One of my favorite hymns is Jerusalem, My Happy Home. While the author of the text is unclear, some sources attribute St. Augustine as its author. The most familiar tune it is sung to is “Land of Rest” which is an American/Appalachian folk tune with roots in the ballads of northern England and Scotland. With a focus on the heavenly Jerusalem, the song is often sung at funerals, on All Souls Day, and throughout the month of November.
I was looking at various printings of Jerusalem, My Happy Home and one from 1938 caught my attention. The tempo marking on the music stated: With unhurried simplicity. Those three words caught my eye. I was immediately struck by them. With unhurried simplicity. What a motto for our lives! What great guidance for our life’s work! Should we not each day try to live our lives with unhurried simplicity? We live in such a fast-paced, connected world that we are often hurrying from one thing to the next and yet we are called to live in an unhurried way, in order to focus on what really matters: first and foremost, our Lord and God. If we could just slow down a bit and take the time to focus on God, family, the beauty around us, and our eternal salvation, perhaps our lives would be a bit better. In this month of November, as we remember all the dead, we remember that our lives too will end and our hurriedness will eventually end. Why not take some time to be unhurried now? Yet it is not only unhurriedness that we are called to but simplicity as well. With unhurried simplicity. We are all called to live simple lives, again focusing on the things that really matter. Our lives can become so complicated—we can become so caught up in the events of the world that we forget about the things that really matter: faith, family, friendship. If only we could live a little more unhurried, a little more simply, I think we would all be quite a bit happier in life and more guaranteed of our eternal salvation. As I read those words on that 1938 printing of the hymn, I was struck. I still am. I fail daily at trying to live with unhurried simplicity. I was reminded of a prayer that is prayed during Midafternoon Prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours: Lord, make the peace we pray for a reality: may we live our days in quiet joy and, with the help of the Virgin Mary’s prayers, safely reach your kingdom. May we all, through the Virgin Mary’s prayers, live our lives in quiet joy and with unhurried simplicity. Comments are closed.
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