Lady, Giver of Bread!

One of my chores as weekday sacristan in my parish is washing and ironing the corporals and purificators we use at Mass. As I mentioned in an earlier post, our parish is huge, which makes for lots of liturgical laundry. I am blessed to like ironing. It's the kind of manual labor that sets a good background for prayer and contemplation. It's an appropriate task for me as a consecrated virgin because, as such, I am a spiritual mother. As a biological mother takes care of the linens for her family's dinner table, I prepare the linens for the Eucharist banquet at which my spiritual children will feast. As I work, I think of and pray for all those who will receive our Lord in the Eucharist at any given time. I pray for our priests who celebrate our Masses and give us the Body and Blood of Christ to be our food and drink. I pray for those who hunger for the Living Bread but are unable to receive Him for whatever reasons. I pray for those who hunger for the Truth but don't know where to find it. Last but not least, I pray for those individuals throughout the world who go hungry every day, who lack the basic food and drink every person needs in order to survive and grow. Often while ironing, I pray and meditate upon the following "Litany to Our Lady," which is full of powerful images of Mary as "Lady, giver of bread." So for me, what could be a boring job becomes transformed by the grace of God into a happy task, which I've come to count as all joy.

"Litany To Our Lady"
by Caryll Houselander

Lady, Giver of bread,
Christ bestowing,
Give us the Bread of Life!

Fallow land for the sowing:
Darkness over the seed:
Secrecy for the growing:
Give us the living Bread.

Empty cup for the wine.
White linen spread
Without fold for the Feast,
Give us the Bread of Heaven.
Yeast and leaven,
Christ bestowing,
Give us to eat.
Give us the bread in the wheat.
Lady, giver of bread.

Full grape in the vine,
Give us the strong wine
Poured into the chalice
And lifted up.

Drained cup,
Give us the broken bread,
Give us the crust of sorrow
Hard as rye,
Christ bestowing.

Give us the emptiness
Of the dark furrow,
While the great wind
Of the Spirit is blowing
and sowing seed.

Lady, giver of bread,
Field sown by the wind.
Snow white on the field.
Darkness under the snow,
Yield
The Bread of Life!
Wheat, leaven and yeast
And wine for the Feast
Give us the Bread of Life,
Lady, giver of bread,
Christ bestowing.