Keep them, I pray Thee, dearest Lord,
   Keep them, for they are Thine--
Thy priests whose lives burn out before
         Thy concecrated Shrine.

Keep them-- Thou knowest, dearest Lord--
         The world -- the flesh are strong.
And Satan spreads a thousand snares
   To lead them into wrong.

Keep them for they are in the world
      Though from the world apart,
When earthly pleasures tempt, allure--
      Shelter them in Thy Heart.
Keep them, and comfort them in hours
     Of loneliness and pain
When all their life of sacrifice
For souls seems but in vain.

Keep them, and oh, remember Lord,
      They have no one but Thee
Yet they have only human hearts,
         With human fragility.  
Keep them as spotless as the Host--
      That daily, they caress--

Their every thought and word and deed,
       Deign, dearest Lord, to bless.  

Imprimatur
+ Henry Joseph O' Leary, D.D.  Archbishop of Edmonton