Above:  Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament of Our Lady of the Angels Monastery, Hanceville, Alabama

Image in the Public Domain

Hymn Source = The Church Hymnary–Revised Hymnary (1927)

Text (1875) by Henry Baker Williams (1821-1877)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I am not worthy, holy Lord,

That Thou should’st come to me;

Speak but the word; one gracious word

Can set the sinner free.

+++++

I am not worthy; cold and bare

The lodging of my soul;

How canst Thou deign to enter there?

Lord, speak, and make me whole.

+++++

I am not worthy; yet my God,

How can I say Thee nay, —

Thee, who didst give Thy flesh and blood

My ransom price to pay?

+++++

O come, in this sweet morning hour,

Feed me with food divine;

And fill with all Thy love and power

This worthless heart of mine.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

One may substitute “evening” for “morning” in the last stanza.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Above:  St. Julian’s Episcopal Church, Douglasville, Georgia, August 27, 2017

Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

Hymn Source = The Pilgrim Hymnal (1904), National Council of Congregational Churches in the United States

Words (1855) by Harriet Beecher Stowe (1812-1896)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Abide in me, O Lord, and I in thee!

From this good hour, O leave me never more!

Then shall the discord cease, the wound be healed,

The life-long bleeding of the soul be o’er.

+++++++

Abide in me; o’ershadow by thy love

Each half-formed purpose, and dark thought of sin;

Quench, ere it rise, each selfish, low desire,

And keep my soul as thine, calm and divine.

+++++++

Abide in me; there have been moments blest

When I have heard thy voice and felt thy power,

Then evil lost its grasp, and passion hushed

Owned the divine enchantment of the hour.

+++++++

These were but seasons, beautiful and rare;

Abide in me and they shall ever be;

Fulfil at once thy precept, and my prayer,–

Come, and abide in me, and I in thee.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Above:  Supper at Emmaus, by Matthias Stom

Image in the Public Domain

Text (published in 1825) by James Montgomery (1771-1854)

Hymn Source = The Hymnal (1941), Evangelical and Reformed Church

++++++++++++++++++++++

Be known to us in breaking bread,

But do not then depart;

Saviour, abide with us, and spread

Thy table in our heart.

+++++

There sup with us in love divine;

Thy body and Thy blood,

That living bread, that heavenly wine,

Be our immortal food.

Above:  Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, Covington, Georgia, May 7, 2017

Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

Text (1825) by James Montgomery (1771-1854)

Hymn Source = The Hymnal (1941), Evangelical and Reformed Church

++++++++++++++++++++++

According to Thy gracious word,

In meek humility,

Thy will I do, my dying Lord,

I will remember Thee.

+++++

Thy body, broken for my sake,

My bread from heaven shall be;

Thy testamental cup I take

And thus remember Thee.

+++++

Whom to the cross I turn mine eyes,

And rest on Calvary,

O Lamb of God, my Sacrifice,

I must remember Thee;

+++++

Remember Thee, and all Thy pains,

And all Thy love to me:

Yea, while a breath, a pulse remains,

Will I remember Thee.

Above:  St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Atlanta, Georgia, May 21, 2017

Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

Hymn Source = The English Hymnal (1906), The Church of England

Original Latin Text by Saint Thomas Aquinas (1227-1274)

English Translation by James Russell Woodford (1820-1885), Anglican Bishop of Ely (1873-1885)

+++++++++++++++++++

Thee we adore, O hidden Saviour, thee

Who in thy sacrament art pleased to be;

Both flesh and spirit in thy presence fail,

Yet here thy Presence we devoutly hail.

+++++

O blest Memorial of our dying Lord,

Who living bread to men doth here afford!

O may our souls feed for ever on thee,

And thou, O Christ, for ever precious be.

+++++

Fountain of goodness, Jesu, Lord and God,

Cleanse us, unclean, with thy most cleansing Blood!

Increase our faith and love, that we may know

The hope and peace which from thy Presence flow.

+++++

O Christ, whom now beneath a veil we see,

May what we thirst for soon our portion be,

To gaze on thee unveiled, and see thy face,

The vision of thy glory and thy grace.

Above:  St. James Episcopal Church, Clayton, Georgia, January 29, 2017

Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

Text by Reginald Heber (1783-1826)

Hymn Source = The English Hymnal (1906), The Church of England

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O, most merciful!

O, most bountiful!

God the Father Almighty

By the Redeemer’s

Sweet intercession

Hear us, help us when we cry.

Above:  All Saints’ Episcopal Church, Atlanta, Georgia, May 8, 2016

Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

Text (1890) by Theodore Claudius Pease (1853-1893)

Source #1 = The Pilgrim Hymnal (1904), National Council of Congregational Churches in the United States

Source #2 = The Christian Ministry:  Its Present Claim and Attraction and Other Writings (1894)

The Pilgrim Hymnal (1904) contains five of the seven stanzas; The Christian Ministry (1894) offers the complete text.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

How blest Thy first disciples, Lord,

Whom Thou didst choose to walk with thee,

Who daily met around Thy board,

And made Thy home and family!

+++++

How blest, when throng and press were gone,

And weary day herself had fled,

From all the noisy world withdrawn,

Alone with Thee to break the bread!

+++++

Has the long day its burden brought?

Are heavy hearts in sorrow bound?

What sweet relief in kindly thought;

What sympathy with Thee is found!

+++++

For every care Thou hast an ear;

Thou knowest all their changing moods:

What stirs the timid Philip’s fears,–

Why thoughtful Thomas sadly broods.

