Lord of All Hopefulness

By quinersdiner | November 22, 2012

 

By Tom Quiner

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSet74NSDv0&feature=player_embedded]
I played this song at last night’s Thanksgiving Mass at my church. I love this old Irish tune and posted a beautiful instrumental version above performed by the O’Neill Brothers.

The lyrics by Jan Struthers are worth reading this Thanksgiving Day:

***

Lord of All Hopefulness

Lord of all hopefulness, Lord of all joy,
Whose trust, ever childlike, no cares can destroy,
Be there at our waking, and give us, we pray,
Your bliss in our hearts, Lord, at the break of the day.

Lord of all eagerness, Lord of all faith,
Whose strong hands were skilled at the plane and the lathe,
Be there at our labors, and give us, we pray,
Your strength in our hearts, Lord at the noon of the day.

Lord of all kindliness, Lord of all grace,
Your hands swift to welcome, your arms to embrace,
Be there at our homing, and give us, we pray,
Your love in our hearts, Lord, at the eve of the day.

Lord of all gentleness, Lord of all calm,
Whose voice is contentment, whose presence is balm,
Be there at our sleeping, and give us, we pray,
Your peace in our hearts, Lord, at the end of the day.

***

These tender words remind us that our hope flows from God. Happy Thanksgiving. I am thankful for many things including the faithful readers of this blog.

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4 Comments

  1. juwannadoright on November 22, 2012 at 12:20 pm

    I love this piece. In the Episcopal Church’s Hymnal 1940 it appears under the hymn tune name “Slane”. I would sometimes go into church late at night to play it with just the light from the sanctuary lamp and that on the organ console, the flickering of the candles and the smell of the many years of incense which had imbued everything in the church as background. It is a wonderful and comforting peace.

    Thank you for sharing this. Have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving.



    • quinersdiner on November 22, 2012 at 12:35 pm

      I was raised in the Episcopal Church. Now I play it in the Catholic. It is a work of timeless beauty. Happy Thanksgiving.



  2. Mark on November 22, 2012 at 3:51 pm

    Thank you, Tom. What a beautiful message this Thanksgiving…just what we needed after reeling from the election results in the nation.

    Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.



  3. jeane Bishop on November 25, 2012 at 11:46 am

    Good medicine.
    Thanks for sharing.