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Beauty Unnoticed

the

lyrics

of

1. Ode to You

What color are your eyes—

Are they they color of his grace?

What’s the sound of your voice—

Is it the laughter of praise?

Did God take all my tears 

and make them jewels in your crown?

When the bridegroom took your little hand

Did you wear a wedding gown?

 

Lest your beauty be unnoticed 

or your story be unsung

I will sing this testimony

Of our child gone home

Our child gone home to God

 

You were never hungry or cold

You were not afraid

Of passing forth from this world

No less member of our family 

than we on earth who still remain

Than we on earth who still remain

2. Into the Chaos

I’m not asking you to take away this pain

I can’t avoid this void that still remains

I need strength to face it o’er and o’er again

It’s a choice I have to make

to let you enter in

Come, Lord. 

 

The storm is raging

And you’re sleeping in the boat

But I’m staying here; I’m not leaving you

I can’t, I won’t.

My pain shows me

where your healing wants to go

 

Into the chaos, groaning

Labor pains- A new creation is forming

And the storm stops raging

The void now calm and bright

The light shines in the darkness

has not overcome my life 

 

Not in spite of death, destruction, tragedy

But precisely through it

You are drawing me

Not ignoring the battle

It’s all or nothing it can destroy you 

Unless you keep surrendering 

 

Into the chaos, groaning

Labor pains- A new creation is forming

And the storm stops raging

The void now calm and bright

The darkness has not overcome

the light that shines in my life

 

Love doesn’t simply resolve my crisis

Your love accompanies me through it

 

Into the chaos, groaning

Labor pains- A new creation is forming

And the storm stops raging

The void now calm and bright

The light shines in the darkness

has not overcome my life

Come, Lord.

3. The Start

I fell in love before I ever saw your face

Heart quickening within

And everything changed

Discomfort was sweetness

Yes, I was afraid

But swing wide, heavenly gates

A new soul’s been made

What love has made

Can never be taken away

I’ll always love you

I’m still falling deeper in love with you

 

Your name is a prayer

And the earth is a veil

Behind those clouds

You’re dancing with the Son

And the story of your soul

Goes on and on and on

Why would I ever said goodbye

When I say hello to you now

With every beat of my heart?

Can this valley keep love apart

Can this valley keep love apart?

No, no

 

I said hello to you then

I say hello to you now 

With every beat of my heart

With every beat of my heart

Why would I ever say goodbye

To boundless love at the start

 

I carried you hidden growing

Silent like a seed

Your presence true 

I know

You made a mother out of me

Your roots grow deeper and deeper

beneath our family tree

Can a mother e’er forget her child?

O I shall never forget thee 

 

I said hello to you then

I say hello to you now 

With every beat of my heart

With every beat of my heart

Why would I ever say goodbye

To boundless love at the start

4. Fly Little One

God was ready before I 

To welcome you to paradise

You were always His

But He let me call you mine

Shared with us for just a little time

 

Fly, baby, little one, fly, fly    

Fly, baby, little one, fly 

 

Now my treasure is in heaven

Buried in His kingdom’s heart

Mary with the angels singing  

Holy, holy, holy Lord

The giver of all good gifts  

Gave to us a little saint

Our great loss on earth is 

Truly heaven’s gain

 

Our great loss is truly heaven’s gain, gain

Our great loss is truly heaven’s gain

 

A thousand years are like a day 

With our God who gave you life

I am grateful for each moment

You formed deep inside

I do not regret the pain nor the sacrifice

 

You are my pearl of great price

Oh, you are my pearl of great price

 

Eye has not seen, ear has not heard

What has been prepared

For those who love God

Ear has not heard, eye has not seen      

Let the little children come unto thee

Let our little child come unto thee

Oh, let our little child come unto thee

5. The Gift of Mary's Trials

You were not spared from earth's trials,

Though you did not choose sin.

Delivered many times from evil,

From the devil's grasping grip.

You gave birth to God's son

In a cave dark and cold,

Then you fled in the night

To escape Herod's sword.

Returning as refugees to the very place 

Israel, Israel prayed so hard to escape.

How the fears tried to chain you,

Enslave you to sin,

But your family became holy,

Not destroyed from within.

            

You didn't run from your trials, Mary

You didn't push God away

You drew Jesus close

Knowing you need not escape

God is present with you

In all things

You were present to Him

 

When the time came for your family

To return to Nazareth,

For thirty years you lived beneath

The humble veil of hiddenness.

You were not swayed by worldly gain,

What others do & do not see.

The false consolation of admirers

You did not receive.

You became a widow

When your earthly spouse had died,

Remaining with your son

Until His hour had arrived.

As you stood beneath the cross,

His gaze fixed upon your face,

Your soul gave birth to surrender,

The self gift you always gave.

 

Behold your mother,

Holding Jesus lifeless in her arms,

Pierced by a sword within the temple 

Of her spotless heart.

Woman, behold thy sons & daughters,

Purchased by the blood

That flowed within your veins

To bear the flesh Christ bore

Upon the cross.

6. Discovering Paradise

A new day born,

I think of you

Clothed in light brighter than the sun

A new night falls,

I think of you

Kissing the stars one by one

I think of you in the winter,

Knowing your heart’s as clean as snow

When the springtime blooms

And the summer grows 

And the autumn breezes blow

 

As you hold the hand

That paints the sunrise

Please remember me

As you dance with countless children,

Let the leaves dance in the trees

Every glimpse of beauty

Tells me more about your life

Continues now to lead me

To discover paradise

You lift my eyes to paradise

 

When you’re swept up in

The ceaseless song of the seraphim

Please remember me

That my soul may touch

The fire of love you dwell within

When you’re bathed in praises like petals,

Roses falling from the sky,

Will you send a feather from their wings

To help my praises fly?

