'Sé an Tiarna m'aoire (Psalm 23 / Gaelic)

Refrain: 'Sé an Tiarna m’aoire, ní bheidh aon nith de dhith orm.

1. Cuireann se i mo luí mé I móinéar fear uaithne.
Seolann sé ar imeall an uisce mé
Mar a bhfaighim suaimhneas.
Seolann sé mé ar rianta díreacha
Mar gheall ar a ainm.

2. Fiú dar súilfainn i ngleann an dorchadais
Níor bhaoil liom an tolc
Agus tú faram le do slat is do bhacall
Chun sólás a thabhairt dom.

Setting of Psalm 23

Composer: Fiontán P Ó Cearbhaill (Fintan O'Carroll), 1922-1981.

Come to me (Gregory Norbet)

Refrain

Come to me all who labour and are heavy burdened,
And I shall give you rest.
Take up my yoke and learn from me,
For I am meek and humble of heart.
And you’ll find rest for your souls,
Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

1. The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall never be in need,
Fresh and green are the meadows where he gives me rest.

2. Beside peaceful waters you restore my true self;
There you lead me to walk in the path of new life.

3. Should I be surrounded by the shadows of death,
I will not fear, for you are steadfast in your love.

4. Before my deep hunger you spread out your feast.
My skin you anoint with the richest oil.

5. Pursue me, O God, with your fathomless love,
In your tent let me dwell all the days of my life.

Text: Paraphrase of Psalm 23
Composer: Gregory Norbet (1971, revised text 1994)

See my other blog postings in the Contemporary Catholic series.

Hymn of Promise (Natalie Sleeth)

In the bulb there is a flower; in the seed, an apple tree;
In cocoons, a hidden promise: butterflies will soon be free!
In the cold and snow of winter there’s a spring that waits to be,
Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.

There’s a song in every silence, seeking word and melody;
There’s a dawn in every darkness, bringing hope to you and me.
From the past will come the future; what it holds, a mystery,
Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.

In our end is our beginning; in our time, infinity;
In our doubt there is believing; in our life, eternity,
In our death, a resurrection; at the last, a victory,
Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.

Composer: Natalie Sleeth (1986)

See my other blog postings in the Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) series. 

Well of Tears (Bob Dufford)

1. Is there no balm in Gilead,
no hand to heal this sorrow?
Are there no eyes to share this grief
and see beyond tomorrow?

2. Will no one come to hear this tale
and stand amid the ashes?
Can no one dry this well of tears,
or stay this wound within me?

Refrain

God above, hear our plea.
Turn your eyes of mercy here
to light our way.
Stay with us, Lord of all.
All we seek, all we've lost
we find in you.

3. How can I bear this memory,
and keep my soul from breaking?
How will I rise again each day
and greet a life worth living? (to Refrain)

4. Rivers will run and flowers grow,
and stars will steer their courses.
Springtime will come for me one day
when I have stayed this winter.

Composer: Bob Dufford

See my other blog postings in the Contemporary Catholic series.

God of Silence (Bukas Palad)

The God of silence beckons me
To journey to my heart
Where He awaits
O Lord, I hear You calling tenderly
To You I come to gaze
At the beauty of Your face I cannot see

To rest in Your embrace I cannot feel
To dwell in Your love hurting but sweet
To be with You; to glimpse eternity

God of night, fount of all my delight.
Show Your light . . . that my heart, like Yours, burn bright.

Be still the torment of the night
Will not encumber you, if you believe
My child this darkness isn't emptiness
For here I mold your heart
Unto My image painfully you long to see

The self you yearn to be, but fear to know
The world from which you flee in Me find home
All these I give you, if you remain in Me

COUNTERPOINT:
I am ever here
My child, you need not fear
The dark will set you free
And bring your heart to Me

CODA:
The God of silence beckons me
To journey to my heart
Where He awaits me.

Setting: Bukas Palad (Philippines)

See my other blog postings in the Contemporary Catholic series.

Yahweh, the Faithful one (Dan Schutte)

Refrain:
Yahweh's love will last forever,
His faithfulness till the end of time.
Yahweh is a loving God, Yahweh, the faithful one.

1. Have no fear for I am with you, I will be your shield.
Go now and leave your homeland.
For I will give your home (Refrain)

2. You shall be my chosen people and I will be your God.
I will bless your name forever and keep you from all harm. (Refrain)

3. Look up and see the heavens and count the stars if you can.
Your name will be even grearter, greater than all these stars. (Refrain)

Composer: Dan Schutte

See my other blog postings in the Contemporary Catholic series.

Come to Me (David Haas)

1. Ask and you shall receive
Seek and you shall find
Knock - it shall be opened
The goodness of the Lord.
For the one who asks, receives
The one who seeks shall find
The one who knocks will enter
And see the face of God.

