A First Series of Hymns and Songs

Front matter

FIRST SERIES

OF

HYMNS AND SONGS

Catholic Hymns

No. I.

CATHOLIC HYMNS

ARRANGED IN ORDER FOR THE PRINCIPAL FESTIVALS, FEASTS OF SAINTS, AND OTHER OCCASIONS OF DEVOTION THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.

LONDON: BURNS AND LAMBERT. DUBLIN: J, DUFFY, 7 WELLINGTON QUAY. DERBY: RICHARDSON AND SON.

N. CARDINALIS WISEMAN.

May 3d, 1853.

The hymns and other poems contained in this collection are, with bat few exceptions, the production of living Catholic authors, and a large proportion of them has never before been published. The remaining poems have been selected from different Catholic Hymn-books in use in the dioceses of the United States of America. All of these have been carefully revised, and in some instances cast into an almost entirely new form. One or two well-known hymns of Father Faber have, with the author's permission, been varied slightly, for the sake of the tune, from the original text. The hymns for "The Assumption," "May Jesus Christ be praised!" "Divine Grace," "The Last Farewell," come from the pen of the Rev. Father Caswall, and have never before been printed. They are taken from a manuscript volume of similar poems, and may justly become an occasion, of expressing the hope that their respected author will not long withhold it from the public. The editors also feel a pleasure in being allowed to add, that the poems of this and the succeeding collection (No. II.) signed "Sister M. J." in the table of contents, are due to the talent and piety of a member of the Convent of Sisters of Mercy in Charlesville.

The directions with reference to singing are given in the preface to the volume of Music, in which each piece will be found, adapted to an easy and appropriate melody; and in the conclusion of their work, the Editors beg to return their thanks to many other contributors, to whose kind co-operation in different ways they have been indebted for its completion.

H. F.

The Music of the Hymns in a quarto volume, price 2s. 6d.

I. TABLE OF CONTENTS,

In Alphabetical Order, referring to the Title of each Piece.

II. TABLE OF CONTENTS

In Alphabetical Order, referring to the First Line of each Piece.

N.B. All the poems of this collection, without exception, are copyright in the form in which they now appear.

Morning Hymn

HYMNS

for

1. Morning Hymn.

Now doth the sun ascend the sky, And wake creation with its ray: Be present with us, Lord most high, Through all the actions of the day.

Create in us a heart sincere, Simplicity of word and will; And may the morn, so pure, so clear, Its own sweet calm in us instil.

Keep us, eternal Lord, this day, From every sinful passion free; Grant us in all we do and say. In all our thoughts to honour thee.

For all day long on heaven's high tower There stands thy sentinel, who spies Our every action hour by hour, From early dawn till daylight dies.

So when the evening stars appear, And in their train the darkness bring, May we, O Lord, with conscience clear, To Thee our grateful praises sing.

Evening Hymn

2. Evening Hymn.

O Lord of perfect purity, Who dost the world with light adorn, And paint the fields of azure sky With lovely hues of eve and morn:

Upon our fainting souls distil The grace of thy celestial dew; Let no fresh snare to sin beguile, No former sin revive anew.

Keep thou our souls from schemes of crime, No guilt remorseful let them know; Nor thinking but on things of time, Into eternal darkness go.

Teach us to knock at heav'n's high door, Teach us the prize of life to win; Teach us all evil to abhor, And purify ourselves within.

Be thou our guide, be thou our goal, Be thou our pathway to the skies: Our joy when sorrow fills the soul, In death our everlasting prize.

Advent Hymn

3. Advent Hymn.

Creator of the starry frame, Eternal light of all who live; Jesu, Redeemer of mankind, An ear to thy poor suppliants give.

When man, o'erwhelm'd in sin and death, Was wholly lost in Satan's snare, Love brought thee down to cure our ills, By taking of those ills a share.

Thy love for guilty men it was That caus'd thy sacred blood to flow; When issuing from thy virgin shrine, Thou didst to death a victim go.

Great Judge of all, in that last day When friends shall fail and foes combine, Look down in pity then, we pray, And guard us with thine arm divine.

