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Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

God of Mercy and Compassion

Veronica Brandt · March 2, 2019

OU EXPECT to be able to recognize a hymn by its title. Except Pange Lingua, but most of the time it’s going to be Thomas Aquinas’ Pange Lingua and any book that includes both is going to be smart enough to distinguish between the two by adding a few clarifying words.

My son asked to sing that hymn that made him cry—God of Mercy and Compassion. It’s not that often you get tears from a very-nearly-teenage boy over a hymn.


From the comments it seems this recording is from the Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School in London under the direction of Charles Cole. It also turns out this hymn was the last played as the Titanic went down, and not Nearer My God, as is popularly believed.

It is written by Rev Edmund Vaughan—not the Herbert Cardinal Vaughan, namesake of the school mentioned above, nor the Bishop Roger Vaughan of early Australian history, although they were related, and Edmund Vaughan was tipped to succeed Bishop Roger Vaughan, but the Irish Cardinal Moran was chosen instead.

Fr. Edmund Vaughan was a Redemptorist priest who led a mission to Australia in 1882. He was recalled to England in 1894 and died there in 1908.

It’s hard to peg down a date for the hymn, but something very like it appears in a 1849 hymnal : The Advent Harpist according to Hymnary.org. Vaughan would have been only 22 when that was published, which raises the question whether he adapted a pre-existing hymn. As Fr Rutler says in his BRIGHTEST AND BEST: hymns were made anonymously for God’s glory and our modern ideas of intellectual property were “odd and uncouth”.

UT, if you were to look up God of Mercy and Compassion in the Catholic Worship Book, 1985, you would find a vague piece full of abstract truisms, seemingly designed to avoid any feelings of contrition. This new hymn is credited to Michael Hodgetts – though in the hymnbook it is spelled Hodgets in the footer and Hodgetts in the header.

I assume the piece is still in copyright, though no date is quoted, so here is a link to the newer text.

Where as the earlier one was focused on personal contrition and amendment, the new uses plural personal pronouns—“us” and “our” instead of “I” ,“me” and “my”. Note, no “we”—which would denote action on our part. The force of the earlier works is diluted and our agency is minimised. Pardon and suffering are mentioned, but coupled with peace and love to soften any possible move towards compunction.

Another disturbing theme repeated in the new hymn is the idea of God forcing gifts on us. That would be great wouldn’t it? I’m having trouble being patient with my kids—please God, force me to do your holy Will. No, that’s not how Christian prayer generally goes. We need to subject ourselves to God’s Will rather than telling God to force us to do things. And what is this Gift of Life and Growth anyway?

I haven’t found any information about Michael Hodgets or Hodgetts. I don’t know why the hymnbook editors sought permission to use his work rather than the older Public Domain text beloved by generations of English speaking Catholics. I don’t know lots of things, but I know which hymn I would choose, especially entering the season of Lent.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Veronica Brandt

Veronica Brandt holds a Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering. She lives near Sydney, Australia, with her husband and six children.—(Read full biography).

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President’s Corner

    “Music List” • 29th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 19 October 2025, which is the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the sensational feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Liturgical Round (“Canon”) in C-Major
    Those who direct children’s choirs are always on the lookout for repertoire that’s dignified, inspired, and pleasing—yet still within reach of young choristers. Such directors will want to investigate this haunting liturgical round (PDF download) which has been married to the KYRIE from Mass VI (EDITIO VATICANA). I have provided an accompaniment, but it’s only for use during rehearsal; i.e. when teaching this round to your choristers. I also provided an organ accompaniment for the KYRIE—which some know by its trope (Kyrie Rex Genitor)—so that your congregation can take part when this round is used as a choral extension during Mass.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Latin Liturgy Association
    We note with pleasure that Mrs. Regina Morris, president of the Latin Liturgy Association, has featured—on page 4 of Volume CXXIX of their official newsletter—the three (3) terrific versions of the Stations of the Cross found in the Brébeuf Hymnal. One of the main authors for the blog of the Church Music Association of America said (6/10/2019) about this pew book: “It is such a fantastic hymnal that it deserves to be in the pews of every Catholic church.”
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

    New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 12 October 2025) talks about an ‘irony’ or ‘paradox’ regarding the 1960s switch to a wider use (amplior locus) of vernacular in the liturgy.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
    The American Catholic Hymnal, with IMPRIMATUR granted (25 April 1991) by the Archdiocese of Chicago, is like a compendium of every horrible idea from the 1980s. Imagine being forced to stand all through Communion (even afterwards) when those self-same ‘enlightened’ liturgists moved the SEQUENCE before the Alleluia to make sure congregations wouldn’t have to stand during it. (Even worse, everything about the SEQUENCE—including its name—means it should follow the Alleluia.) And imagine endlessly repeating “Alleluia” during Holy Communion at every single Mass. It was all part of an effort to convince people that Holy Communion was historically a procession (which it wasn’t).
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Canonic” • Ralph Vaughan Williams
    Fifty years ago, Dr. Theodore Marier made available this clever arrangement (PDF) of “Come down, O love divine” by P. R. Dietterich. The melody was composed in 1906 by Ralph Vaughan Williams (d. 1958) and named in honor of of his birthplace: DOWN AMPNEY. The arrangement isn’t a strict canon, but it does remind one of a canon since the pipe organ employs “points of imitation.” The melody and text are #709 in the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“There are no hymns, in this sense, till the fourth century; they were not admitted to the Roman office till the twelfth. No Eastern rite to this day knows this kind of hymn. Indeed, in our Roman rite we still have the archaic offices of the last days of Holy Week and of the Easter octave, which—just because they are archaic—have no hymns.”

— Adrian Fortescue (25 March 1916)

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