I wrote the melody and lyrics for this song.

For the first version, David Gomez Sanz recorded electric guitar and synths in 2005, set to my original simple lyrics that were written in 1973 while a student at St. John's University (Collegeville, MN).

For the second version, Paul F. Page created a beautiful piano and flute arrangement, set to expanded lyrics that I wrote in 2009.

Click on "Read Full Story" to see lyrics. 

Originally published 8/13/2022

Links to 49 old Catholic hymnals, listed at Corpus Christi Watershed:

Please visit the Corpus Christi Watershed web site for updates. The following list will continue to grow & be updated. Most of these are Catholic hymnals; some are Anglican ones. Many were scanned and made available by Corpus Christi Watershed, others by Google. 

1842 • ENGLISH HYMNS in METER (A. D. Wackerbarth) —74pg 

1848 • HYMNS OF THE HEART (Matthew Bridges) —97pg 

1851 • LYRA CATHOLICA (Edward Caswall) —572pg 

1853 • CATHOLIC HYMNS with ILLUSTRATIONS (Cardinal Wiseman) —64pg 

1854 • THE HYMNAL NOTED (J. M. Neale) —226pg 
        ADDITIONAL   •   Accomp.   •   Words   •   Alt. Versions 

1854 • ORATORY HYMNS and TUNES (Fr. Faber) —202pg 

1850s • THE HYMN of SAINT CASIMIR (Various Translations) 

