1 Blessed feasts of blessed martyrs,
Holy women, holy men,
With our love and admiration,
Greet we your return again.
Worthy deeds they wrought, and wonders,
Worthy of the name they bore;
We, with joyful praise and singing,
Honor them for evermore.
2 Faith prevailing, hope unfailing,
Loving Christ with single heart,
Thus they, glorious and victorious,
Bravely bore the martyr's part,
By contempt of ev'ry anguish,
By unyielding battle done;
Victors at the last, they triumph,
With the host of angels one.
3 Therefore, all that reign in glory,
Faithful heirs with Christ on high,
Join to ours your supplication
When before Christ we draw nigh,
Praying that, this life completed,
All its fleeting moments past,
By Christ's grace we may be worthy
Of eternal bliss at last.
Source: Breaking Bread (Vol. 39) #711
John M. Neale's life is a study in contrasts: born into an evangelical home, he had sympathies toward Rome; in perpetual ill health, he was incredibly productive; of scholarly temperament, he devoted much time to improving social conditions in his area; often ignored or despised by his contemporaries, he is lauded today for his contributions to the church and hymnody. Neale's gifts came to expression early–he won the Seatonian prize for religious poetry eleven times while a student at Trinity College, Cambridge, England. He was ordained in the Church of England in 1842, but ill health and his strong support of the Oxford Movement kept him from ordinary parish ministry. So Neale spent the years between 1846 and 1866 as a warden of Sackvi… Go to person page >
My Starred Hymns
My FlexScores
My Hymnals
My Purchased Files