“I See His Blood Upon the Rose”
Revisiting a Great Love Poem

Q U I C K S C A N

About the poet: Joseph Mary Plunkett
“I See His Blood Upon the Rose”
Friar Jack’s line-by-line meditations

Earlier this month we celebrated the feast of St. Anthony of Padua (June 13). A passage of one of Anthony’s sermons reads thus:  “The humanity of Christ is like the grape because it was crushed in the winepress of the Cross so that his blood flowed over the whole earth….How great is the charity of the beloved! How great is the love of the Bridegroom for his spouse, the Church!”

In the poem printed below, entitled “I See His Blood Upon the Rose,” Irish poet Joseph Mary Plunkett sees reminders of Christ’s great love not only in the blood-red rose, but also in all the creatures that he sees and hears. Present to and behind all creatures is the Great Lover who gave his life for the world.

We can thank the Virgin Mary, whose loving “Yes” brought the Incarnate Word into this world through the humanity of Jesus. At the birth of Christ, the invisible God became visible and made his home in this world. Through Christ’s visible humanity—his smile, his healing touch, his pangs of suffering and his whole human expression—we have come to know the invisible God of overflowing love.

Precisely because Mary has given birth to God in human form, thus making him a brother to all creatures of the earth, we can see his love—as did St. Francis of Assisi and the poet Joseph Mary Plunkett—in all created things.

About the poet: Joseph Mary Plunkett

Born in Dublin in 1887, Joseph Plunkett wrote many poems of rare mystical force. He must have been something of a mystic, attracted as he was to St. John of the Cross, St. Teresa of Avila and St. Francis de Sales. Plunkett was one of the signers of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic and was imprisoned by the English army. He was executed in 1916 for his part in the 1916 Rising. Shortly before his execution on the morning of May 4, he married his fiancée, Grace Gifford, in the jail’s chapel. Plunkett was 28 years old.

Because of his great love for the Incarnate Word and the Word’s close connection to all created things, Plunkett seemed to see Christ’s destiny and great love as forever entwined with this earth and this universe. There are images of earthly romance in this poem: the rose, the stars, the tears, the flowers reflecting the face of Christ, the singing birds. One also senses, I believe, the throbbing heart of the Bridegroom in “the ever-beating sea.”

Five years ago, when this new e-newsletter had only a few subscribers, I offered a line-by-line meditation on the poem. Now, for all of you, here it is again preceded by the poem itself.

“I See His Blood Upon the Rose”

I see his blood upon the rose
And in the stars the glory of his eyes,
His body gleams amid eternal snows,
His tears fall from the skies.

I see his face in every flower;
The thunder and the singing of the birds
Are but his voice—and carven by his power
Rocks are his written words.

All pathways by his feet are worn,
His strong heart stirs the ever-beating sea,
His crown of thorns is twined with every thorn,
His cross is every tree.

Friar Jack’s line-by-line meditations

“I see his blood upon the rose”: When we gaze at a rose or any other part of this universe, we see not only the individual beauty of the rose, precious and awesome in its own right. We see also the intensity of the God's care behind that rose and behind the universe itself—an intensity revealed in Christ's all-out, self-giving love, in his blood spilt for us on the cross.

“And in the stars the glory of his eyes”: In the stars we see not only the glory of his death and total self-giving. We see also the glory of his risen body and his death-conquering gaze.

“His body gleams amid eternal snows”: When we look at snowcapped mountains or other snowy vistas, we might see glimpses of Christ’s pale body, as when taken down from the cross—or his glorified, transfigured body shining brighter than snow. “His tears fall from skies”: Again, behind the lovely everyday processes of nature such as a spring shower, we can't help seeing the love of our Great Lover—and the tears he shed over Jerusalem or during the pain of his agony in the garden. The beauty of rain is admirable in itself, but when we link it with the outpouring love of our gracious God we grasp an added depth and beauty.

“I see his face in every flower”: Every flower, indeed everything in this universe, reminds us of Christ. As St. Paul tells the Colossians (1:16), “All things were created through him and for him.” We recall, too, that St. Francis saw in the beauty of flowers the One who is Beauty itself.

“The thunder and singing of the birds/Are but his voice”: Singing birds and all other sounds of nature communicate one thing: “We were made for Jesus Christ and we sing of him.” Jesus is the goal of history and all creatures sing of him.” Jesus is “the Center of the Universe,” as Pope John Paul II wrote in “Redeemer of the Human Race.”

“And carven by his power/Rocks are his written words”: Christ, the Word made flesh, is truly intermingled with the universe. Creation itself is a reflection of the Word through whom “all things came to be” (Jn 1:3).

“All pathways by his feet are worn”: At the Incarnation, God made this world his home. Every path, trail and road of this earth has taken on an elevated dignity and meaning because of the pathways Christ took while accomplishing his mission on earth. All paths remind us of the pathway he took to save us—the Way of the Cross.

“His strong heart stirs the ever-beating sea”: In the sea pounding against the jagged coast, we get glimpses of Christ’s mighty heart pounding with love for us.

“His crown of thorns is twined with every thorn”: Every thorn is somehow intertwined with Christ's crown of thorns. Indeed, in every created thing we see Christ's saving love.

“His cross is every tree”: Behind every tree, we can see Christ’s cross—and the Creator's unconditional love.

Now, if you will, set aside my words and scroll back up to re-read the poem—as the Spirit inspires you.

Send your feedback to friarjack@americancatholic.org.

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