* 1860 • THE CATHOLIC HYMNAL (London) —192pg 

1861 • SUNDAY SCHOOL BOOK (Fr. Furniss)   {Hymns begin on pg 146} 

1862 • HAWAIIAN HYMNAL (Diocese of Honolulu) —251pg 

1863 • MEDIEVAL HYMNS and SEQUENCES (J. M. Neale) —242pg 

1870 • CATHOLIC HYMNS (Servite Fathers) —92pg 

1873 • HYMNS and POEMS (Fr. Edward Caswall) —489pg 

1878 • LATIN HYMNAL “Cantiones Sacræ” (Joseph Mohr) —440pg 

1880 • HYMN TRANSLATIONS by D. T. Morgan (Anglican) —314pg 

1884 • ANNUS SANCTUS (Orby Shipley) —478pg 

1884 • THE ROMAN HYMNAL (Fr. J. B. Young) —801pg 

1889 • MANUAL of PRAYERS (Council of Baltimore)   {Hymns begin on pg 599} 

1889 • ORIGINAL TEXTS in “Hymns Ancient & Modern” —406pg 

1900 • BREVIARY HYMNS & MISSAL SEQUENCES (Bishop Bagshawe) —222pg 

* 1905 • ARUNDEL HYMNS (Duke of Norfolk) —569pg 

1905 • NOTRE DAME HYMN BOOK (Birtchnell & Brown) —88pg 

1905 • THE HYMNER (Anglican) —166pg 

1906 • THE ENGLISH HYMNAL (Anglican) —pg917 

1906 • SAINT BASIL HYMNAL (15th ed.) —428pg 

1906 • CATHOLIC CHURCH HYMNAL (E. Tozer) —376pg 

1907 • SUNDAY SCHOOL HYMN BOOK (Sisters of Notre Dame) —187pg 

1908 • EARLY CHRISTIAN HYMNS (Judge D. J. Donahoe) —278pg 

1908 • OFFICE HYMNS together with the PROPER MELODIES (Anglican) —506pg 

1909 • THE CATHOLIC HYMNAL (Fr. Alfred Young) —296pg 

1910 • SAINT MARK’S CATHOLIC HYMNAL (Peoria) —222pg 

1911 • CROWN HYMNAL (Fr. Kavanagh) —610pg 

1912 • EUCHARISTICA (Hugh Thomas Henry) —230pg 

* 1912 • WESTMINSTER HYMNAL (Sir Richard R. Terry) —423pg 

* 1913 • SAINT HUGH HYMN BOOK (Fr. Adrian Fortescue) —168pg 

1913 • AMERICAN CATHOLIC HYMNAL (Marist Brothers) —509pg 

1913 • DE LA SALLE HYMNAL (New York) —263pg 

1914 • COLLECTED SEQUENCES and HYMNS (J. M. Neale) —460pg 

1915 • HOLY CROSS HYMNAL (Cardinal O’Connell) —52pg 

1916 • PANGE LINGUA ( Alan G. McDougall) —122pg 

1918 • ST. BASIL HYMNAL (“completely remodelled”) —350pg   {Revised Version} 

1920 • CATHOLIC HYMNAL (Fr. John G. Hacker) —348pg 

1920 • SAINT GREGORY HYMNAL (Nicola A. Montani) —512pg 

1921 • STANDARD CATHOLIC HYMNAL (James A. Reilly) —171pg 

1922 • HYMNS of the BREVIARY and MISSAL (Fr. Matthew Britt) —390pg 

1936 • PAROCHIAL HYMNAL (Fr. Carlo Rossini) —291pg 

1938 • SAINT ROSE HYMNAL (Franciscan Sisters) —222pg 

* 1942 • LAUDATE HYMNAL and CHOIRBOOK (Hohe, Koch, Green) —270pg 

1943 • HYMNS of the DOMINICAN MISSAL and BREVIARY (Fr. Aquinas Byrnes) —694pg 

* 1948 • DAILY HYMN BOOK (Westminster & Desclée) —360pg 

1953 • SAINT PIUS X HYMNAL — Organist & Congregational editions 

1955 • MEDIATOR DEI HYMNAL (J. Vincent Higginson) —114pg 

1957 • PARISH HYMNAL (Sister Catherine Cecilia) —72pg 

1955 • HYMNS of the ROMAN LITURGY (Fr. Joseph Connelly) —285pg 

1967 • DOMINICAN BREVIARY HYMNS —In four (4) parts 

* An asterisk indicates the book is particularly noteworthy.

This article originally published 5/16/2015

In our weakness and in troubling times we acknowledge God's daily care and our hope and plea to Him to bring us HOME.

Salmo responsorial (responsorial psalm) para Domingo 2 Ordinario B – Salmo 39 – Aquí estoy, Señor, para hacer tu voluntad. Todos los versos del salmo están disponibles. / Free download of sheet music at the following link. All the psalm verses are available.

https://insong.org/product/domingo-2-ordinario-b-salmo-39-aqui-estoy-senor-para-hacer-tu-voluntad/

To get notifications of new psalms each week, please subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@insong

Musica: Anthony Moran © 2019, Catholic Liturgy in Song, insong.org
Texto: Leccionarios I, II y III. © 1987, 2004, Comisión Episcopal de Pastoral Litúrgica de la Conferencia Episcopal Mexicana.

Each month I feature a short story on a Catholic devotional hymn with a short biography on the author, the composer(s), and a short reflection. I have been doing these short write-ups for a couple years.

As part of my series on Catholic hymns, I have chosen a favorite hymn of mine, Mary! How Sweetly Falls That Word. This is a beautiful hymn that honors the Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Take a few moments to read about the author and composer of this beautiful Catholic hymn and be sure to share this story with all your friends.

Many of the hymns that I feature are hymns that I sang in St. Mary's Choir (1977-2010) and new hymns that I have added to my repertoire. These hymns have kept me grounded in my Catholic Faith and I turn to them in good times and bad. They are a source of comfort and spiritual nourishment to me, and I hope for you as well. I want to share them with you because some of you may never have heard them. They are prayerful and meaningful with approved texts by the Catholic Church.

Please visit my website Mother of Mercy Catholic Hymns and click on HYMN OF THE MONTH.

I am reading Jesus of Nazareth- Holy Week -  a second time by Pope Benedict. For anyone who has not read it, I highly recommend it. It was through His humanity - His humility, His obedience and His laying down His human life for us, as the second Adam, that he waged spiritual warfare and defeated Satan and won for us salvation/Eternal Life. This victory was won with the close collaboration of the new Eve as St. Irenaeus and many other Church fathers have pointed out. I wrote this song after pondering this. I pasted the lyrics before and now I have uploaded the song successfully.
LYRICS
    A JOYFUL BATTLE CRY
Let everyone exult and sing
Before our gracious Queen and King
The New Adam and Eve

Responsorial Psalm 71(72):1-2,7-8,10-13 for the Epiphany of the Lord

All nations shall fall prostrate before You, O Lord.

