Perhaps for your own comfort you may make that adaptation as we proceed but we will come back to this line later. I wondered, in fact, if this line should actually be interpreted as a continuation of the previous phrase, thus addressing Mary as “Mother of (Mercy, Life, Sweetness, and Hope).” I went so far as to check the original Latin, but it’s clear from the grammar that these images are indeed being used of Mary. Now, my Protestant friends may already find their teeth set on edge at line 2, and I confess I too would be more comfortable addressing Jesus as Life, Sweetness, and Hope than Mary. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. O clement, o loving, o sweet Virgin Mary: Show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.
Here is the entire prayer as I learned it in childhood it is this version I’ll be reading, rather than the original Latin. And, I argue, a lament that deliberately counterposes Mary with Eve. The prayer is not a triumphal hymn of praise it is, instead, a lament. If you only know the version in the hymnal, or its delightfully joyful rendition from Sister Act, then this will be new to you. In honor of this past tuesday’s feast of the Immaculate Conception, which opens the Jubilee Year of Mercy, I thought I would do a close read of this traditional Catholic prayer, also known as the Salve Regina.
(A close read of a traditional Catholic prayer, cross posted from Gaudete Theology)
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