  ’TWAS not enough to kneel in prayer, And pur his very soul away In fervid wrestlings, night and day, For those who owned his shepherd care; But faith and works went hand in hand, As test of each petition made, And saints were helped throughout the land When St. Chrysostom prayed. Within the closet where he knelt A box of Bethlehem’s olive wood— “For Christ” engraved upon it—stood; And ever as he daily felt The pressure of the church’s need, Therein the daily gift was laid; For word had instant proof of deed When St. Chrysostom prayed. Beneath his folded hands he placed Whatever gold was his; and when He travailed for the souls of men, So long by pagan rites debased, The more he agonized, the more The burden on his spirit weighed; And piece by piece went all his store When St. Chrysostom prayed. O, golden mother! let this thine alms Rouse us to shame who daily bow Within our sacred places now, With outstretched yet with empty palms! We supplicate indeed; but has Our faith brought answering works to aid? Have words by deeds been proven, as When St. Chrysostom prayed? Margaret J. Preston, in Missionary World. double line
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