I've been meaning to post this hymn I wrote for the late Great Pope John Paul II. My Holy Father. I wrote it for the period of mourning earlier this year and they kindly sang it, twice, at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.
One of the things I've been fortunate to be able do with hymn texts is to incorporate direct quotes--or inoffensively recognizable approximations to direct quotes--as actual text lines. An approximation in this text is "Open the doors to Jesus Christ" in place of the original, "Open wide the doors to Christ!" The "there"s in the seventh line reflect my obsession at the time with Jerusalem, My Happy Home. That is a hymn that deserves a treatise.
To be sung to the tune of Father, We Thank Thee Who Hast Planted (RENDEZ A DIEU)
Staff of a shepherd for the faithful; heart of a father for the poor
Jesus was in him, and the Spirit, for the uplifting of the world
“Be not afraid!” a voice was calling, “Lay down your lives in sacrifice!”
“Be not afraid!” the sound re-echoes, “Open the doors to Jesus Christ!”
Long may his legacy of courage guide us in paths of good and right.
Angels of God, come forth to lead him into the mysteries of light.
There Mary reigns, the Queen of Heaven; there Lazarus is poor no more.
Be not afraid O Holy Father! Enter the mercy of the Lord!
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