Be Thou My Vision

Be thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;

Naught be all else to me, save that thou art;

Thou my best thought, by day or by night,

Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.

Be thou my Wisdom, and thou my true Word;

I ever with thee and thou with me, Lord;

Thou my great Father, and I thy true son,

Thou in me dwelling , and I with thee one.

Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise;

Thou mine inheritance, now and always;

Thou and thou only, first in my heart,

High King of heaven, my treasure thou art.

High King of heaven, my victory won,

May I reach heaven's joys, O bright heaven's Sun!

Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,

Still be my vision, O Ruler of all.

We sang the timeless hymn Be Thou My Vision on Sunday. This hymn never fails to fill my heart with its lovely poetry and holy content. The haunting ancient Irish tune called Slante perfectly and poetically complements the poem, which also comes from ancient Ireland.

Some attribute the poem to St. Patrick, who was kidnapped by pirates at age 16 and sold into slavery in Ireland. After escaping, he eventually returned to Ireland for his revenge. He chose as his weapons a Latin Bible and a love for Jesus Christ and the Irish people. Largely through his efforts, Ireland was converted to Christianity.

The poem enumerates the titles for God: Vision, Lord, Light, Wisdom, Word, Great Father, High King of Heaven, Treasure, Bright Heaven's Sun, Ruler of All.