To God the Father and the Son All praise and power and glory be, With thee, O sacred Paraclete, Both now and through eternity.

Christmas Hymn

4.Christmas Hymn. (I.)

Sing, my tongue, the Saviour's glory, Sing with joy and holy mirth; Tell aloud the famous story Of his spotless virgin birth: How he comes, an infant stranger, Here to dwell with us on earth.

Now the long-expected fulness Of the sacred time draws nigh; Now for us the Word eternal Leaves his Father's throne on high; From a virgin's womb appearing, Cloth'd in our mortality.

All within a lowly manger, Lo, a helpless Babe he lies; See, his gentle virgin Mother Lull to sleep his infant cries, While the limbs of God incarnate Round with swathing bands she ties.

Blessing, honour everlasting To th' immortal Deity; To the Father, Son, and Spirit, Equal adoration be. Prais'd be thou through earth and heaven, Sempiternal Unity.

Christmas Hymn

5. Christmas Hymn. (ii.)

See amid the winter's snow, Born for us on earth below, See the tender Lamb appears, Promis'd from eternal years. Hail, thou ever-blessed morn! Hail, redemption's happy dawn! Sing through all Jerusalem, Sing the Babe of Bethlehem!

Lo, within a manger lies He who built the starry skies; He who, thron'd in height sublime. Sits amid the cherubim. Hail, &c.

"Say, ye holy shepherds, say What your joyful news to-day? Wherefore have ye left your sheep On the lonely mountain steep?" Hail, &c.

"As we watch'd at dead of night, Lo! we saw a wondrous light; Angels singing, 'Peace on earth,' Told us of the Saviour's birth." Hail, &c.

Sacred Infant! all divine! What a tender love was thine, Thus to come from highest bliss Down to such a world as this! Hail, &c.

Teach, oh, teach us, holy Child, By thy face so meek and mild; Teach us to resemble thee In thy sweet humility. Hail, &c.

Virgin Mother! Mary blest! By the joys that fill thy breast, Pray for us, that we may prove Worthy of the Saviour's love. Hail,&c.

Holy Innocents

6. Holy Innocents.

Lovely flowers of martyrs, hail! Smitten by the tyrant foe, On life's threshold,—as the gale Strews the roses ere they blow.

First to die for Christ—sweet lambs, At the very altar ye, With your fatal crowns and palms, Sport in your simplicity.

Yet is Herod's wrath in vain, Though a thousand babes he slay; Christ, amid a thousand slain, Is in safety borne away.

Honour, virtue, glory, merit, Be to thee, O Virgin's Son, With the Father and the Spirit, While eternal ages run.

Hymn for the Epiphany

7. Hymn for the Epiphany.

Bethlehem, of noblest cities None can once with thee compare; Thou alone the Lord from heaven Didst for us incarnate bear. Fairer than the beam of morning Was the star that told his birth, To the lands their God announcing, Hid beneath a form of earth.

By its lambent beauty guided, See the Eastern kings appear; See them bend their gifts to offer, Purest incense, gold, and myrrh. Sacred gifts of mystic meaning; Incense doth the God disclose, Gold a royal child proclaimeth, Myrrh a future tomb foreshews.

Holy Jesu, in thy brightness To the Gentile world reveal'd, Still to babes thyself disclosing, Ever from the proud conceal'd; Honour, glory, virtue, merit, Be to thee, O Virgin's Son, With the Father and the Spirit, While eternal ages run.

The Holy Name of Jesus

8. The Holy Name of Jesus.

Jesu, the very thought of thee With sweetness fills my breast; But sweeter far thy face to see, And in thy presence rest.

Nor voice can sing, nor heart can frame, Nor can the memory find, A sweeter sound than thy blest Name, O Saviour of mankind.

O Jesu, thou the beauty art Of angel worlds above; Thy Name is music to the heart, Enchanting it with love.

O hope of every contrite soul, O Joy of all the meek, How kind art thou to those who fall, How good to those who seek!

