Keep them I pray thee, dearest Lord,
Keep them for they are thine;
Thy priests whose lives burn out
before thy consecrated shrine.
Keep them for they are in the world
though from the world apart;
When earthly pleasures tempt, allure –
shelter them in thy Heart.
Keep them and comfort them
in hours of loneliness and pain,
When all their life of sacrifice for souls
seems but in vain.
Keep them and remember, O Lord,
they have no one but thee.
Yet they have only human hearts,
with human frailty.
Keep them as spotless as the Host,
that daily they caress.
Their every thought and word and deed,
Deign dearest Lord, to bless. Amen.
– Anonymous