Sweet Teacher

​Saint of the Sacred Heart
Sweet Teacher of the Word,
Partner of Mary’s woes,
And favourite of thy Lord!
 
Thou to whom grace was given
To stand where Peter fell;
Whose heart could brook the Cross
Of Him it loved so well!
 
We know not all thy gifts;
But this Christ bids us see,
That He who so loved all
Found more to love in thee.
 
Dear Saint! I stand far off,
With vilest sins opprest;
Oh may I dare, like thee,
To lean upon His breast?
 
His touch could heal the sick,
His voice could raise the dead!
Oh that my soul might be
Where He allows thy head.
 
The gifts He gave to thee
He gave thee to impart;
And I, too, claim with thee
His Mother and His Heart.
 
Ah teach me, then, dear Saint!
The secrets Christ taught thee,
The beatings of His Heart,
And how it beat for thee.
 
Frederick Faber, Cong. Orat., 1814-1863

Merciful Lord, we beseech thee to cast thy bright beams of light upon thy Church: that she being enlightened by the doctrine of thy blessed Apostle and Evangelist Saint John, may so walk in the light of thy truth, that she may at length attain to the light of everlasting life; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen. - ​Divine Worship: The Missal.