Song of the Day - 11th November

Today's Song of the Day is a tribute to Martinmas, a beautiful celebration known as the Festival of Compassion. St. Martin of Tours (died 397) was a Roman soldier who was baptized as an adult and became a bishop in Gaul. He is best known for the tale whereby he cut his cloak in half with his sword, to give half to a beggar who was dressed in only rags in the depth of winter. That night Martin had a vision of Jesus Christ wearing the half-cloak.

For this special festival, I have chosen a moving poem titled “Compassion” by Ella Wheeler Wilcox. It beautifully captures the limitless compassion of Christ, reflecting the very essence of Martin's noble actions.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850 – 1919) was an inspiring American author and poet. Her works include the collection Poems of Passion and the evocative poem "Solitude," which reminds us, “Laugh, and the world laughs with you; weep, and you weep alone.” Her autobiography, The Worlds and I, graced the shelves in 1918, just a year before she left this world, a testament to a life devoted to the power of words and feeling.

Get the music for this song for free - find out how here.

Compassion

By Ella Wheeler Wilcox

He was a failure, and one day he died.

Across the border of the mapless land

He found himself among a sad-eyed band

Of disappointed souls; they, too, had tried

And missed their purpose. With one voice they cried

Unto the shining Angel in command:

'Oh, lead us not before our Lord to stand,

For we are failures, failures! Let us hide.'

Yet on the Angel fared, until they stood

Before the Master. (Even His holy place

The hideous noises of the earth assailed.)

Christ reached His arms out to the trembling brood,

With God's vast sorrow in His listening face.

'Come unto Me,' He said; 'I, too, have failed.'