Hymnology: For Martyr's Victory

 

The Christian Martyrs' Last Prayer, by Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824-1904), oil on canvas

Setting

I first wrote this hymn in 2022. Since then, a whistleblower released a document that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has been targeting Catholics who have a traditional (read: correct) sense of morals and beliefs. That document makes this hymn even more poignant.

For Martyr's Victory

Text: David D. Varella (2022)

Tune: “Thaxted” by Gustav T. Holst (1917)

To Thee, O King of ages, we lift our minds in prayer,

We know that through our sufferings Thy grace is always there.

Thy summons to be faithful, not to live a life of ease,

Can make us ever anxious; Lord, fill us with Thy peace!

For evils daily increase and Martyrdom seems near,

O fill us with Thy courage dispelling ev’ry fear.

To Thee, O King eternal, we lift our heavy hearts,

The nation we love dearly has fallen very far;

Her decline in faith and morals makes her prey to wicked men

Who brag about their vices and pride on ev’ry sin.

They have started persecution of those who follow Thee,

Who strive for faith and virtue and pray for Thy true peace.

To Thee, O King and Savior, we bare our wounded lives,

The wounds which sin inflicted believing Satan’s lies.

But now we have repented, confessed, and seek Thy Face;

We bear our trials daily, our crosses we embrace.

Thy sacred Cross raised o’er us is bathing us in light,

Preparing us for battle, defending us in might!

Thy words, O King-Redeemer, we bear in mind today:

That if they hate Thee, Master, they’ll hate us in Thy way.

And Thou hast sternly warned us: in the world we’ll have distress;

But Thou hast conquered the world, and we have confidence

That our reward is very great when persecutions rise,

When suffering for Thy sake all calumnies and lies.

From Thee, O King and Victor in gold and crimson cope,

We know in our affliction: Thy Cross our only hope!

Help us to grant forgiveness unto our enemies,

As Thou in Thy great Passion while nailed to the Tree.

Help us to suffer all things with equanimity,

And so to steel endurance for Martyr’s victory!