Lead, Kindly Light

The Night is Dark and I Am Far From Home

Lead, Kindly Light was written by John Henry Newman (1801-1890) in 1833. Throughout the first half of that year, Newman accompanied fellow Anglican Priest and early member of the Oxford Movement, Hurrell Froude on a tour of the Mediterranean. While visiting Sicily, Newman became seriously ill and was bedridden for a number of weeks. After recovering he was overcome with a great desire to return to England and continue his work for the Church. On route to Marseille, his sailing ship was delayed by a week of calm weather in the Strait of Bonifacio. It was there, at sea that Newman composed the words to Lead, Kindly Light. The poem was subsequently published in a number of different collections. In 1868 it was included in the popular Church of England hymnal: Hymns Ancient and Modern, and has since become best known as a hymn. When later asked about his hymn's popularity, Newman attributed it to the tune of Lux Benigna, written in 1865 by John B. Dykes (1823-1876) that his verses had been set to. Over the years, it's words of consolation have inspired many musical settings and pairings, both for congregational and choral use. One of the best known is the 1860 tune, Sandon (see 2nd video) by Charles H. Purday (1799-1885). One particular story that relates the deep affection that people have for this hymn involves the Stanley Pit Mine Disaster of 1909. Escaping from poisonous and combustible gas, 34 miners sought refuge in a seam where there was a pocket of air. Huddled in the darkness and fearing the worst, the miners began to sing Lead, Kindly Light. Some of the men later died from the effects of the gas, but most of the them were rescued. In 2010, Lead, Kindly Light was sung at Benedict XVI's Hyde Park Vigil during the Pontiff's tour of the UK in which he celebrated the Beatification of Cardinal Newman. In the Liturgy of the Hours, it is sung or recited at Night Prayer (Compline).


Tune: Lux Benigna

LEAD, KINDLY LIGHT by John Henry Newman, 1833 (Public Domain)

Lead, Kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom
Lead Thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home—
Lead Thou me on!
Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene—one step enough for me.

I was not ever thus, nor pray'd that Thou
Shouldst lead me on.
I loved to choose and see my path, but now
Lead Thou me on!
I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears,
Pride ruled my will: remember not past years.

So long Thy power hath blest me, sure it still
Will lead me on,
O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till
The night is gone;
And with the morn those angel faces smile
Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile.


Tune: Sandon


Contemporary version by Audrey Assad

O Loving Wisdom of Our God

O Generous Love!

O Loving Wisdom of Our God was written by Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890). It is an abridgement (beginning at the 2nd stanza) of the more well known, Praise to the Holiest, also used with the Liturgy of the Hours. Both are adapted from Cardinal Newman's 1865 epic poem, The Dream of Ge­ron­ti­us. The text of the hymn is drawn from the final section of the work where a choir of angels sing as the departed soul crosses the threshold to be judged by God. Newman had been asked by fellow convert to Catholicism, Fr. Henry James Coleridge S. J. (1822-1893), editor of The Month magazine, to make a contribution. He had expected Newman to write on some matter of theology, but instead received The Dream of Ge­ron­ti­us, which took Newman less than a month to compose. O Loving Wisdom of Our God is set to the tune, Billing by Richard R. Terry (1865-1938). In the Divine Office (1974), it is used on Holy Saturday.


Tune: Billing

O LOVING WISDOM OF OUR GOD by John Henry Newman, 1865 (Public Domain)

1. O loving wisdom of our God!
When all was sin and shame,
A second Adam to the fight
And to the rescue came.

 2. O wisest love! that flesh and blood,
Which did in Adam fail,
Should strive afresh against the foe,
Should strive and should prevail!

 3. O generous love! that He, Who smote
In Man for man the foe,;
The double agony in Man
For man should undergo!

Praise to the Holiest

Praise to the Holiest in the Height

Praise to the Holiest was written by Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890). It is an adaptation of a portion of his 1865 poem, The Dream of Ge­ron­ti­us. Praise to the Holiest as well as his other well known hymn, Firmly I Believe and Truly (also drawn from Gerontius) were both sung at Benedict XVI's Mass celebrating the beatification of Cardinal Newman in 2010. Praise to the Holiest in the Height is set to the tune, Billing by Richard R. Terry (1865-1938), editor of the 1921 Westminster Hymnal, at that time the only collection of hymns authorized for use by the Catholic Church in England and Wales. . In the Liturgy of the Hours it is used during Lent.



