Daniel 3:8-25
In exile from the Sacred Heart that raised them from the dust,
Within the curse’ed grave they lie, their epitaph in rust
Inscribed by flame into the form of that great House of God
Which lies now, ruined for their sin, beneath the ashen sod.
O, People of the Living God, how came you to this place?
How came you into Babylon, veiled from that Holy Face
From which your life and blessing flow, which is all your delight?
O, People of the Living God, why dwell you in this Night?
And now three men who represent the whole within themselves
Are cast alive into the blaze, the burning mouth of hell.
See in these three, O you who read, the plight of every soul,
The plight of Adam’s wayward race, who—longing to be whole—
Have pierced themselves with many woes, have wandered from the path
And so, at last, have found themselves inheritors of wrath.
But stay—amidst the searing tongues, amidst that mouth of hell
Amidst the Godforsaken flames, another, I mark well,
Appears within the fiery pit, and holds within his arms
Those three—the People of the Lord—to guard them from all harm.
The flames! The flames! The damn’ed flames that burn across His flesh
Are borne in full and turned away from those who were to Death
Consigned for all their grievous sin, yet who now stand alive—
Held fast by Him whom they had spurned, and sheltered in that side
Which is a hiding place secure for any who will call
Upon the Lord in their distress and who will on Him fall.
So gaze into the Furnace, friend, the crucible of woe
Behold that Godforsaken place, the Exile of our soul.
And yet, behold their in the depths of mortal agony,
The myst’ry of the Sacred Heart—our eucatastrophe.
Behold the High and Holy One, descending to our plight,
Behold the Beatific Face, the Uncreated Light,
Unveiled as Love immaculate within the hateful flame
Behold our God upon the Tree, and hear—in flesh—His Name.
