"Petition (Choral Version)" genre: Celtic
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	The text is from the Carmina Gadelica, a volume of Gaelic poems collected from the Scottish highlands and islands in the late 1800s by Alexander Carmichael and translated into English. The poems in the Carmina are indicative of the Gaelic oral tradition, and most of them had been passed down through generations. This petition is one of the “encircling prayers” so common in Celtic spirituality, of which ‘St. Patrick’s Breastplate” is probably the most well known example.
	Credits: Written by David Simmons. Performed by members of the Virginia Theological Seminary Motet Choir: S - Jenni Ovenstone, Carrie Schofield-Broadbent A - Connie Jones, Danica Welton T - Bill McClure, Joshua Varner B - Mac Murray, David Simmons
	Lyrics Be Thou a smooth way before me, Be Thou a guiding star above me, Be Thou a keen eye behind me, This day, this night, for ever. I am weary, and I forlorn, Lead Thou me to the land of the angels; Methinks it were time I went for a space To the court of Christ, to the peace of heaven; If only Thou, O God of life, Be at peace with me, be my support, Be to me as a star, be to me as a helm, From my lying down in peace to my rising anew. Be Thou a smooth way before me, Be Thou a guiding star above me, Be Thou a keen eye behind me, This day, this night, for ever.

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