NeuroDivine

Saints | St Francis of Assisi | 4 October 2026

1.
O Christ, from whom the rivers run,
And stars receive their flame,
The curlew’s cry on twilight bog
Still hallows out Your name.
Through reed and rush, through wind-bent grass,
Through rain on silent stone,
The singing earth bears witness still
That all things are Your own.

2.
Where red deer move through oak-dark glens
Beneath the mountain’s shade,
Where torrents thread through fern and moss
And deepen what You made,
There walks the soul that learns to hear
The hidden gospel sung,
In every creature’s wordless praise,
In every wild bird’s tongue.

3.
Beyond the cliffs where seabirds wheel
Above the foaming swell,
Where seals keep watch in western coves
And tides their bright tales tell,
The breathing sea lifts up its psalm,
The salt wind joins the choir,
And kindles in the listening heart
Creation’s living fire.

4.
On heather heights the mountain hare
Runs silver through the dawn,
The kestrel hangs in morning light
Above the golden corn;
No life too small, no voice too faint,
Escapes Your tender care,
For earth and heaven meet as one
Within Your constant prayer.

5.
So with the saints who loved the hills,
The streams, the beasts, the trees,
We bless You in the blackbird’s song,
The sighing of the seas.
Until the day when all that’s made
Is gathered to Your peace,
And every living thing shall know
Your joy that shall not cease.

St Francis and the Celtic Sanctity of Creation

On the Feast of St Francis, the church celebrates the radical idea that the natural world is not merely a backdrop for human history, but a living cathedral praising its Creator. In Canticle of the Creatures, Francis spoke of Brother Sun, Sister Moon, and Mother Earth. This hymn brings that Franciscan vision straight into the Irish landscape.

In the curlew’s call across a twilight bog, the silent presence of the red deer in mountain glens, and the wheeling seabirds over Atlantic cliffs, we hear what Celtic traditions call the hidden gospel—creation’s ongoing psalm of praise. St Francis reminded us that no creature falls outside of God’s tender care.

As we sing these verses, we join our voices with the blackbird, the wind, and the tide, praying that we may walk upon the earth with gentleness, reverence, and peace.

Hymn information

First line: O Christ, from whom the rivers run
Text: Michael McFarland Campbell
Metre: DCM
Tune: Clonmel, Kingsfold
Theme: St Francis of Assisi, 4 October
Scripture: Job 12:7–10, Psalm 19:1–4, Psalm 24:1, Psalm 98:7–8, Psalm 147:4, Psalm 148:7–10, Matthew 10:29–31, Luke 12:24, John 1:1–3, Romans 1:20, Romans 8:19–21, Ephesians 1:9–10, Colossians 1:15–17, Revelation 5:13
NDH-0348

© Michael McFarland Campbell. 2026. 
Permission granted for local church or parish use with attribution. Not for commercial reproduction.