Faith of our fathers, living still,
In spite of dungeon, fire and sword;
O how our hearts beat high with joy
Whenever we hear that glorious Word!
Refrain
Faith of our fathers, holy faith!
We will be true to thee till death.
Faith of our fathers, we will strive
To win all nations unto Thee;
And through the truth that comes from God,
We all shall then be truly free. Refrain
Faith of our fathers, we will love
Both friend and foe in all our strife;
And preach Thee, too, as love knows how
By kindly words and virtuous life. Refrain
About the writer: Frederick William Faber was born in Yorkshire, England in 1814. He was educated at Harrow School and Balliol College, Oxford, which he entered in 1832. At Oxford he came under the influence of Catholic scholar John Henry Newman, then vicar of St. Mary’s. He entered the ministry of the Church of England, taking deacon’s orders in 1837 and priest’s orders two years later. In 1845 he told his congregation that he could no longer remain in communion with the Church of England. The next day he was admitted into the Roman Catholic Church at Northampton. In 1849, he went to London and took charge of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri, where he remained until his death in 1863. In the preface to the 1849 edition of his hymns he wrote: “It seemed then in every way desirable that Catholics should have a hymn book for reading which should contain the mysteries of the faith in easy verse or different states of heart and conscience depicted with the same unadorned simplicity, for example, as the ‘O for a closer walk with God’ of the Olney Hymns.”
Key Verses: What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see. God gave his approval to people in days of old because of their faith. –Hebrews 11:1, 2