Canticle of the Turning

We've been singing a song at church lately that keeps going through my head. It's called "Canticle of the Turning," and is an Irish version of the Magnificat, the wonderful prayer of our Lord's mother. It's an inspiring expression of trust in the faithfulness of God who hears the cry of the poor. And who is the poor? Anyone who realizes his/her bankruptcy apart from God. It is a song of deliverance for the oppressed, and it has been inspiring me to believe that God will hear and answer when I cry out to him with all my heart:

My soul cries out with a joyful shout that the God of my heart is great,

And my spirit sings of the wondrous things that you bring to the ones who wait.

You fixed your sight on the servant's plight, and my weakness you did not spurn,

So from east to west will my name be blest. Could the world be about to turn?

Antiphon:

My heart shall sing of the day you bring. Let the fires of your justice burn.

Wipe away all the tears, For the dawn draws near,

And the world is about to turn.

Though I am small, my God, my all, you work great things in me,

And your mercy will last from the depths of the past to the end of the age to be.

Your very name puts the proud to shame, and to those who would for you yearn,

You will show your might, put the strong to flight, for the world is about to turn.

Antiphon:

My heart shall sing of the day you bring. Let the fires of your justice burn.
Wipe away all the tears, For the dawn draws near,
And the world is about to turn.

From the halls of power to the fortress tower, not a stone will be left on stone.

Let the king beware, for your justice tears ev'ry tyrant from his throne.

The hungry poor shall weep no more, for the food they can never earn;

There are tables spread, ev'ry mouth be fed, for the world is about to turn.

Antiphon:

My heart shall sing of the day you bring. Let the fires of your justice burn.
Wipe away all the tears, For the dawn draws near,
And the world is about to turn.

Though the nations rage from age to age, we remember who holds us fast:

God's mercy must deliver us from the conqueror's crushing grasp.

This saving word that our forebears heard is the promise which holds us bound,

'Til the spear and rod can be crushed by God, who is turning the world around.

Antiphon:

My heart shall sing of the day you bring. Let the fires of your justice burn.
Wipe away all the tears, For the dawn draws near,
And the world is about to turn.