But what to those who find? ah, this Nor tongue nor pen can shew: The love of Jesus, what it is, None but his lov'd ones know.

O Jesu, spotless Virgin flower, Our life, our joy, to thee Be praise, beatitude, and power Through all eternity.

Hymn for Good Friday

9. Hymn for Good Friday.

O'erwhelm'd in depths of woe, With racking anguish torn, Behold the Saviour of mankind Upon the tree of scorn. See how the nails those hands And feet so tender rend; See down his face and neck and breast His sacred blood descend.

Hark with what awful cry He yields his parting breath! That cry it steeps his mother's soul As in a swoon of death. The sun withdraws his beam, The mid-day heav'ns grow pale; The moon, the stars, the universe, Their Maker's death bewail.

Shall man alone be mute, Amidst adoring spheres? Come, old and young, come, rich and poor, And bathe those feet in tears. Come kneel before his Cross, Who shed for us his blood; Who died the victim of pure love, To make us sons of God.

Easter Hymn

10. Easter Hymn. (I.) Victimæ Paschali laudes.

Christ the Lord is ris'n to day: Christians, haste your vows to pay; Offer ye your praises meet At the Paschal Victim's feet. For the sheep the Lamb hath bled, Sinless in the sinner's stead; Christ the Lord is ris'n on high, Now he lives no more to die.

Christ, the Victim undefil'd, Man to God hath reconcil'd; Whilst in strange and awful strife Met together Death and Life. Christians, on this happy day Haste with joy your vows to pay; Christ the Lord is ris'n on high, Now he lives no more to die.

Say, O wond'ring Mary, say, What thou sawest on thy way? "I beheld, where Christ had lain, Empty tomb and angels twain; I beheld the glory bright Of the rising Lord of light: Christ my hope is ris'n again, Now he lives, and lives to reign."

Christ, who once for sinners bled, Now the firstborn from the dead, Thron'd in endless might and power, Lives and reigns for evermore. Hail, eternal Hope on high! Hail, thou King of victory! Hail, thou Prince of life ador'd! Help and save us, gracious Lord!

Easter Hymn

11. Easter Hymn. (II.) O filii et filiæ.

Ye sons and daughters of the Lord! The King of glory, King ador'd, This day himself from death restored.

All in the early morning grey Went holy women on their way, To see the tomb where Jesus lay.

Of spices pure a precious store In their pure hands those women bore, To anoint the sacred Body o'er.

Then straightway one in white they see, Who saith, "The Lord is ris'n, and he Precedes you into Galilee."

This told they Peter, told they John, Who forthwith to the tomb are gone, But Peter is by John outrun.

That selfsame night, while out of fear The doors were shut, their Lord most dear To his Apostles did appear.

But Thomas, when of this he heard, Was doubtful of his brethren's word; Wherefore again there comes the Lord.

"Thomas, behold my side," saith he; "My hands, my feet, my body see, And doubt not, but believe in me."

When Thomas saw that wounded side, The truth no longer he denied; "Thou art my Lord and God!" he cried.

Oh blest are they who have not seen Their Lord, and yet believe in him! Eternal life awaiteth them.

Now let us praise the Lord most high, And strive his name to magnify On this great day through earth and sky,

Whose mercy ever runneth o'er; Whom men and angel hosts adore; To him be glory evermore.

Feast of the Ascension

12. Feast of the Ascension

O thou eternal King most high, Who didst the world redeem; And conquering death and hell, receive A dignity supreme:

This day beheld thee through the skies To thy bright throne ascend; Thenceforth to reign in sovereign power, And glory without end.

There, seated in thy majesty, To thee submissive bow The spacious earth, the highest heaven The depths of hell below.

With trembling there the angels see The chang'd estate of men; The flesh which sinn'd by Flesh redeem'd And Man o'er seraphs reign.

There, waiting for thy faithful souls, Be thou to us, O Lord, Our peerless Joy while here we stay. In heavn our great reward.

Hymn for Pentecost

13. Hymn for Pentecost

Holy Spirit, Lord of light. From thy clear celestial height Thy pure beaming radiance give; Come, thou Father of the poor, Come with treasures which endure, Come, thou light of all that live.

