Patience - January 11

Patience
Thoughts on the Patient Endurance of Sorrows and Sufferings

LEAD, KINDLY LIGHT

Lead, kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom
Lead Thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home.
Lead Thou me on!
Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene - one step enough for me.
I was not ever thus, nor pray'd that Thou
Shouldst lead me on.
I loved to choose and see my path, but now
Lead Thou me on!
I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears
Pride ruled my will: remember not past years.

So long Thy power hath blest me, sure it still
Will lead me on.
O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till
The night is gone;
And with the morn those angel faces smile
Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile.
-Cardinal Newman.

Whatsoever shall befall the just man, it shall not make him sad.
-Prov. xii. 21.

Take all that shall be brought upon thee: and in thy sorrow endure, and in thy humiliation keep patience.
-Ecclus. ii. 4.

He that dwelleth in the aid of the Most High shall abide under the protection of the God of Jacob...He will overshadow thee with His shoulders, and under His wings thou shalt trust. His truth shall compass thee with a shield: thou shalt not be afraid of the terror of the night....For He hath given His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
-PS. xc. 1, 4, 5, 11.
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Compiled and Edited by Rev. F. X. Lasance
Author of "My Prayerbook," etc.
1937, Benziger Brothers
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See