Fly to paradise

 

If time could speak each day a letter

Written back and forth with you

Raise my eyes and I can see

That his promises are true

Each moment brings me closer

You help me be less afraid 

Of my final hour that leads me 

To behold your unveiled face

I’ll behold you face to face

7. In the Middle

Instead of looking around the corner

My desire discontent

Help me fix my gaze upon the gift 

You’re offering at present

 

In the middle of the growing

In the middle of the grief

In the middle of the waiting

Am I exempt from living this life 

You’ve given me

 

Whom have I in heaven but thee

There’s nothing on earth I desire but thee

My flesh and my heart they may fail

You’re the strength of my soul 

and I will find you there

I’ll be content alone in thee

 

To be present in the moment

To embrace the in between 

Giving you my full attention 

Receiving the love that we all need

 

Not in past or the future

Can the sower sow the seed

If all I ever had was what you’ve given now

To grow in union from now through eternity

8. From Home to Home

I was chosen as your pathway to eternal life

The bridge to cross you o’er the valley

To the other side

You began and you completed your race

My heartbeat marked the hour 

When you first saw Jesus’ face

 

Instead of loathing

The darkness of your death

Thinking I am just a tomb

Where you were laid to rest

 

I was open like a gateway

Becoming heaven’s door

The window where you first saw

 The light of the Lord

Inside of me to you he came

You were never alone

You were held in love every moment

Carried from home to home

 

Instead of loathing

The darkness of your death

Thinking I am just a tomb
Where you were laid to rest

 

I was open like a gateway

Becoming heaven’s door

The window where you first saw

 The light of the Lord

Inside of me to you he came

You were never alone

You were held in love every moment

Carried from home to home

You were always at home

Carried from home to home

9. Prodigal of the Present

I was tired of sitting in this place

Waiting for something to change

I think it’s time to go away

Maybe I’ll find peace some other day

 

I said, “Father, give to me

What I want, not just what I need

I think I’m ready to leave

I’m not content with what’s here

In front of me 

 

So my heart began to wander

And I searched the world over

Couldn’t wait to find 

what would fill this ache so deep

 

Then I spent all my time

Consumed by my desires

Squandered everything like a fire 

Inherits and devours the offering 

 

Left me hungering for my dreams

Brought about a famine within me

I lost touch with everything 

grew cold to my surroundings

  

In my deep desperation

I came to my senses

My searching elsewhere

Did not give me peace

​

Maybe if I just went home

Returned to where my search started from

Father I’m not worthy to be your son

I’ve sinned against you constantly

 

Father, you live and move

In the present

Heaven’s presence is true

But I don’t know how

To dwell here with you.

Son, just remain in me

 

You were lost till you found

I was here all along

You were dead to my presence

Now you live

 

Will you live in the present?

Or will you be jealous 

Of what future holds — but don’t forget 

All that’s mine is yours presently

 

My love is a feast

Remain with me

I'll never leave thee 

Father—I’m not worthy, 

I’m not worthy, I’m not worthy

You dwell in my weakness and need

Even the angels are jealous

of how close you are to me

Oh, in union with thee

Stay with me 

10. I Won't Tell God

Why does God allow evil & suffering

For Christ to bring forth

A greater good from it

Behold the mystery of the cross

And the death of our Lord

The greatest evil became

An even greater good

 

And I won’t tell God

How big my problem is

Tell my problem how big God is

I won’t tell God

How big my problem is

Tell my problem how big God is

 

I consider that the sufferings

Of this present time

Ain’t worth comparing to the glory 

God’s revealing in this heart of mine

When I see myself conformed

With Christ crucified

I move from war into peace

When I let God inside

 

You are stretching my heart

With this grief I will grow

No longer spectator 

To my neighbor’s sorrow

11. The Stream

One day a drop of water

Flowed from deep in me

It grew and filled me like a flood

Till it became a stream

To start a journey all its own

Searching for the sea

I’m grateful this new stream sprang forth

Your river source in me

New life began in me 

 

Like the shore that holds you up

At every curve and bend

My love will carry you along

Until this journey ends

Don’t know how long you’ll run the course

 This river of your life

Someday you’ll reach the ocean shore

And we’ll be satisfied

And you’ll be satisfied

 

And when it seems you’ve disappeared

And waves of grief crash down,

The sun draws you up in the sky

And I see can see the clouds

Sometimes it rains and then I know

You’re reaching out to me

For just a moment I feel you there

Flowing within me  

I know you’re here with me

 

Yes, I’m the drop of water

You led me to the sea

Love flowed from deep within your heart

You gave my life to me

I don’t know how long it will take

For you to join me here

Someday you’ll reach the ocean shore

Our love will draw you here

My love will draw you near

 

One day each and every river

Joins to become one

To rest in mercy’s ocean

 And waves of endless love 

12. We Have Been Mothers

What I wish to say to the mothers 

Who have lost children is this:

We have been mothers

We have had this great gift

The amount of time does not matter

One month, two months, a few hours.

What matters is that

We have had this gift

And it is something

That can never be forgotten

 

 

Quotation for "We Have Been Mothers" used with permission from Sophia Institute Press: "Chiara Corbella Petrillo: A Witness to Joy." This book is available for purchase at www.sophiainstitute.com

Ode to You
Into the Chaos
The Start
Fly Little One
The Gift of Mary's Trials
Discovering Paradise
In the Middle
From Home to Home
Prodigal of the Present
I Won't Tell God
The Stream
We Have Been Mothers
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