Refrain:

Come to me all who weary
I will refresh you
Learn from me
My yoke is easy, my burden light.

2. See the birds in the sky,
They neither sow nor reap
And still our God cares for them
Will not the Lord care for you.
See the lilies in the field
They do not work or sleep
If they are clothed in splendor
God will provide for you. (Refrain)

3.Do not worry about your life
What to eat or wear
Is not your life for greater things
Is not your life for the Lord?
Seek the One who knows your need
And all things will be yours
Worry not of tomorrow
Let tomorrow find its way. (Refrain)

Composer: David Haas (1989)

See my other blog postings in the Contemporary Catholic series.

Holy Darkness (Dan Schutte)

Refrain

Holy darkness, blessed night,
heaven's answer hidden from our sight.
As we await you, O God of silence,
we embrace your holy night.

1. I have tried you in fires of affliction;
I have taught your soul to grieve.
In the barren soil of your loneliness,
there I will plant my seed.

2. I have taught you the price of compassion;
you have stood before the grave.
Though my love can seem
like a raging storm,
this is the love that saves.

3. Were you there
when I raised up the mountains?
Can you guide the morning star?
Does the hawk take flight
when you give command?
Why do you doubt my pow'r?

4. In your deepest hour of darkness
I will give you wealth untold.
When the silence stills your spirit,
will my riches fill your soul.

5. As the watchman waits for morning,
and the bride awaits her groom,
so we wait to hear your footsteps
as we rest beneath your moon.

Inspired by St. John of the Cross (1542-1591)

Composer: Dan Schutte (1988)

See my other blog postings in the Contemporary Catholic series.   

Deep calls to deep

I call upon You, Lord
My spirit longs to touch You
And I feel You calling me
So I draw near
I’m reaching out my hands
I need the kiss of Your Presence
And I feel You reach for me
So I draw near

I offer You my love, as You love me so freely
And I’m laying down my life as I draw near
You have brought me to this place by Your grace and your mercy
And I want to see Your face as I draw near

Deep calls to deep as Your glory surrounds me
Break through to my heart, O River of God
Deep calls to deep as I fall into worship
Flood my whole being with Yourself
Deep River of God

See my other blog postings in the Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) series. 

Peace in the Valley (Thomas Dorsey)

1. Oh well, I'm tired and so weary
But I must go alone
Till the lord comes and calls, calls me away, oh yes
Well the morning's so bright
And the lamp is alight
And the night, night is as black as the sea, oh yes

Refrain:

There will be peace in the valley for me, some day
There will be peace in the valley for me, oh Lord I pray
There'll be no sadness, no sorrow
No trouble, trouble I see
There will be peace in the valley for me, for me

 2. Well the bear will be gentle
And the wolves will be tame
And the lion shall lay down by the lamb, oh yes
And the beasts from the wild
Shall be lit by a child
And I'll be changed, changed from this creature that I am, oh yes

Background Information

Composer: Thomas A. Dorsey (1937)

どんな暗闇も (テゼ / Taizé)

歌詞 (lyrics)：
どんな暗闇も主を見つめれば そう 主は聞き入れ支えてくださる どんな悩みも主を見つめれば

See also the original French version: Aucune ombre (Taizé)

See my other blog postings in the "Taizé" series of chants.

Official Taizé Community Website

Wikipedia information on the Taizé Community
- in French
- in English

Aucune ombre (Taizé)

Aucune ombre ni trouble pour qui regarde Dieu.
Oui, aucune ombre ni trouble.
car Dieu l'écoute et le sauve.
Aucune ombre ni trouble pour qui regarde Dieu.

See my other blog postings in the "Taizé" series of chants.

Official Taizé Community Website

Wikipedia information on the Taizé Community
- in French
- in English

Grace Greater Than Our Sin

1. Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,
grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt!
Yonder on Calvary's mount outpoured,
there where the blood of the Lamb was spilt.

Refrain:

Grace, grace, God's grace,
grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
grace, grace, God's grace,
grace that is greater than all our sin!

2. Sin and despair, like the sea waves cold,
threaten the soul with infinite loss;
grace that is greater, yes, grace untold,
points to the refuge, the mighty cross.

3. Dark is the stain that we cannot hide.
What can avail to wash it away?
Look! There is flowing a crimson tide,
brighter than snow you may be today.

4. Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace,
freely bestowed on all who believe!
You that are longing to see his face,
will you this moment his grace receive?

Composer:

Whispering Hope

Soft as the voice of an angel,
Breathing a lesson unheard,
Hope with a gentle persuasion
Whispers her comforting word:
Wait till the darkness is over,
Wait till the tempest is done,
Hope for the sunshine tomorrow,
After the shower is gone.

