Now are the days of humblest prayer. F. W. Faber. [Lent.] Published in the 2nd edition of his Jesus and Mary, &c, 1852, in 8 stanzas of 7 lines; in his Oratory Hymns, 1854, in 5 stanzas, No. 12; and his Hymns, 1862, It is usually given in an abbreviated form, sometimes as in the Oratory Hymns as above, and again as in the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge Church Hymns, 1871, where stanzas iii., vi. and vii. are omitted. In the Hymnary, 1872, it begins, "Lord, in these days of humblest prayer."
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
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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