A Poem from Hilaire Belloc

The Lent issue of the Laudamus Te Magazine of the Extraordinary Form of the Latin Liturgy of the Roman Rite, features this poem by Hilaire Belloc:

Our Lord and Our Lady

They warned Our Lady for the Child
That was Our Blessed Lord,
And She took Him into the desert wild,
Over the camel's ford.

And a long song She sang to Him
And a short story told:
And she wrapped Him in a woollen cloak
To keep Him from the cold.

But when Our Lord was grown a man
The rich they dragged Him down,
And they crucified Him in Golgotha,
Out and beyond the town.

They crucified Him on Calvary,
Upon an April day;
And because He had been Her little Son
She followed Him all the way.

Our Lady stood beside the Cross,
A little space apart,
And when She heard Our Lord cry out
A sword went through her heart.

They laid Our Lord in a marble tomb,
Dead, in a winding sheet.
But Our Lady stands above the world
With the white moon at her feet.

Laudamus Te needs some help to stay in production and sent out a notice about subscriptions and delays: if you appreciate the beauty and reverence of the Extraordinary Form of the Latin Liturgy of the Roman Rite, you might consider a subscription. The publishers are bravely doing something beautiful in support of the traditional Latin Mass, answering Pope Benedict XVI's call for its renewal:

For this reason we will be taking a break in production. You will receive a Holy Week/Easter Week issue and then not another issue until this summer. We must catch up with propers editing or Laudamus Te magazine will fail. Your subscription will stay intact and resume when we resume. You will still receive the same number of issues that you subscribed to receive. We are very sorry to have to take this measure, but feel we have no choice until we get a little ahead. We hope you will stick with us as we work to catch up!
 
We are struggling to attract subscriptions as well. So far we have about 750 subscribers, but we need several thousand. With every penny going toward production, printing, and mailing costs, we have no budget for advertising. A very kind individual stepped in temporarily to purchase ads for Laudamus Te, but we cannot rely upon this kind of generosity alone.

So, we are launching a subscription campaign. If everyone now receiving Laudamus Te were to attract just two new subscribers, our production costs per copy would drop dramatically and the extra money would provide a much-needed funding cushion. We love this magazine as much as you do and are committed to its success. Will you help? Please tell your friends about the magazine and let us know if you would be willing to pass out flyers at your parish. Many of you have paid for gift subscriptions and made donations, and we very much appreciate your help. Please also keep us in your prayers.