The Holy Rosary

Accept, mighty Maid, we beseech thee,

This prayer with its fragrance of flowers;

With one soul we seek thus to reach thee

And hail thee, God's Mother and ours.

Thy heart is made glad by our praying;

Thy bounty is generous and wise;

Thy hands are enriched for conveying

What God's tender Mercy supplies.

We kneel at thy shrines in the churches;

Oh, gently look down from above,

And welcome the heart that then searches

For worthy expressions of love.

Let others present precious caskets

Of gems, or heap altars with gold;

Slight prayer-beads shall serve us for baskets

To bring thee the garland they hold.

With violets lowly we fashion

This wreath, and with these are combined

Red roses - our faith in the Passion -

With Chastity's lilies entwined.

Our minds, as the mysteries vary,

Are active; our hands play their part;

And always thy name, Holy Mary,

Oft uttered, rejoices the heart.

Be with us; we trust thee to guide us

Through life, and when laboring breath

At the last seeks thine aid, be beside us

To help at the hour of our death.

Pope Leo XIII

main page Eng.   ||   prayers