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A new hymn expressing hope and trust in God has been composed for this time of pandemic.
Father Michael Joncas, whose compositions include “On Eagle’s Wings,” is a well-known American composer of liturgical music.
He says the idea for the hymn roused him from sleep at three in the morning at the end of last month.
“I awoke with the germ of an idea for a prayer-song to respond to what many are feeling in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The basic composition was finished by about 10 a.m.”
Joncas says Shelter Me, is a paraphrase of the well-known Psalm 23: The LORD is my Shepherd.
“These are difficult times for all of us, individually and globally,” Joncas says in his composer’s note.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted life as normal and called for acts of corporate and individual heroism in the face of present suffering and an uncertain future.
“People of faith may be struggling to articulate their belief in an all-good and all-powerful God in this new era,” he continued. “‘Shelter Me’ is my attempt as a church composer to find God’s presence even in these fraught times.”
Joncas is urging people who download the song to send the license fee they normally would have paid “to groups (that) are offering physical, emotion and spiritual care in this time of crisis.
“I hope that people will be able to sing the song with sincerity as a way of affirming their faith in God during these troubled times,” Joncas says.
A number of Catholics had already prayed with the hymn in virtual worship settings over Palm Sunday weekend, he says.
There are two options available for downloading the score to “Shelter Me”.
It is available for free download until March 31, 2021. The copyright notice must remain on the score.
Alternatively, it is available free of charge as a PDF.
A version of the hymn can be seen on YouTube
The lyrics are as follows:
1. Shepherd and sheep, my God and I/ to fresh green fields you led my steps in days gone by/ You gave me rest by quiet springs/ and filled my soul with peace your loving presence brings.
REFRAIN: O shelter me, O shelter me/ The way ahead is dark and difficult to see/ O shelter me, O shelter me/ All will be well if only you will shelter me.
2. Yet now I tread a diff’rent way/ Death dogs my path with stealthy steps from day to day/ I cannot find your peaceful place/ But dwell in dreary darkness, longing for your face.
REFRAIN
3. I will look back in days to come/ and realize your faithfulness has led me home/ Within your house I’ll find my peace/ trusting that in your mercy you have sheltered me.
REFRAIN
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