Bernard of Cluny: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

Hymn before the Image of Mary

Bernard of Cluny

“Hymn before the Image of Mary” as printed in Catholic Hymns (1860) (1860).

Bernard of Cluny: Collected Lyrics Text 2 1860 · historical text
Public domainHymnSacred song
Complete public-domain lyrics

This text comes from Catholic Hymns (1860), a historical songbook transcribed on Wikisource and reproduced from the pinned revision linked below.

Verse 1

Holy Queen, we bend before thee,

Queen of purity divine;

Make us love thee, we implore thee,

Make us truly to be thine

Verse 2

Unto thee a Child was given,

Greater than the sons of men;

Coming down from highest heaven,

To create the world again.

Verse 3

Thou by faith the gates unfolding

Of the kingdom in the skies,

Hast to us, by faith beholding,

Shewn the land of Paradise.

Verse 4

Thou, when deepest night infernal

Had for ages shrouded man,

Gavest us that light eternal

Promis'd when the world began.

Verse 5

Teach, oh teach us, holy Mother,

How to conquer every sin,

How to love and help each other,

How the prize of life to win.

Verse 6

Teach us how all earthly pleasures,

All the world's enchanting bloom,

Are outrivall'd by the treasures

Of the glorious world to come.

Verse 7

Oh, by that Almighty Maker,

Whom thyself a virgin bore;

Oh, by thy supreme Creator,

Link'd with thee for evermore.—

Verse 8

By the hope thy name inspires,

By our doom revers'd through thee,

Bring us, Queen of angel choirs,

To a blest eternity

Credits

Written by Bernard of Cluny

Words by Bernard of Cluny. Historical text published in Catholic Hymns (1860) (1860); public domain. No claim to a modern recording or arrangement.

Source & text edition

Catholic Hymns (1860) (1860), “Hymn before the Image of Mary”

The 1860 published edition is in the public domain in the United States (pre-1931 publication). Entries whose credited author died more than 70 years ago are also in the public domain in life-plus-70 jurisdictions; other entries are held.

How to read this historical text and its source

Read the source on Wikisource

View copyright evidence · Transcription terms (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Retrieved 2026-10-25. Line spacing and section labels are adapted for reading. The displayed text follows the linked edition. Editorial notes and abstract artwork are by 52lyrics.
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