Dorothy Elizabeth Routly
1915 - 2005
Memorial Service
February 7th, 2005
Lyrics to "Be Thou My Vision",
sung by grandson Christopher Ronald
Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of
my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.
Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my
true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.
Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword
for the fight;
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
Thou my soul's Shelter, Thou my high Tower:
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.
Riches I heed not, nor man's
empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of heaven, my Treasure Thou art.
High King of heaven, my victory
won,
May I reach heaven's joys, O bright heaven's Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.
More about the song
Words: Ancient
Irish; translated to English by Mary Elizabeth Byrne, 1905. You
may also find a version of the words in Eleanor Hull’s Poem
Book of the Gael (1912).
Music: “Slane,”
of Irish folk origin. Slane Hill is about ten miles from Tara
in County Meath. It was on Slane Hill around 433 AD that St. Patrick
defied a royal edict by lighting candles on Easter Eve. High King
Logaire of Tara had decreed that no one could light a fire before
Logaire began the pagan spring festival by lighting a fire on
Tara Hill. Logaire was so impressed by Patrick’s devotion
that, despite his defiance (or perhaps because of it?), he let
him continue his missionary work. The rest is history.