La Toussaint (All Saints)

Marc Chagall

Today is All Saints Day, when we remember all those who have gone before us. The hymn below, a favorite from my childhood, expresses the idea that being a saint is not an impossible task, but one obtainable by us all - and as the last verse says, For the saints of God are just folk like me, And I mean to be one too.

"I Sing a Song of the Saints of God" by Lesbia Scott (1898-1986), set to music by John Henry Hopkins, Jr. (1820–1891). The lyrics were written by the 20 year old, English mother for her own children, and first published in 1929. Another hymn written by Bishop Hopkins that might be more familiar to you is the Epiphany hymn, "We three Kings of Orient Are".

I sing a song of the saints of God,
Patient and brave and true,
Who toiled and fought and lived and died
For the Lord they loved and knew.
And one was a doctor, and one was a queen,
And one was a shepherdess on the green;
They were all of them saints of God, and I mean,
God helping, to be one too.

They loved their Lord so dear, so dear,
And his love made them strong;
And they followed the right for Jesus' sake
The whole of their good lives long.
And one was a soldier, and one was a priest,
And one was slain by a fierce wild beast;
And there's not any reason, no, not the least,
Why I shouldn't be one too.

They lived not only in ages past,
There are hundreds of thousands still.
The world is bright with the joyous saints
Who love to do Jesus' will.
You can meet them in school, or in planes, or at sea,
In church, or in trains, or in shops, or at tea;
For the saints of God are just folk like me,
And I mean to be one too.

I understand, now, that some of you aren't familiar with this hymn, so I have included a link to the tune

I Sing a Song of the Saints of God