Do you remember the hymn, “Faith of our Fathers”? These days we would, of course, want to explicitly name the extraordinary faith of “our mothers” as well. Many of us will recall standing and bellowing out on top note:
Faith of our fathers! living still
In spite of dungeon, fire and sword …
Our Fathers, chained in prisons dark,
Were still in heart and conscience free:
How sweet would be their children’s
fate,
If they, like them, could die for thee!
Faith of our Fathers! Holy Faith!
We will be true to thee till death.
In one of his letters, St Ignatius Loyola tells us we should never pray for something we don’t want, because we might just get it. Let’s think about what we ask for in this hymn – that, if needs be, we would happily die for our Catholic faith.
Get Instant Access
Register for free to read this article in full
Subscribe for unlimited access
From just £37.50 quarterly
Print copy of The Tablet delivered directly to your door.
Complete access to all Tablet website content including all premium content.
Access to the weekly digital copy of The Tablet.
Full access to The Tablet’s archive – over 180 years of back issues.

Already a subscriber? Login
