And, if our faith had given us nothing more Than this Example, of all Womanhood, So mild, so merciful, so strong, so good, So patient, so peaceful, loyal, loving pure~ This were enough to prove it higher and truer Than all the creeds the world had known before. Virgin, who lovest the poor and lonely, If the loud cry of a mother's heart Can ever ascend to where thou art, Into thy blessed hands and holy Receive my prayer of praise and thanksgiving. Let the hands that bore our Savior bear it Into the awful presence of God; For thy feet with holiness are shod, And, if thou bearest it, he will hear it.

~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

For Reflection:

What qualities does Longfellow cite that underscore for him why Mary is the "Example of all Womanhood"?  How have we seen these virtues expressed in the excerpts from A Woman Wrapped with Silence?  Which of these virtues do I need most to acquire? What does the poet admit is the benefit of offering our prayers to Jesus through Mary, His Mother?

In Conversation With God Vol 1 Advent/Christmas Francis Fernandez-Carvajal Pb 387 pgs

32.1 Following Jesus Christ leads to many kinds of calumny and persecution.

Our Lord, when he calls us or asks us for something, knows all about our limitations and the difficulties which we shall meet on the way.  When the time of difficulty arrives, Jesus will be at our side, helping us with his grace:  In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world, he tells us....We should then ask Our Lord for the grace to imitate St. Stephen, in his courage, in his joy and in his zeal for proclaiming the truth of Christ, even in these circumstances.