+++++

Ah, who would such a meeting miss?

What strength is here to nerve the will!

How fair a home for hearts is this!

Who would not long to find it still?

+++++

And is the vision vain as sweet?

Nay, Lord, Thy table still is spread;

And ever where disciples meet,

Thy blessed hands still break the bread.

+++++

We see Thee not; yet when we turn,

These moments melt in memory,

And all our hearts within us burn,

For we have met and talked with Thee.

Above:  St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church, Calhoun, Georgia, July 10, 2016

Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

Hymn Source = The Christian Ministry:  Its Present Claim and Attraction and Other Writings (1894)

Text (1890) by Theodore Claudius Pease (1853-1893)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Before us, Lord, Thy board is spread,

Thy love’s unchanging token:

We share the cup, we take the bread,

Thy body bruised and broken:

And at Thy table, met with Thee,

Thy word, “In memory of Me,”

Once more to us is spoken!

+++++

No lengthening years of mist and gloom

Have power to change or bound Thee:

To-day, as in the upper room

Thy first disciples found Thee,

O let Thy Presence still our fears,

Remove our doubts, and dry our tears,

While here we gather round Thee!

+++++

We come, our hearts anew to yield

To Thee for Thy possessing:

We come, with lips but now unsealed,

A new-found love confessing:

Grant us, O Lord, Thy promised grace,

Reveal to each Thy loving Face,

And breathe on all Thy blessing!

+++++

Thou knowest all our varied need,

Our gladness and our grieving:

What joys allure, what hopes mislead,

With false lights still deceiving:

With Thee we leave our troubled past,

With Thee our future, dim and vast,–

All things from Thee receiving.

+++++

While here we hold communion sweet,

The dear, remembered faces

Of friends unseen, again we meet

In their familiar places:

For one with Thee is one with all

Who hear Thy voice and own Thy call,

Throughout the starry spaces!

Above:  Episcopal Church of the Advent, Madison, Georgia, December 6, 2015

Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

Hymn Source = Lyra Eucharistica:  Hymns and Verses on the Holy Communion, Ancient and Modern; with Other Poems, Second Edition, by Orby Shipley, M.A. (1864), pages 340-342

Text (1864) by Folliot Sandford Pierpoint (1835-1917)

The original version of this Anglican Eucharistic hymn follows.  Most versions of the text are abbreviated and rewritten, dropping the references to Mary, the martyrs, prophets, and confessors.  Even the version of it in four Roman Catholic hymnals (Worship II, 1975; Worship III, 1986; Gather Comprehensive, 1994; and Gather Comprehensive, Second Edition, 2004) I consulted is altered and abbreviated (albeit longer than in most Protestant hymnals), minus Mary, the martyrs, prophets, and martyrs.

The original name of the hymn was “The Sacrifice of Praise.”

These days the standard refrain has changed from

Christ, our God, to Thee we raise

This our Sacrifice of Praise

to

Lord of all, to Thee we raise

This our hymn of grateful praise.

A slightly modified version of the hymn, one nearly identical to Pierpoint’s original, appears in The English Hymnal (1906), of The Church of England.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

For the beauty of the earth,

For the beauty of the skies,

For the Love which from our birth

Over and around us lies:

Christ, our God, to Thee we raise

This our Sacrifice of Praise.

+++++

For the beauty of each hour

Of the day and of the night,

Hill and vale, and tree and flower,

Sun and moon and stars of light;

Christ, our God, to Thee we raise

This our Sacrifice of Praise.

+++++

For the joy of ear and eye,

For the heart and brain’s delight,

For the mystic harmony

linking sense to sound and sight:

Christ, our God, to Thee we raise

This our Sacrifice of Praise.

+++++

For the joy of human love,

Brother, sister, parent, child,

Friends on earth, and friends above;

For all gentle thoughts and mild:

Christ, our God, to Thee we raise

This our Sacrifice of Praise.

+++++

For each perfect Gift of Thine

To our race so freely given,

Graces human and divine,

Flowers of earth, and buds of Heaven:

Christ, our God, to Thee we raise

This our Sacrifice of Praise.

+++++

For Thy Bride that evermore

Lifteth holy hands above,

Offering up on every shore

This Pure Sacrifice of Love:

Christ, our God, to Thee we raise

This our Sacrifice of Praise.

+++++

For Thy Martyrs’ crown of light,

For Thy Prophets’ eagle eye,

For Thy bold Confessors’ might,

For the lips of Infancy:

Christ, our God, to Thee we raise

This our Sacrifice of Praise.

+++++

For Thy Virgins’ robes of snow,

For Thy Maiden Mother mild,

For Thyself, with hearts aglow,

Jesu, Victim undefiled,

Offer we at Thine own Shrine

Thyself, sweet Sacrament Divine.

Above:  St. Catherine’s Episcopal Church, Marietta, Georgia, May 17, 2015

Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

Hymn Source = The Lutheran Hymnal (1941), Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America

Words (1826) by Henry Ustick Onderdonk (1789-1858), after Philip Doddridge (1702-1751)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

1.  The Savior kindly calls

Our children to His breast;

He folds them in His gracious arms,

Himself declares them blest.

2.  “Let them approach,” He cries,

“Nor scorning humble claim;

The heirs of heav’n are such as these,

For such as these I came.”

3.  With joy we bring them, Lord,

Devoting them to Thee,

Imploring that, as we are Thine,

Thine may our offspring be.