ON THE FIRST OCCASION OF THE FORTY HOURS’ DEVOTION IN THE NEW CATHEDRAL OF BOSTON.
“No word shall be impossible with God.”
O blessed bells! ring joyfully to-day;
O incense clouds! float gladly up to heaven;
All glory, honor, power, and praise be given
To Him whom earth and sea and sky obey.
Behold, the conqueror doth assert his sway
Here where men once would fain have died unshriven,
Proclaimed the Holy Faith unholy leaven,
And drove its followers out as Satan’s prey.
But now, beneath a great cathedral’s dome,
The Sacred Heart doth beat, and men adore;
Our Lord hath found at last a glorious home,
In spite of unbelief that rages still.
“Thy kingdom come,” pray we as ne’er before,
Whose eyes have seen his power to work his will.
March, 1876.