Thou, of all consolers best, Thou, the soul's delightful guest, Dost refreshing peace bestow; Thou in toil art comfort sweet, Pleasant coolness in the heat, Solace in the midst of woe.

Light immortal, Light divine, Visit thou these hearts of thine, And our inmost being fill; If thou take thy grace away. Nothing pure in man will stay— All his good is turn'd to ill.

Heal our wounds, our strength renew, On our dryness pour thy dew, Wash the stains of guilt away, Bend the stubborn heart and will, Melt the frozen, warm the chill, Guide the steps that go astray.

Thou on those who evermore Thee confess and thee adore, In thy sevenfold gifts descend; Give them comfort when they die, Give them life with thee on high, Give them joys which never end.

Feast of Corpus Christi

14. Feast of Corpus Christi.

Sing, my tongue, the Saviour's glory, Of his flesh the mystery sing; Of the blood, all price exceeding, Shed by our immortal King; Destin'd, for the world's redemption, From a noble womb to spring.

Of a pure and spotless Virgin Born for us on earth below, He, as man with man conversing, Stay'd the seeds of truth to sow; Then he clos'd in solemn order Wondrously his life of woe.

On the night of that last supper, Seated with his chosen band. He, the Paschal victim eating, First fulfils the law's command; Then, as food to all his brethren, Gives himself with his own hand.

Word made flesh, the bread of nature By his word to flesh he turns, Wine into his blood he changes: What though sense no change discerns? Only be the heart in earnest, Faith her lesson quickly learns.

Down in adoration falling, Lo, the sacred Host we hail; Lo, o'er ancient forms departing, Newer rites of grace prevail; Faith for all defects supplying, Where the feeble senses fail.

To the everlasting Father, And the Son who reigns on high, With the Holy Ghost proceeding Forth from each, eternally,

Be salvation, honour, blessing, Might, and endless majesty.

Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

15. Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Jesu, Creator of the world, Of all mankind Redeemer blest; True God of God, in whom we see The Father's image clear express'd:

Thee, Saviour, love alone constrain'd To make our mortal flesh thine own; And as a second Adam come, For the first Adam to atone.

That selfsame love which made the sky, Which made the sea, the stars, and earth, Took pity on our misery, And broke the bondage of our birth.

O Jesu, in thy heart divine May that same love for ever glow; For ever mercy to mankind From that exhaustless fountain flow!

For this thy sacred heart was pierced, And both with blood and water ran; To cleanse us from the stains of guilt, And be the hope and strength of man.

To God the Father and the Son, All praise, and power, and glory be With thee, O holy Paraclete, Both now and through eternity.

Hail, holy Joseph, hail!

16. Hail, holy Joseph, hail! (St. Joseph, spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, March 19th.)

Hail, holy Joseph, hail! Chaste spouse of Mary, hall! Pure as the lily flower In Eden's peaceful vale.

Hail, holy Joseph, hail! Prince of the house of God! May his best graces be By thy sweet hands bestow'd.

Hail, holy Joseph, hail! Belov'd of angels, hail! Cheer thou the hearts that faint, And guide the steps that fail.

Hail, holy Joseph, hail! God's choice wert thou alone; To thee the Word made flesh Was subject as a Son.

O Christ's dear Mother, bless; And bless, ye Saints on high, All meek and simple souls That to Saint Joseph cry.

Feast of the Annunciation of the B. V. Mary

17. Feast of the Annunciation of the B. V. Mary. (March 25th.)

What mortal tongue can sing thy praise, Dear Mother of the Lord? To angels only it belongs, Thy glory to record.

Say, Mary, what sweet force was that Which from the Father's breast Drew forth his co-eternal Son, To be thy bosom's guest?

'Twas not thy guileless faith alone That lifted thee so high; 'Twas not thy pure seraphic love, Or peerless chastity.

But oh! it was thy lowliness, Well pleasing to the Lord, That made thee worthy to become The mother of the Word.