O God, give Your judgement to the king,
to a king’s son Your justice,
that he may judge Your people in justice
and Your poor in right judgement.

All nations shall fall prostrate before You, O Lord.

In His days justice shall flourish
and peace till the moon fails.
He shall rule from sea to sea,
from the Great River to earth’s bounds.

All nations shall fall prostrate before You, O Lord.

"Be Thou My Vision" (Old Irish: Rop tú mo baile or Rob tú mo bhoile) is a traditional Christian hymn of Irish origin. The words are based on a Middle Irish poem that has traditionally been attributed to Dallán Forgaill probably from the six century
The best-known English version, with some minor variations, was translated in 1905 by Mary Elizabeth Byrne, then made into verse by Eleanor Hull and published in 1912. Since 1919 it has been commonly sung to an Irish folk tune, noted as "Slane" in church hymnals, and is one of the most popular hymns in the United Kingdom. There have been many variations in the lyrics over the years

Below are the lyrics most commonly used. The lyrics in bold type I added.

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
All in thy glory, and glory thou art -
thou my best thought, in the day and the  night;

Responsorial Psalm 66(67):2-3,5,6,8 for Mary, the Holy Mother of God

O God, be gracious and bless us.

O God, be gracious and bless us
and let Your face shed its light upon us.
So will Your ways be known upon earth
and all nations learn Your saving help.

O God, be gracious and bless us.

Let the nations be glad and exult
for You rule the world with justice.

How easily we can become blind in our youthful pride  and how this contributed ( we the baby boomers) to the sexual "revolution" of the sixties and how God intervened in personal lives and some responded to His merciful Love

As we approach the solemnity of the Holy Family it is good to ponder the marriage of Mary and Joseph.

Responsorial Psalm 104(105):1-6,8-9 for the Holy Family, Year B

He, the Lord, is our God. He remembers his covenant for ever.

Give thanks to the Lord, tell his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples.
O sing to him, sing his praise;
tell all his wonderful works!

He, the Lord, is our God. He remembers his covenant for ever.

Be proud of his holy name,

Responsorial Psalm 95(96):1-3,11-13 for Christmas Day (Midnight Mass)

Today a saviour has been born to us: He is Christ the Lord.

O sing a new song to the Lord,
sing to the Lord all the earth.
O sing to the Lord, bless His name.

Today a saviour has been born to us: He is Christ the Lord.

Proclaim His help day by day,
tell among the nations His glory

                   UNASSUMING ONE      
   1)You heard, knew, and read
   2)Of the ancient fall what scripture said
   1)And the promise of the Holy One 
   2)Who would restore the human race 
   2)From it fall from grace
1) No one had a greater desire than you
2) Your heart’s pure prayer humble and true
1) More than all nature and men combined
2)Your prayer moved God to send His Holy one 
1)Your heart’s pure prayer contained 
2)All the cries and hopes of our race

Responsorial Psalm 88(89):2-5,27,29 for the 4th Sunday of Advent, Year B

I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.

I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord;
through all ages my mouth will proclaim your truth.
Of this I am sure, that your love lasts for ever,
that your truth is firmly established as the heavens.

I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.

‘I have made a covenant with my chosen one;
I have sworn to David my servant:
I will establish your dynasty for ever
and set up your throne through all ages.

YouTube video: https://youtu.be/vDH3PSHXUmg

Salmo Responsorial para Domingo 4 Adviento B - Salmo 88 - Proclamaré sin cesar la misericordia del Señor. Leccionario: 11. Responsorial psalm in Spanish for the Fourth Sunday of Advent - cycle B. Free download of sheet music at the following link. All the psalm verses are available.

https://insong.org/product/domingo-4-adviento-b-salmo-88-proclamare-sin-cesar-la-misericordia-del-senor

Music © 2020, Anthony Moran, insong.org
Arranged and recorded by Richard Schletty.

This is a recent update of a song  I wrote years ago and posted of the same name a while ago.  I don't have all the recording equipment I used to have. This update song was recorded on a Google Pixel 5
phone and uploaded to YouTube.  
                                                                  WHO IS THIS CHILD
   D
   In the middle of the night
                   A
   with the fire going out

https://youtu.be/nHrIdIsvwPw?si=zDphdf6hDuUykpSa