GREAT SHEPHERD OF THE COUNTLESS FLOCKS OF STARS

Great Shepherd of the countless flocks of stars,

Which range the azure province of the sky,

Who marked the course for Jupiter and Mars,

Nor leads the comet from its path awry;

Though flaming constellations at Thy call

Pass into being, or created, fall;

Thou, who hast caused the firmament to be,

In humbler pathways, Father, lead Thou me.

Thou, who hast framed the eagle's wing to soar

Above the verdant prospects of the plain;

Whose law hath shaped the pebbles on the shore,

The stately forests and the bearded grain;

Whose hand hath formed the silvery satellite

To shed her tender moonbeams o'er the night;

Thou who hast placed the islands in the sea,

With that same Wisdom, Father, lead Thou me.