Three for Christmas Day

Poems by Sister M. Madeleva, C.S.C.

Ways

God has most simple ways.
He likes a stable's covering,
And little lambs that shepherds bring.
His majesty aside He lays,
You would not know He is a King,
He has such humble ways.

See, where He lies, quite sweet and small,
A Baby in an ox's stall
Smiling to meet His mother's gaze.
You could not fear this God at all,
He has such tender ways.

But look you, how the heavens blaze!
And hark you, what angelic praise
Resounds! Indeed, He is a King,
And these be Godlike ways.

Christmas Song

The earth is very beautiful with stars
And there are wise men yet who love their light,
Shepherds who watch their flocks and gather songs
From the still night.

And though the hostels of the world be thronged,
Its mangers wait, its stable doors swing wide.
Mary, young girl, this is their hour and yours;
Come, come inside!

Jesus, young child, content You here to lie
Among clean kine and men bemused with awe.
Remember, dearling, when You made Your world
You willed this straw.

The world is blind; the world is Bethlehem
But over it Your stars are very bright.
With weak and wise, with Mary here I am,
Young child, tonight.

To Be Enrolled

This is the month for census-taking.
I come to be enrolled in Bethlehem,
The House of Bread, to which I legally belong.

Already I foresee that not one of its hostels will receive me.
I shall seek lodging in a manger-cave at the town's edge.
Joseph, my kinsman, will be there
With Mary, his espoused wife, and her Child
Who is the Son of Cod.

This year and every year He comes to Bethlehem
To be enrolled among the sons of men.
And I, who am the merest of them,
I also am a son of God.
I also come to be enrolled with Him.

(all from American Twelfth Night)

The Four Last Things: Collected Poems (1959) pp. 111f, 123, 121.

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Sat. 12/25/04 09:24:50 AM
Categorized as Literary & Religious.