One of the things we do here at Sacred Beauty, our small Association of the Faithful, is the composing of liturgical music, drawn largely from sacred texts of the saints, fathers, and doctors of the Church, in the hopes of contributing to more spiritually and theologically enriching contemporary worship. Today, in honor of the Feast of the Baptism, we are sharing a piece we wrote which someone else set to music. We are including the full lyrics, a score, and the YouTube of the work being sung at the Easter Vigil at St. Thomas More, the Catholic Chapel at Yale:
By the Jordan waters down, Jesus Christ, the Word
Was proclaimed by Baptist John, as the Lamb of God
Bring us down to the font; in his death we’re baptized.
Lead us up from the font: to new life in Christ we arise.
From the Jordan waters up, he, baptized by John,
Was, beneath the Heavenly Dove, named beloved Son.
Bring us down to the font; in his death we’re baptized.
Lead us up from the font: to new life in Christ we arise.
Hear the gentle voice of God, Lord of majesty,
Bids redemption’s light to dawn, thundering over the sea.
Bring us down to the font; in his death we’re baptized.
Lead us up from the font: to new life in Christ we arise.
From our Savior’s wounded heart, on the cross as he died,
Blood and water flowèd out from the Crucified.
Bring us down to the font; in his death we’re baptized.
Lead us up from the font: to new life in Christ we arise.
God has burned away our guilt, that the Spirit bring
To each soul to bear his mark: prophet, priest and king.
Bring us down to the font; in his death we’re baptized.
Lead us up from the font: to new life in Christ we arise.
Springs of water sanctified as his glory’s revealed.
Come draw waters from his font; let creation be sealed.
Bring us down to the font; in his death we’re baptized.
Lead us up from the font: to new life in Christ we arise.
From the waters of the font, our new life is begun:
Born into the name of God, holy Three in One.
Bring us down to the font; in his death we’re baptized.
Lead us up from the font: to new life in Christ we arise.
Image: By Guido Reni – jQEZEeOxlf_0uQ at Google Cultural Institute maximum zoom level, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22004044
Dr. Paul Chu is currently a philosophy instructor for CTState, the Connecticut Community College, and has previously taught philosophy in college, university, and seminary settings. He also served as a staff writer and editor for various national publications. He is co-founder of Sacred Beauty, a Private Association of the Faithful in the Diocese of Bridgeport dedicated to honoring the beauty and holiness of God through artistic and intellectual creativity founded in prayer, especially Eucharistic contemplation. He contributes regularly to https://questionsdisputedandotherwise.substack.com/.
V. J. Tarantino is co-founder of Sacred Beauty, a Private Association of the Faithful in the Diocese of Bridgeport. She has studied ancient and Medieval metaphysics and has devoted her adult life to the service of liturgy (study of liturgical texts and norms, the cultivation of sacred elocution, musical performance and composition, the beautification of sacred space, and the organization and direction of public Eucharistic Adoration) and to immersion in the writings of the Doctors of the Church and of recent Popes. Her writing can be found at https://questionsdisputedandotherwise.substack.com/
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