1 Dear Guardian of Mary! dear nurse of her Child!
Life's ways are full weary, the desert is wild;
Bleak sands are all round us, no home can we see;
Sweet Spouse of our Lady! we lean upon thee.
2 For thou to the pilgrim art father and guide,
And Jesus and Mary felt safe by the side;
Ah! blessed St. Joseph, how safe should I be,
Sweet Spouse of our Lady! If thou wert with me.
3 O blessed St. Joseph! how great was thy worth,
The one chosen shadow of God upon earth,
The father of Jesus--ah! then, wilt thou be,
Sweet Spouse of our Lady! a father to me?
4 God chose thee for Jesus and Mary--wilt thou
Forgive a poor exile for choosing thee now?
There's no saint in heaven, St. Joseph, like thee,
Sweet Spouse of our Lady! oh, deign to love me.
Source: Laudis Corona: the new Sunday school hymn book, containing a collection of Catholic hymns, arranged for the principal seasons and festivals of the year #192
Raised in the Church of England, Frederick W. Faber (b. Calverly, Yorkshire, England, 1814; d. Kensington, London, England, 1863) came from a Huguenot and strict Calvinistic family background. He was educated at Balliol College, Oxford, and ordained in the Church of England in 1839. Influenced by the teaching of John Henry Newman, Faber followed Newman into the Roman Catholic Church in 1845 and served under Newman's supervision in the Oratory of St. Philip Neri. Because he believed that Roman Catholics should sing hymns like those written by John Newton, Charles Wesley, and William Cowpe, Faber wrote 150 hymns himself. One of his best known, "Faith of Our Fathers," originally had these words in its third stanza: "Faith of Our Fathers! Mary'… Go to person page >
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