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UMH # 710 |
Hebrews 11:1,2
Now faith is the substance of
things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the
elders obtained a good report.
1 Timothy 1:3,4 As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine, Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do.
Henry Frederick Hemy (1818 - 1888) played organ in an English Roman Catholic and wrote several melodies. He also taught music at St. Cuthbert's College. Frederick William Faber was a son of a clergyman in the Church of England. He attended Oxford and was ordained as a minister in the same church. Three years later he converted to Roman Catholicism. He wanted England to return to Roman Catholicism and worked toward that goal, though without success. For a brief history review, the Roman Catholic Church was England's state church until Henry VIII began a chain of events leading to the creation of the Church of England. Henry VIII was refused an annulment of his marriage with Catherine of Aragon by the pope. (He wanted to marry Ann Boleyn.) There was a growing protestant movement in England already, and Henry VIII was now ready for a change as well. In 1533, Parliament made the king the head of the church in England, and all clergymen were answerable to him. King Henry VIII appointed sympathizers of Martin Luther to head clergy positions. In 1539, King Henry VIII enacted several articles that provided for many Catholic practices to be retained, however, the church was no longer subject to the pope. The Puritan movement wanted to rid all hints of Catholicism from the country, but most in the Church of England were Catholics to start with, so many practices never changed. For centuries, conflicts between protestants and Catholics have been smoldering in Great Britain. That's the long way around to explain what Faber meant by "Faith of Our Fathers." Faber wanted England to be only Catholic again, as it was before the Reformation. NOTE: Reflecting Faber’s Catholic roots, the original third stanza was:
Faith of our fathers, Mary’s prayers
Shall win our country back to Thee; And through the truth that comes from God, England shall then indeed be free. |