Latin
Salve Regina
O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria. Amen.
English
Hail holy Queen, Mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us. And after this our exile show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary. Amen.
We celebrate the birth of our Blessed Mother this Saturday, September 8th. Many of you may be familiar with the above prayer and hymn, the “Salve Regina,” or “Hail Holy Queen,” prayed in honor of our Blessed Mother, invoking her help and love towards us, her children. It is prayed at the end of each rosary and during night prayer by many religious orders including Dominicans, Franciscans and Carmelites. I have prayed this prayer my whole life, but I was unaware of its origins until recently. I was interested to find out that it was composed by Blessed Herman the Cripple. Herman was born in the year 1013, crippled so badly that it was difficult for him to even move without assistance. He was, however, highly gifted intellectually and entered the monastic way of life. Despite his physical disabilities, he was considered a genius in his time and attracted many students, beloved for his knowledge, virtue, and personality. He is credited with the authorship of both the Salve Regina and the Alma Redemptoris Mater.
There is a poem in Father Benedict J Groeschel’s book, Stumbling Blocks or Stepping Stones, entitled “Herman The Cripple.” It is written by William Hart Hurlbut, M.D., from the perspective of this heroic cripple. I found it to be a beautiful testament to the value and dignity of the human person: born, unborn, crippled, disabled... God has a plan for each life that He creates, loving each fully and unconditionally. Herman’s life shows the great paradox that success and well-being in this world may often cause us to become “cripples of the soul,” whereas physical hardship and disability can remind us of our need for God and His care for us, transforming us into Christ and, through our reliance on Him, making us able to be Christ for others. Herman's life is a testament to the joy and meaning that can be found in suffering and in uniting our weaknesses and defects to the power and the glory of God. –“Pain is not unhappiness.”
“Herman the Cripple”
I am least among the low,
I am weak and I am slow;
I can neither walk nor stand,
Nor hold a spoon in my own hand.
Like a body bound in chain,
I am on a rack of pain,
But He is God who made me so,
that His mercy I should know.
Brothers do not weep for me!
Christ, the Lord, has set me free.
All my sorrows he will bless;
Pain is not unhappiness.
From my window I look down
To the streets of yonder town,
Where the people come and go,
Reap the harvest that they sow.
Like a field of wheat and tares,
Some are lost in worldly cares;
There are hearts as black as coal,
There are cripples of the soul.
Brothers do not weep for me!
In his mercy I am free.
I can neither sow nor spin,
Yet, I am fed and clothed in Him.
I have been the donkey’s tail,
Slower than a slug or snail;
You my brothers have been kind,
Never let me lag behind.
I have been most rich in friends,
You have been my feet and hands;
All the good that I could do,
I have done because of you.
Oh my brothers, can’t you see?
You have been as Christ for me.
And in my need I know I, too,
Have become as Christ for you!
I have lived for forty years
In this wilderness of tears;
But these trials can’t compare
With the glory we will share.
I have had a voice to sing,
To rejoice in everything;
Now Love’s sweet eternal song
Breaks the darkness with the dawn.
Brother’s do not weep for me!
Christ, the Lord, has set me free.
Oh my friends, remember this:
Pain is not unhappiness.
Written by Kristen
Written by Kristen
