Keeping the Season

Lead Kindly Light
by John Henry Newman

Lead, Kindly Light, amidst th'encircling gloom,
Lead Thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home,
Lead Thou me on!
Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene; one step enough for me.

I was not ever thus, nor prayed that Thou
Shouldst lead me on;
I loved to choose and see my path; but now
Lead Thou me on!
I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears,
Pride ruled my will. Remember not past years!

So long Thy power hath blest me, sure it still
Will lead me on.
O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till
The night is gone,
And with the morn those angel faces smile,
Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile!

Meantime, along the narrow rugged path,
Thyself hast trod,
Lead, Saviour, lead me home in childlike faith,
Home to my God.
To rest forever after earthly strife
In the calm light of everlasting life.

--

Lead Kindly Light - setting by Dan Forrest

Pilgrims' Hymn
music by Stephen Paulus
text by Michael Dennis Browne

Even before we call on Your name
To ask You, O God,
When we seek for the words to glorify You,
You hear our prayer;
Unceasing love, O unceasing love,
Surpassing all we know.

Glory to the father,
and to the Son,
And to the Holy Spirit.

Even with darkness sealing us in,
We breathe Your name,
And through all the days that follow so fast,
We trust in You;
Endless Your grace, O endless Your grace,
Beyond all mortal dream.

Both now and forever,
And unto ages and ages,
Amen.

Even When He Is Silent
by Kim André Arnesen.
Recorded in concert at Nidaros Cathedral, Trondheim, Norway on June 16, 2013

The text was found in a concentration camp after World War 2:

I believe in the sun, even when it's not shining.
I believe in love, even when I feel it not.
I believe in God, even when He is silent.

Isaiah 6:1–8
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And one called to another and said:

‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory.’

The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. And I said: ‘Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!’

Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: ‘Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.’ Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I; send me!’

In the Year that King Uzziah Died
by David M. Williams

Am Himmelsfahrtstage, Op. 79, No. 3 (Felix Mendelssohn)
Erhaben, o Herr, über alles Lob, über alle Herrlichkeit, herrschest du von Ewigkeit. Hallelujah!
O Lord, you rule sublime for all eternity, above all praise and majesty. Hallelujah!

Isaiah 40:21–31
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?

It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,
and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;
who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
and spreads them like a tent to live in;
who brings princes to naught,
and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing.

Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,
when he blows upon them, and they wither,
and the tempest carries them off like stubble.

To whom then will you compare me,
or who is my equal? says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high and see:
Who created these?

He who brings out their host and numbers them,
calling them all by name;
because he is great in strength,
mighty in power,
not one is missing.

Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
"My way is hidden from the LORD,
and my right is disregarded by my God"?
Have you not known? Have you not heard?

The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
and strengthens the powerless.
Even youths will faint and be weary,
and the young will fall exhausted;
but those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength,
they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not faint.

Luke 2:1-20
In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,

‘Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace among those whom he favors!’

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.’ So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

How Shall I Sing that Majesty
performed by Libera

How great a being, which doth all beings keep
Thy knowledge the only line to sound so vast a deep

Thou art a sea without a shore, a sun without a sphere
Thy time is now and evermore, Thy place is everywhere

How shall I sing that Majesty which angels do admire?
Let dust in dust and silence lie
Sing, sing, ye heavenly choir

Enlighten with faith my heart, inflame it with love's fire
then shall I bear a part with that celestial choir

The Spirit of the Lord is Upon Me
arr. Philip WJ Stopford

Commissioned for the Installation of Most Reverend Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., Archbishop of Philadelphia, September 8, 2011

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor:
He hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliv’rance to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord;
To give unto them that mourn a garland for ashes,
the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they might be called trees of righteousness. The planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified.
For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth;
So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.
The Spirit of the Lord.

In honor of St. Lucy, a song that recalls not only the traditions of St. Lucia Day, but an assurance that even in the darknest night, light is never too far away.


Well of Sorrow
by Storyhill

Come Lucia to the light
Open windows on the brightening snow
And make it though the longest night
A crown of candles for your head tomorrow
I fell in your well of sorrow

You were radiant, all in white arrayed
Long braided hair and burning flame hallow
But I saw through the whole charade
Your red sash and your robe of white were borrowed
I fell in your well of sorrow

Come Lucia to the light
Open windows on the brightening snow
And rage against the coming night
But don't let go of love hat grows in shadow
and I fell in your well of sorrow
and I fell in your well of sorrow