O loftiest, whose humility So sweet it was to see, That God, forgetful of himself, Abased himself to thee.

St. Aloysius

18. St. Aloysius. (June 31st.)

Dear Saint, who on thy natal day To Mary's tender care was given, And did beneath her gentle sway Almost unsinning pass to heav'n:

Sweet flower which lov'd to bloom unknown, A Saint 'mid worldly pomp and pride; Who at the footstep of a throne Knew nought but Jesus crucified:

Blest youth, who cast a crown away, To be with Christ despis'd and poor; Teach us to walk our humble way, Content, though little be our store.

May no repining fill our breast Amid the ills of poverty; Oh, make us feel that we are blest, To be thus poor with Christ and thee!

Teach us like thee to shrink from sin, Like thee to love sweet purity; That we from Mary's heart may win The love she once bestow'd on thee.

Thus safe beneath her gentle sway, Oh, may the grace to us be giv'n, To pass from earth some happy day, And join thee in the courts of heav'n.

Feast of the Assumption of the B. V. Mary

20. Feast of the Assumption of the B. V. Mary. (August 15.)

See, to God's high temple above Mounts, amid angel hymns of love, The mystical ark of grace See aloft on victory's throne, Blended in glory both Mother and Son, In one eternal embrace!

All the sorrows her bosom bore, All her pains and afflictions sore, At length supremely repaid;— There she reigns on the cloudless height, Only less than the Lord of light, In hues immortal arrayed.

There she lives as a fount of grace, Ever flowing for Adam's race, And still for ever to flow; There, while ages on ages run, Sweetly, sweetly, she pleads with her Son For us her children below.

Lady, than all the heavens more high, More than seraph in purity, A glance of pity incline! Teach us to feel, teach us to know, Teach us in life and death to shew What treasures of grace are thine.

St. Anne, Mother of the B. V. Mary

19. St Anne, Mother of the B. V. Mary. (July 26th.)

Spotless Anna, Juda's glory, Through the Church from east to west Every tongue proclaims thy praises, Holy Mary's mother blest!

Saintly kings and priestly sires Blended in thy sacred line; Thou in virtue all before thee Didst excel by grace divine.

Link'd in bonds of purest wedlock, Thine it was for us to bear, By the favour of high heaven, Our immortal Virgin star.

From thy stem in beauty budded Ancient Jesse's mystic rod; Earth from thee received the mother Of the eternal Son of God.

All the human race benighted In the depths of darkness lay, "When in Anne it saw the dawning Of the long-expected day.

The holy Angel Guardian

21. The holy Angel Guardian. (October 2d.)

Kind Angel guardian, thanks to thee For thy so watchful care of me; Oh, lead me still in ways of truth, Dear guide of childhood and of youth.

Kind Angel guardian, let my tears Implore thee too for riper years; Oh, keep me safe in wisdom's way. And bring me back if I should stray.

When angry passions fill my soul, Subdue them to thy meek control; Through good and ill, oh, ever be A guide, a guard, a friend to me.

And when death's hand shall seal mine eyes, Oh, bear my spirit to the skies, And teach me there my voice to raise In hymns of never-ending praise.

Saint Teresa

22. Saint Teresa. (October 16th.)

Sweet Saint, in thy young childhood's day The thought was in thy infant head, That it were sweet to die for Christ, And for the faith thy blood to shed.

But God decreed thee not to fall By sword of Paynim, Turk, or Moor; A living death of martyrdom His love reserv'd thee to endure.

Thy youthful follies oft deplor'd To us have made thee still more dear; Since we in them have come to know Thy candour and thy truth sincere.

For when thy Lord, with sweet reproof, Had made to thee thine errors known, At once thy frank and loving heart Was wholly kept for him alone.

Oh, what a strange instructive scene Thy life thenceforth began to be! Now suffering dread unheard-of pain, Now lost in wondrous ecstacy.

Now contemplating things divine, Beyond the power of man to tell; Now in appalling vision plung'd, Amid the hopeless cries of hell.

