A MOTHER'S INVOCATION.
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A MOTHER'S INVOCATION TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN.
Mother of Christ, upon whose forehead shone The light ineffable that from above Streamed from the dwelling of eternal love,What time thou travail'dst with thy blessed Son,—Foreshadowing in thine agony the pains He suffered on the Cross,—O intercede For her who seeks thee in her utmost need:Fan the faint spark of life that yet remainsIn my scarce-conscious babe; in mercy plead That those small hands, cross-folded on his breast, May not be stiffened in eternal rest:Thou know'st a mother's anguish, and wilt heed A mother's prayers, remembering the Child That from thy breast looked up to thee and smiled!
