A Prayer for Priests

Keem 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 sacrfice for souls
seems but in vain.

Keep them, and O remember 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.