PRAISE TO THE HOLIEST IN THE HEIGHT by John Henry Newman, 1865 (Public Domain)

1. Praise to the Holiest in the height,
And in the depth be praise;
In all His words most wonderful,
Most sure in all His ways.

2. O loving wisdom of our God!
When all was sin and shame,
A second Adam to the fight
And to the rescue came.

3. O wisest love! that flesh and blood,
Which did in Adam fail,
Should strive afresh against the foe,
Should strive and should prevail.

4. And that a higher gift than grace
Should flesh and blood refine,
God’s Presence and His very Self,
And Essence all divine.

5. O generous love! that He, who smote,
In Man for man the foe,
The double agony in Man
For man should undergo.

6. And in the garden secretly,
And on the Cross on high,
Should teach His brethren, and inspire
To suffer and to die.

7. Praise to the Holiest in the height,
And in the depth be praise;
In all His words most wonderful,
Most sure in all His ways.

Firmly I Believe and Truly

God is Three and God is One

Firmly I Believe and Truly is an adaption by Anthony Petti of a portion of the 1865 poem, The Dream of Gerontius by John Henry Newman (1801-1890). The narrative poem tells the story of a pius man's passing and his soul's subsequent journey through Purgatory and judgement before God. In 1900 the poem was turned into a major work for voices and orchestra by Edward Elgar. Firmly I Believe and Truly is set to the tune Halton Holgate by William Boyce (c.1710-1779). In the Liturgy of the Hours it is used during Ordinary Time for Daytime Midday Prayer.



FIRMLY I BELIEVE AND TRULY by John Henry Newman, 1865 (Public Domain)

1. Firmly I believe and truly
God is Three, and God is One;
And I next acknowledge duly
Manhood taken by the Son.

2. And I trust and hope most fully
In that Manhood crucified;
And each thought and deed unruly
Do to death, as He has died.

3. Simply to His grace and wholly
Light and life and strength belong,
And I love supremely, solely,
Him the holy, Him the strong.

4. And I hold in veneration,
For the love of Him alone,
Holy Church as His creation,
And her teachings are His own.

5. And I take with joy whatever
Now besets me, pain or fear,
And with a strong will I sever
All the ties which bind me here.

6. Adoration aye be given,
With and through the angelic host,
To the God of earth and Heaven,
Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

Come, Holy Ghost, Who Ever One / Nunc Sancte Nobis Spiritus

Art with the Father and the Son

Come, Holy Ghost, Who Ever One is a translation from the original latin by Blessed John Henry Newman of Nunc Sanc­te no­bis Spir­it­us (see 2nd and 3rd videos) by St. Ambrose (c340-397). It was first published in Tracts for the Times (1836). Attributed to Ambrose of Milan, it was included in the Latin Breviary as the hymn sung during Terce, for it was at the 3rd hour (9AM) that the Holy Spirit defended upon the Apostles at Pentecost. It is set to the tune, O Jesu mi dulcissime from a collection of German Catholic hymns published in 1643, the Clausener Gesangbuch. It is better known in it's setting sung to the tune Wareham (see 1st video). In the Liturgy of the Hours, Come, Holy Ghost, Who Ever One is used during Ordinary Time for Daytime Midmorning Prayer.


Tune: Wareham

COME, HOLY GHOST, WHO EVER ONE by John Henry Newman, 1836 (Public Domain)

Come, Holy Ghost, who ever One
Art with the Father and the Son;
Come, Holy Ghost, our souls possess
With thy full flood of holiness.

In will and deed, by heart and tongue,
With all our powers, thy praise be sung;
And love light up our mortal frame,
Till others catch the living flame.

Almighty Father, hear our cry
Through Jesus Christ our Lord most high,
Who with the Holy Ghost and thee
Doth live and reign eternally. Amen.


Ambrosian Chant

NUNC, SANCTE, NOBIS SPIRITUS attributed to St. Ambrose (Public Domain)

Nunc, Sancte, nobis, Spiritus,
Unum Patri cum Filio,
Dignare promptus ingeri
Nostro refusus pectori.

Os, lingua, mens, sensus, vigor
Confessionem personent.
Flammescat igne caritas,
Accéndat ardor proximos.

Præsta, Pater piissime,
Patríque compar Unice,
Cum Spiritu Paraclito
Regnans per omne sæculum. Amen.


Gregorian Chant