TO THE SACRED HEART.
Reading edition
“Ego dormio, et cor meum vigilat.”[154]—Cant. v. 2.
Heart of hearts, a love is thine Madly tender,[155] blindly true!
Love in vastness so divine, In excess so human too!
Seems it more a burning grief— Pining, aching for relief.
Seems thou dost not, canst not live, Save to sue us for thy rest:
While the all that we can give Is as nothing at the best.
Wondrous Lover! Shall I say Thou hast thrown thyself away?
Drench’d with anguish, steep’d in woe, Thou must needs, insatiate still,
Linger wearily below, Prison’d to thy creatures’ will:
While the current of the days Murmurs insult more than praise!
Here I find thee, hour by hour, Waiting in thy altar-home,
Full of mercy, full of power— Mutely waiting till we come:
Waiting for a soul to bless, Some poor sinner to caress.
Forth, then, from the fragrant hush, Where I almost hear thee beat,
Bid a benediction gush— O’er me, thro’ me, thrilling sweet!
Heart of Jesus, full of me, Fill mine—till it break with thee!
Feast of the Sacred Heart, 1873.