The Beautiful Hands of a Priest--
We need them in life's early morning,
We need them again at its close;
We feel their warm clasp of true
friendship,
We seek them when tasting life's woes.
At the altar each day
we behold them,
And the hands of a king on his throne
Are not equal to
them in their greatness;
Their dignity stands all alone;
And when we are
tempted and wander,
To pathways of shame and of sin,
It's the hand of a
priest that will absolve us--
Not once, but again and again.
And when we
are taking life's partner,
Other hands may prepare us a feast,
But the
hand that will bless and unite us--
Is the beautiful hand of a priest.
God bless them and keep them all holy,
For the Host which their fingers
caress;
When can a poor sinner do better,
Than to ask Him to guide thee
and bless?
When the hour of death comes upon us,
May our courage and
strength be increased,
By seeing raised over us in blessing--
The
beautiful hands of a priest.