To Thee, Lord, my heart unfoldeth,
As the rose to the golden sun—
To Thee, Lord, mine arms are clinging,
The eternal joy begun.
Forever through endless ages,
Thy cross and Thy sorrow shall be
The glory, the song, and the sweetness,
That make heaven heaven to me.
Let one in his innocence glory,
Another in works he has done—
Thy blood is my claim and my title,
Beside it, O Lord, I have none.
The Scorned, the Despised, the Rejected,
Thou hast come to this heart of mine;
In Thy robes of eternal glory,
Thou welcomest me to Thine.
Henry Suso
“And when the servant considered all that the Lord had thus shown him of the hidden wonders of His grace, he spake to the Lord and said, ‘O Lord, the sorrows and the troubles through which Thou hast brought me, are to the eyes of man, as sharp thorns that pierce through flesh and bone. Therefore, O blessed Lord, let these sharp thorns bring forth sweet fruit of blessed teaching, that we weary men may learn to suffer more patiently, and to praise Thee all the more because Thou givest us to suffer.’
“And the Lord heard his prayer, and he was taken as it were out of himself, and he learned how he who suffers, should turn his sorrows into praise to the Beloved who suffered first.”