One of my favorite songs in the Notre Dame Folk Choir was a song we only sang twice: once in the spring of my freshman year and once in the fall of my senior year. It’s a Scottish tune written by Michael Ferguson and dedicated to the Folk Choir. The lyrics are an adaptation of a poem by Norman Macleod. The song and the poem are titled “Trust in God and Do the Right.” The song has a lovely swing to it and the harmonies are joyous. What’s most important, though, are the lyrics.
Courage, brother! do not stumble,
Though thy path is dark as night;
There’s a star to guide the humble,
Trust in God and do the right.
Let the road be long and dreary,
And its ending out of sight;
Foot it bravely–strong or weary–
Trust in God and do the right.
Perish policy and cunning,
Perish all that fears the light;
Whether losing, whether winning,
Trust in God and do the right.
Some will hate thee, some will love thee,
Some will flatter, some will slight;
Cease from man and look above thee,
Trust in God and do the right.
Trust in God and do the right.
Source of refuge, hope, and courage,
Rock on which our lives will flourish,
Trust in God and do the right.
Firmest rule and safest guiding,
Inward peace and inward light;
Star upon our path abiding,
Trust in God and do the right.
Let the road be long and dreary,
And its ending out of sight;
Foot it bravely–strong or weary–
Trust in God and do the right.
Trust in God and do the right.
Source of refuge, hope, and courage,
Rock on which our lives will flourish,
Trust in God and do the right.
This song popped into my mind as I tossed and turned in bed during our first night on retreat on Inisheer, the smallest of the Aran Islands. I was worried because we still had two House of Brigid members making their way from Dublin to the island and they did not yet have Irish cell phones, so they were dependent on WiFi to contact us. Up until that moment many things hadn’t gone according to plan in terms of travel. To put it mildly, things that could go wrong did go wrong.
Leading up to Inisheer was a saga of adventures. I arrived in Ireland on Wednesday, August 21 before the remaining House of Brigid members and eagerly prepared for their arrivals. Katherine was the first to arrive the following Monday (August 27), quickly followed by Shane on Tuesday, and then Kerry and Jenny on Wednesday. Erick and Kelli were supposed to arrive the same morning as Kerry and Jenny, but, due to inclement weather in their respective areas of the United States, they were both rerouted to England and Spain respectively and then to Dublin. They arrived in Dublin Wednesday evening, but that was after we needed to leave for Inisheer. So we got them settled with bus tickets to Galway and hotel rooms so they would meet us on the island the next morning. Their travels involved visiting more countries than expected and misplaced luggage, but they made their way to us safely and in one piece. Though we had all met for the first time as a group two weeks prior, the pure joy to finally be reunited was palpable. I will admit I was extremely stressed from the moment they notified me of their changed flights until the moment I knew they were on the plane to Inisheer.
So, as I was lying in bed worrying about bus tickets and hotel rooms the night before Erick and Kelli joined us, the song came to mind and quickly got stuck in my head. Unlike most songs that get stuck on repeat, though, this song did not annoy me. On the contrary, it soothed me and centered me. I knew that despite the struggles we went through getting everyone to Ireland and Inisheer, it would all be fine. All we had to do was “Trust in God and do the right.”
This was the picture Michele Warner took once we were all finally reunited.
~Kelly