O sweet Teresa, now at last, Thy labours o'er and heaven won, Thou lovest God without restraint, And shinest brighter than the sun.

Ah, then, from thy fair throne above Obtain for us thy children here, To imitate thy childhood's love, In after life to persevere.

Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the B. V. Mary

23. Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the B. V. Mary. (December 8th.)

Hail, Mary, only sinless child Of guilty Adam's fallen race; Conceiv'd all pure and undefil'd, Through thy dear Lord's preventing grace.

He would not have the blight of sin A moment rest thy soul upon; For pure without, and pure within, Must be the Mother of his Son.

No haughty fiend might boast that he One moment held thee in his snare, Who of the dread Divinity Wert destin'd for the Temple fair.

So thou wert sinless in thy birth, And sinless after as before; The only creature of this earth Whom sin ne'er cast its shadow o'er.

O sweetest lily! all untorn, Though nurs'd the thorns of earth among, To thee we sigh, to thee we mourn, To thee we lift our suppliant song.

From Satan's snare preserve us free, And keep us safe from earthly stain, That in this world we pure may be, And in the next may see thee reign.

MATER ADMIRABILIS, ORA PRO NOBIS

An Evening Hymn to the Blessed Virgin

24. An Evening Hymn to the Blessed Virgin.

As the dewy shades of even Gather o'er the balmy air, Listen, gentle Queen of Heav'n, Listen to my vesper prayer. Holy Mother, near me hover, Free my thoughts from ought defil'd; With thy wings of mercy cover, Safe from harm, thy helpless child.

Thine own sinless heart was broken, Sorrow's sword had pierc'd it through; Give, oh, give me some sweet token Of thy tender love so true. Queen of sorrows, guard and guide me, Let me to thine arms repair, In thy tender bosom hide me, Mary, take me to thy care.

A Child's Hymn to the Blessed Virgin

25. A Child's Hymn to the Blessed Virgin.

Maiden Mother, meek and mild, Take, oh, take me for thy child. All my life, oh, let it be My best joy to think of thee.

When my eyes are clos'd in sleep Through the night my slumbers keep, Make my latest thought to be, How to love thy Son and thee.

Teach me when the sunbeam bright Calls me with its golden light, How my waking thoughts may be Turn'd to Jesus and to thee.

And, oh, teach me through the day Oft to raise my heart and say, "Maiden Mother, meek and mild, Guard, oh, guard thy little child!"

Thus, sweet Mother, day and night Thou shalt guide my steps aright; And my dying words shall be, "Virgin Mother, pray for me!"

Star of Jacob

26. Star of Jacob.

Star of Jacob, ever beaming With a radiance all divine, Mid the stars of highest heaven Glows no purer ray than thine!

All in stoles of snowy whiteness, Unto thee the angels sing; Unto thee the virgin choirs,— Mother of th' eternal King!

Joyful in thy path they scatter Roses white and lilies fair; Yet with thy celestial beauty Rose nor lily may compare.

Oh, that this low earth of ours, Answ'ring to th' angelic strain, With thy praises might re-echo, Till the heavens replied again.

Hail, thou Star of Ocean

27. Hail, thou Star of Ocean.

Hail, thou Star of Ocean, Portal of the sky, Ever Virgin Mother Of the Lord most high!

Oh, by Gabriel's Ave, Utter'd long ago, Eva's name reversing, Stablish peace below.

Break the captive's fetters, Light on darkness pour; All our ills expelling, Every bliss implore.

Shew thyself a Mother, Offer him our sighs; Who for us incarnate Did not thee despise.

Virgin of all virgins, To thy shelter take us; Gentlest of the gentle, Chaste and gentle make us.

Still as on we journey, Help our weak endeavour; Till with thee and Jesus We rejoice for ever.

Through the highest heaven, To the all-holy Three, Father, Son, and Spirit, One same glory be.

Gratitude for the early Knowledge of God

28. Gratitude for the early Knowledge of God.

Among the gifts thy hands bestow Each day and hour on me, 'Tis not the least, O Lord, to know That they all come from thee.

