Rockland St Peter

The May Magnificat

May is Mary’s month, and I
Muse at that and wonder why:
Her feasts follow reason,
Dated due to season—

Candlemas, Lady Day;
But the Lady Month, May,
Why fasten that upon her,
With a feasting in her honour?

Is it only its being brighter
Than the most are must delight her?
Is it opportunest
And flowers finds soonest?
Ask of her, the mighty mother:
Her reply puts this other
Question: What is Spring?—
Growth in every thing—

Flesh and fleece, fur and feather,
Grass and greenworld all together;
Star-eyed strawberry-breasted
Throstle above her nested

Cluster of bugle* blue eggs thin
Forms and warms the life within;
And bird and blossom swell
In sod or sheath or shell.

All things rising, all things sizing
Mary sees, sympathising
With that world of good,
Nature’s motherhood.

Their magnifying of each its kind
With delight calls to mind
How she did in her stored
Magnify the Lord.
Well but there was more than this:
Spring’s universal bliss
Much, had much to say
To offering Mary May.

When drop-of-blood-and-foam-dapple
Bloom lights the orchard-apple
And thicket and thorp† are merry

With silver-surfèd cherry

And azuring-over greybell makes
Wood banks and brakes‡ wash wet like lakes
And magic cuckoocall
Caps, clears, and clinches all—

This ecstasy all through mothering earth
Tells Mary her mirth till Christ’s birth
To remember and exultation
In God who was her salvation.

G. M. Hopkins
This poem is linked to the Roman Catholic Church and their Marian prayers and worship.

Spring Clean
We had a spectacular spring clean in April and it has set us up on a good foot for the rest of the year. Thank you to everyone involved!

APCM
The Annual Parochial Church Meeting will take place on the 5th of May. All are welcome to join us and see what we have been up to!

New Carpet
The good news is, we have got a lovely new carpet for the centre aisle so that the tired, old one has been replaced. Sadly, we have not received any monetary donations as yet so, if you have a few pennies laying around any donations would be greatly appreciated.
KT

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