Mary the Dawn, Christ the Perfect Day

An anonymous poet wrote a poem that speaks metaphorically of the relationship between Jesus and His mother Mary. This poem is one of the hymns suggested for the Morning Prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours' "Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary". The poem now exists in its edited form by the Dominican Sisters of Summit (1972). The poems reads as follows:

Mary the dawn, Christ the Perfect Day;
Mary the gate, Christ the Heavenly Way!
Mary the root, Christ the Mystic Vine;
Mary the grape, Christ the Sacred Wine!
Mary the wheat, Christ the Living Bread;
Mary the stem, Christ the Rose blood-red!
Mary the font, Christ the Cleansing Flood;
Mary the cup, Christ the Saving Blood!
Mary the temple, Christ the temple's Lord;
Mary the shrine, Christ the God adored!
Mary the beacon, Christ the Haven's Rest;
Mary the mirror, Christ the Vision Blest!
Mary the mother, Christ the mother's Son
By all things blest while endless ages run. Amen.

In just fourteen lines, the anonymous poet gives us a glimpse of that deep mystery of the Incarnation. The poet uses symbols to express the relationship of the divine to the human. This is an excellent poem to meditate when there is an opportunity to strengthen devotion to Mary and Jesus, especially the twin hearts of Jesus and Mary (the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary).

Many theologians and scholars who study aspects of Marian devotion would want to see this poem also expressed in religious art. Some religious art portray only the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary. There are statues or paintings which present Mary alone in the artist's presentation. Modern theologians and scholars would prefer that religious artists portray Mary and Jesus together in whatever medium they use (like Mary holding the Child Jesus in her arms, or like the sculptured image of the "Pieta"). This way of presenting Jesus and Mary in religious art will help the faithful really see (as in the poem) how Mary is related to the mission and ministry of Christ Jesus.

If the reader were to use his imagination to extend the above poem to more metaphors, then he can add his own personal spiritual insights to the poem mentioned above.

As an example, one can add:

Mary the ark, Christ the Rainbow's Promise
Mary the star, Christ the Newborn King
Mary the tree, Christ the Sacred Fruit
Mary the chalice, Christ the Eternal Spring
Mary the womb, Christ the Word Enfleshed
Mary the well, Christ the Living Water

In the books of St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort (Secret of Mary and True Devotion to Mary), one can find so many symbols and metaphors that also present the relationship of Jesus and Mary as in the poem given above. Montfort is an expert in presenting Mary as the best way to obtain Christ, the Eternal Wisdom of God. He attests to a part of the Litany of Mary where Mary is presented as the "Seat of Wisdom".

Sources of this blog post

• The Who's Who of Heaven: Saints for All Seasons, by Msgr. John P. Kleinz
• God Alone, by Montfort Publications, Inc.