How Joyfully each day I ought Thy precepts to fulfil, Since I have been so early taught To do thy gracious will!

I cannot tell thee what my heart Would have me say to thee, For having taught me what thou art, And what I ought to be.

O Saviour blest and God ador'd, Still keep me in thy fear; And in my teachers' words, O Lord, May I thy voice revere.

Hymn to the Good Shepherd

29. Hymn to the Good Shepherd.

Loving Shepherd of thy sheep, Keep thy lamb, in safety keep: Nothing can thy power withstand, None can pluck me from thy hand.

Loving Shepherd, thou didst give Thine own life that I might live; May I love thee day by day, Gladly thy sweet will obey.

Loving Shepherd, ever near, Teach thy lamb thy voice to hear; Suffer not my steps to stray From the straight and narrow way.

Where thou leadest may I go, Walking in thy steps below; Then before thy Father's throne, Jesu, claim me for thine own.

Litany of the Birth of Jesus

30. Litany of the Birth of Jesus.

By the word to Mary giv'n, By thy first descent from heav'n, By thine infant form so fair, Tumbling in the midnight air—

Chorus.

Babe of Bethlehem, hear our cry! Thou wert helpless once as we; Hear the loving Litany We, thy children, sing to thee.

By thy poor and lowly lot, By the manger and the grot, By thy little feet and hands, Folded fast in swaddling bands,— Babe of Bethlehem, &c.

By the worship shepherds paid, By the gifts that sages made, Gold and myrrh and incense sweet, Laid in homage at thy feet,— Babe of Bethlehem, &c.

By St. Joseph's thoughts amaz'd, When he first upon thee gaz'd, And his Lord and Maker saw Laid upon a bed of straw,— Babe of Bethlehem, &c.

And oh. more than all the rest, By the joy of Mary's breast When she, kneeling, first ador'd Thee, her child and yet her Lord,— Babe of Bethlehem, &c.

Litany of the Childhood of Jesus

31. Litany of the Childhood of Jesus.

By the name which thou didst take, Suffering early for our sake; Name ador'd on bended knee, Name of grace and majesty,—

Chorus.

Child of Mary, hear our cry! Thou wert little once as we; Hear the loving Litany We, thy children, sing to thee.

By the joy of Simeon blest, When he clasp'd thee to his breast; By the widow'd Anna's song, Pour'd amid the wondering throng,— Child of Mary, &c.

By thine angel-bidden flight Into Egypt in the night; By thy home at Herod's death In despised Nazareth,— Child of Mary, &c.

By thy tender mother's fears, By her many sighs and tears, As she sought thee night and day, Turning back upon her way,— Child of Mary, &c.

By her wond'ring love and awe, In the Temple when she saw Thee, her child, so young and fair, Wiser than the wisest there,— Child of Mary, &c.

Litany of the Passion of Jesus

32. Litany of the Passion of Jesus.

By the blood that flow'd from thee In thy bitter agony, By the scourge so meekly borne, By thy purple robe of scorn,—

Chorus.

Jesu, Saviour, hear our cry! Thou wert suffering once as we; Hear the loving Litany We, thy children, sing to thee.

By the thorns that crown'd thy head, By thy sceptre of a reed. By thy footstep faint and slow, Weigh'd beneath thy cross of woe,— Jesu, Saviour, &c.

By the nails and pointed spear, By thy people's cruel jeer, By thy dying prayer which rose Begging mercy for thy foes,— Jesu, Saviour, &c.

By the darkness thick as night, Blotting out the sun from sight; By the cry with which in death Thou didst yield thy parting breath,— Jesu, Saviour, &c.

By thy weeping mother's woe, By the sword that pierc'd her through, When in anguish standing by, On the cross she saw thee die,— Jesu, Saviour, &c.

Litany of the Resurrection of Jesus

33. Litany of the Resurrection of Jesus.

By the first bright Easter-day, When the stone was roll'd away; By the glory round thee shed At thy rising from the dead,—

Chorus.

King of glory, hear out cry! Make us soon thy Joys to see; Hear the loving Litany We, thy children, sing to thee.