Lord Say The Word

The piece I’m uploading today, Lord Say The Word, started as a prayer for patience and humility during a period of personal struggle for me.  My hope is that we’ve made it general enough that others may find it useful in their own prayer lives.

Last Advent, as Catholic churches across North America transitioned to the new English translation of the Roman Missal, I found myself reluctant to embrace this change.  For the first time in my life, I felt as though I were on the outside looking in to the Church.  What a terrifying place to be!  But in those moments of struggle and doubt, we always have recourse to pray.  This song was my prayer for joyful acceptance of all the things in life, great or small, that I cannot change.

The beginning of the refrain was inspired by one of my favorite responses in the old translation of the Missal.  The verses were very loosely inspired by the story of St. Paul’s conversion and the notion (that I first read in C.S. Lewis) that our own conversions, the acts of dying to our personal prides and selfish desires, are painful experiences, but necessary and worthwhile and joyful, nonetheless. I would humbly suggest that this song is most applicable as a Communion meditation.  For what better opportunity do we have to truly die to ourselves than to willingly and completely participate as a member of the body of Christ in the great sacrifice of the Eucharist?

The recording I’ve uploaded today was made at our 2012 Lenten concert.  Michael wrote the gorgeous string and woodwind accompaniment.  I would normally envision the counter-melody sung by the male voices as entering on the refrain after the second verse to help the song build a little more and as a way to better invite the congregation to participate more fully from the beginning, but in this setting we decided to use the counter-melody from the start, and it worked reasonably well.  In case you're interested, the lyrics are printed after the break.



Lord Say The Word

Refrain
Lord, say the word, and we shall be healed.
Our blind eyes will see, our proud hearts will yield.
Lord, hear our prayer, we hunger for you.
At this sacred meal may we be made new.

Verse 1
You alone can pierce our hearts,
You know our thoughts and dreams from afar.
Bend our wills to Your purpose,
By Your love reshape who we are.

Verse 2
Cleave from us our sinful pride
And ev'ry way we flee Your embrace.
In Your mercy restore us
Through the gift of Your saving grace.

Verse 3
With Your love, enflame us, Lord,
And make of us Your beacons on earth.
Let our lives light Your pathway
To a world yearning for rebirth.