Earthly Friends

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Earthly friends will change and falter

Author: John Mason Neale
Tune: [Earthly friends will change and falter]
Published in 8 hymnals

Representative Text

1 Earthly friends will change and falter,
Earthly hearts will vary;
He is born that cannot alter of the Virgin Mary:
Born today, raise the lay,
Born today, twine the bay;
Jesus Christ is born to suffer,
Born for you:
Born for you,--holly strew;
Jesus Christ was born to conquer,
Born to save,
Born to save, laurel wave:
Jesus Christ was born to govern,
Born a King,
Born a King, baywreaths bring;
Jesus Christ was born of Mary,
Born for all,
Well befall hearth and hall,
Jesus Christ was born at Christmas,
Born for all.

Source: Laudis Corona: the new Sunday school hymn book, containing a collection of Catholic hymns, arranged for the principal seasons and festivals of the year #20

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Author: John Mason Neale

John M. Neale's life is a study in contrasts: born into an evangelical home, he had sympathies toward Rome; in perpetual ill health, he was incredibly productive; of scholarly temperament, he devoted much time to improving social conditions in his area; often ignored or despised by his contemporaries, he is lauded today for his contributions to the church and hymnody. Neale's gifts came to expression early–he won the Seatonian prize for religious poetry eleven times while a student at Trinity College, Cambridge, England. He was ordained in the Church of England in 1842, but ill health and his strong support of the Oxford Movement kept him from ordinary parish ministry. So Neale spent the years between 1846 and 1866 as a warden of Sackvi… Go to person page >

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