Refrain:

Whispering hope, oh, how welcome thy voice,
Making my heart in its sorrow rejoice.

2. If, in the dusk of the twilight,
Dim be the region afar,
Will not the deepening darkness
Brighten the glimmering star?
Then when the night is upon us,
Why should the heart sink away?
When the dark midnight is over,
Watch for the breaking of day.

3. Hope, as an anchor so steadfast,
Rends the dark veil for the soul,
Whither the Master has entered,
Robbing the grave of its goal;
Come then, oh, come, glad fruition,
Come to my sad weary heart;
Come, O Thou blest hope of glory,
Never, oh, never depart.

Composer: Septimus Winner (1868)

One Dark Night (John Michael Talbot)

One dark night
Fired with love's urgent longings
Ah, the sheer grace
In the darkness
I went out unseen
My house being all now still

In the darkness
Secured by love's secret ladder
Disguised
Oh, the sheer grace
In the darkness
And in my concealment
My house being all now still

On that glad night
In the secret, for no one saw me
Nor did I see any other thing at all
With no other light to guide me
Than the light burning in my heart

And this light guided me
More surely than the light of the noon
To where he lay waiting for me
Waiting for me
Him I knew so well
In a place where no one else appeared

Oh guiding night
A light more lovely than the dawn
A night that has united
Ever now
The Lover now with his beloved
Transforming two now into one

Upon my flowering breast
There he lay sleeping
Which I kept for him alone
And I embraced him
And I caressed him
In a breeze blowing from the forest

And when this breeze blew in from the forest
Blowing back our hair
He wounded my soul
With his gentle hand
Suspending all my senses

I abandoned, forgetting myself
Laying my face on my Beloved
All things ceasing, I went out from myself
To leave cares
Forgotten with the lilies of the field

Composer: John Michael Talbot (b. 1954)

See my other blog postings in the Contemporary Catholic series.    

St. Theresa's Prayer (John Michael Talbot)

Christ has no body now but yours
no hands, no feet on earth but yours
Yours are the eyes through which He looks
with compassion on this world
yours are the feet with which He walks to do good
Yours are the hands,
with which He blesses all the world

Yours are the hands,
yours are the feet
yours are the eyes
You are His body

Christ has no body now but yours
no hands, no feet on earth but yours
Yours are the eyes through which He looks
with compassion on this world
Christ has no body now on earth
but yours

Composer: John Michael Talbot (b. 1954)

See my other blog postings in the Contemporary Catholic series.   

The Pleiades and Orion (John Michael Talbot)

He who created
The Pleiades and Orion
Turning darkness into
The light of the dawn
And darkens day into the night

Who calls from the waters
Renews the world in the falling rain
And who strides the height of creation
He is the Lord the God of Hosts by name

He formed the mountains
And created the wind
And through His Spirit
Declares His thoughts to men

He who created
The Pleiades and Orion
And who strides the height of creation
He is the Lord the God of Hosts by name

(Amos 5:8; 4:13)
 
Composer: John Michael Talbot (b. 1954)

See my other blog postings in the Contemporary Catholic series.  

Speak, Lord (Tim Schoenbachler / Marienne Uszler)

Refrain:

Speak, Lord, I love to listen to your voice.
See, Lord, here I am.

1. My heart is silent, Lord. My soul is still,
waiting upon your voice. Tell me your will.
Empty, I place myself before your face.
Touch me now in the silence of faith.

2. Your word is life, O Lord, through all my days,
like a radiant light guiding my way.
Your law stands firm, O Lord, strong as a rock.
It endures through the night and the storm.

Based on Psalm 19

Composers: Tim Schoenbachler & Marienne Uszler

See my other blog postings in the Contemporary Catholic series.  

O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus

O the deep, deep love of Jesus, vast, unmeasured, boundless, free!
Rolling as a mighty ocean in its fullness over me!
Underneath me, all around me, is the current of Thy love
Leading onward, leading homeward to Thy glorious rest above!

O the deep, deep love of Jesus, spread His praise from shore to shore!
How He loveth, ever loveth, changeth never, nevermore!
How He watches o'er His loved ones, died to call them all His own;
How for them He intercedeth, watcheth o'er them from the throne!

O the deep, deep love of Jesus, love of every love the best!
'Tis an ocean full of blessing, 'tis a haven giving rest!
O the deep, deep love of Jesus, 'tis a heaven of heavens to me;
And it lifts me up to glory, for it lifts me up to Thee!

Background information

Text: Samuel Trevor Francis (1834-1925)
Tune: EBENEZER (Llaw lyfr Mo­li­ant, 1890)

Tuhanku, Gembalaku [My Lord, My Shepherd]

Paraphrase of Psalm 23

See my other blog postings in the Contemporary Catholic series.