Master of the three virtues

I AM, God says, Master of the Three Virtues.

Faith is a loyal wife.
Charity is a fervent mother.
But hope is a very little girl.
I am, God says, the Master of the Virtues.
It is Faith who holds fast through century upon century.
It is Charity who gives herself through centuries of centuries,
But it is my little hope
Who gets up every morning.
I am, God says, the Lord of the Virtues.
It is Faith who resists through century upon century.
It is Charity who yields through century upon century.
But it is my little hope
Who every morning
Says good-day to us.
I am, God says, the Lord of the Virtues.
Faith is a soldier, a captain who defends a fortress.
A town belonging to the King,
On the marches of Gascony, on the marches of Lorraine.
Charity is a doctor, a Little Sister of the poor,
Who nurses the sick, who nurses the wounded,
The poor subjects of the King,
On the marches of Gascony, on the marches of Lorraine.
But it is my little hope
Who says good-day to the poor man and the orphan.

I am, God says, the Lord of the Virtues.

Faith is a church, a cathedral rooted in the soil of France.
Charity is a hospital, an alms-house which gathers up all the
wretchedness of the world.
But without hope it would be nothing but a cemetery.

I am, God says, the Lord of the Virtues.