;
you farmers who sowed seed, and slept in hope,
rise up and rejoice at the harvest.
Look: in my arms I clasp the wheat-sheaf of life
that provides bread for the hungry,
that feeds the needy. Rejoice with me,
for I carry the sheaf full of joys.’
Blessed are you, O Mary, daughter of the poor,
who became Mother of the Lord of kings.
In your womb he has dwelt
of whose praise the heavens are full.
Blessed be your breast, which has nourished him with love,
your mouth which has lulled him
and your arms which have held him.
You have become a vehicle to bear a God of fire!
Blessed are you, O Mary,
you have become the home of the king.
In you, he who has power has taken abode,
he who rules the world.
You came from the tribe of Judah;
You descended from the family of David.
Illustrious is your lineage.
For you, though remaining virgin,
have become the mother of the Son of David.
Blessed are you, O maiden,
who have borne the lion cub spoken of by Jacob.
He humbled himself and became a lamb,
destined to ascend the Cross to deliver us.
He prefigured you, the tree,
which providing the kid, spared the life of Isaac.
Blessed are you, O blessed one, since through you
the curse of Eve has been destroyed.
From you has come the light
which has destroyed the reign of darkness.
Saint Ephrem the Syrian
Doctor of the Church
4th century A.D.
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