"SHELTER ME", Fr. Michael Joncas

In a recent interview in the Catholic Spirit, Fr. Michael Joncas wondered: "what could people possibly want to sing at this time?"

He thought of Psalm 23, which begins 'The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want.' The psalm has long been used as a reminder of God’s closeness to his people, even amid suffering. That’s so deeply ingrained in people’s consciousness,' he said. 'By writing a paraphrase of Psalm 23, I could make it really, really connect to what we’re doing today. We know we have intimacy with God. We beg that we continue to have intimacy with God. But right now, we’re kind of walking though the valley of the shadow of death.'"

He hopes that people who sing and hear “Shelter Me” will experience God through it, and “that that experience would be comforting to them,” he said. “This song is about tenderness.”

Shelter Me  (Recorded by Young Voices of the Philippines. Read their story here.)

1. Shepherd and sheep, my God and I:
to fresh green fields you led my steps in days gone by.
You gave me rest by quiet springs
and filled my soul with peace your loving presence brings.

REFRAIN: O shelter me, O shelter me:
the way ahead is dark and difficult to see.
O shelter me, O shelter me:
all will be well if only you will shelter me.

2. Yet now I tread a diff’rent way;
death dogs my path with stealthy steps from day to day.
I cannot find your peaceful place
but dwell in dreary darkness, longing for your face.

REFRAIN

3. I will look back in days to come
and realize your faithfulness has led me home.
Within your house I’ll find my peace,
trusting that in your mercy you have sheltered me.


At the request of the composter, “Shelter Me” is reprinted free under OneLicense.