Saint Mary, Mother of God,
Preserve for me a child’s heart,
Pure and transparent as a spring,
A heart simple and straight,
That will never taste unhappiness.
A devoted heart,
Tender and grateful,
A heart loyal and generous,
That will not forget goodness
And will not hold on to evil.
Make for me a humble and patient heart,
Loving without expecting a return.
Content to leave in a beloved heart
The first place for your Son.
A lofty and invincible heart,
That no ignorance will be able to close,
That no insensitivity will be able to expend.
A heart wrought with the glory of Christ,
Pierced with His love,
Whose wound will not heal
Except in heaven.
1962.
Translated by Lenora Timm