The Guardian Angel

 

The Feast of St. Michael and all Angels (Michaelmas) is celebrated in some Western churches on September 29, and we observed it the next day at Compline. I want to share with you our orison from that service: “The Guardian Angel.”

Ina Boyle (1889 – 1967) was, as noted in The Norton/Grove dictionary of women composers, was “the most prolific and significant female composer from Ireland before 1950.” She composed throughout her life in all genres, but because of her relative isolation and gender, her works have only just recently been revived and appreciated.

“The Guardian Angel” was one of a collection of 15 Gaelic Hymns, published between 1923-24, while Ina was a student of the composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. The text comes from the collection Carmina Gadelica: Gaelic Hymns and Invocations collected in the Hebrides and Western Highlands of Scotland, tr. Alexander Carmichael (1900) – See this link for the original Gaelic. Note that Ina Boyle omitted the second stanza, and changed a few other words for her setting.

To listen to this Compline Service from 30 September 2018, and other services, go to complinepodcast.org.

THOU angel of God who hast charge of me
From the dear Father of mercifulness,
The shepherding king of the fold of the saints
To make round about me this night;

Drive from me every temptation and danger,
Surround me on the sea of unrighteousness,
And in the narrows, crooks, and straits,
Keep thou my coracle, keep it always.

Be thou a bright flame before me,
Be thou a guiding star above me,
Be thou a smooth path below me,
And be a kindly shepherd behind me,
To-day, to-night, and for ever.

I am tired and I a stranger,
Lead thou me to the land of angels;
For me it is time to go home
To the court of Christ, to the peace of heaven.