A Greeting to the Virgin Mary
Mary, we greet you!
Holy Lady, Queen and Mother of God,
you are the virgin who has become the Church;
chosen by the most holy Father in heaven,
consecrated by him as a temple
with his beloved Son and Consoler-Spirit;
in you was and resides the fullness of grace,
the One who is all goodness!
Hail, God's Palace!
Hail, God's Tabernacle!
Hail, God's House!
Hail, God's Garment!
Hail, God's Handmaid!
And hail, all you holy virtues
poured into the hearts of the faithful
through the grace and light of the Holy Spirit,
to turn us from our unbelief
into God's faithful servants!
From Clare's Third Letter to Agnes:
May you cling to his most sweet Mother,
who gave birth to the kind of Son
whom the heavens could not contain,
and yet, she carried him
in the tiny enclosure of her sacred womb,
and held him on her young girl's lap.
