The Immaculate Conception

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O mother, I could weep for mirth

Author: Frederick W. Faber
Tune: [O Mother! I could weep for mirth]
Published in 21 hymnals

Representative Text

1 O Mother! I could weep for mirth,
Joy fills my heart so fast;
My soul today is heav'n on earth;
Oh! could the transport last!
I think of thee and what thou art,
Thy majesty, thy state,
And I keep singing in my heart,
"Immaculate, Immaculate!"

2 It is this thought to-day that lifts
My happy heart to heaven,
That for our sakes thy choicest gifts
To thee, dear Queen, were given.
I think of thee, etc.

3 Oh! blessed be th' Eternal Son
Who joys to call thee Mother,
And lets poor men, by sin undone,
For thy sake, call Him Brother.
I think of thee, etc.

4 Immaculate Conception! far
Above all graces blest!
Thou shinest like a royal star
On God's eternal breast!
I think of thee, etc.

Source: Laudis Corona: the new Sunday school hymn book, containing a collection of Catholic hymns, arranged for the principal seasons and festivals of the year #2

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Author: Frederick W. Faber

Raised in the Church of England, Frederick W. Faber (b. Calverly, Yorkshire, England, 1814; d. Kensington, London, England, 1863) came from a Huguenot and strict Calvinistic family background. He was educated at Balliol College, Oxford, and ordained in the Church of England in 1839. Influenced by the teaching of John Henry Newman, Faber followed Newman into the Roman Catholic Church in 1845 and served under Newman's supervision in the Oratory of St. Philip Neri. Because he believed that Roman Catholics should sing hymns like those written by John Newton, Charles Wesley, and William Cowpe, Faber wrote 150 hymns himself. One of his best known, "Faith of Our Fathers," originally had these words in its third stanza: "Faith of Our Fathers! Mary'… Go to person page >

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