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Faith of Our Fathers

Our esteemed pastor, Father Frederick Cain — a patristic scholar himself — has the holy habit of beginning Mass on the feasts of the apostles with a rousing round of “Faith of Our Fathers.” Today, the Feast of Saints Philip and James, was one of those days.

I love the hymn, and I was much pleased when my editors at Lay Witness magazine chose it as the title of my regular patristics column. When I was a kid (the late patristic era), the hymnals carried more verses than they do today. They’re still not the original verses by its hymnographer (Faber, that other Father Frederick, who was a contemporary of Newman). But they’re grand. I post them here as a kind of anthem for this blog.

Faith of our fathers! living still
In spite of dungeon, fire, and sword;
O how our hearts beat high with joy
Whene’er we hear that glorious word!

Refrain:
Faith of our fathers, holy faith!
We will be true to thee till death.

Our fathers, chained in prisons dark,
Were still in heart and conscience free:
And truly blest would be our fate,
If we, like them, should die for thee. [Refrain.]

Faith of our fathers! we will strive
To win all nations unto thee;
And through the truth that comes from God
Mankind shall then be truly free. [Refrain.]

Faith of our fathers! we will love
Both friend and foe in all our strife;
And preach three, too, as love knows how
By kindly words and virtuous life. [Refrain.]