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- Published on Monday, 23 January 2017 10:58
- Written by Stanton O. Berg
"When Memory Fades and Recognition Falters"
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(Dr. Mary Louise Bringle)
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"WHEN MEMORY FADES"
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“When memory fades and recognition falters,
When eyes we love grow dim, And minds confused,
Speak to our souls of love that never alters;
Speak to our hearts by pain and fear abused.
O God of life and healing peace,
Empower us with patient courage, by your grace infused.
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As the frailness grows, and youthful strengths diminish,
In weary arms, which worked their earnest fill.
Your aging servants labor now to finish....
Their earthly tasks as fits your mystery's will.
We grieve their waning, yet rejoice, believing,
Your arms, unwearied, shall uphold us still.
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Within your spirit, goodness lives unfading.
The past and future mingle into one.
All joys remain, un-shadowed light pervading.
No valued deed will ever be undone.
Your mind enfolds all finite acts and offerings.
Held in your heart, our deathless life is won.
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"When Memory Fades, and Recognition Falters” is a Hymn written for a friend’s mother with Alzheimer’s…This Hymn about the beginning Journey into the shadows of Alzheimer’s…a Hymn by Dr. Mary Louise Bringle, is thought to be the first such Hymn…I remember seeing a copy of this Hymn in one of our Lutheran Hymnals but also credited to Dr. Bringle.
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Dr. Mary Louise Bringle (b. 1953) wrote “When Memory Fades” for a friend whose mother was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Bringle’s sensitivity to this passage in life’s journey and attentiveness to the needs of the world has contributed to her recognition as one of the leading hymn writers in the English language today.
Dr. Mary Louise (Mel) Bringle is a professor at Brevard College, Brevard, North Carolina, where she teaches philosophy and religious studies. She received her Ph.D. from Emory University and attends Trinity Presbyterian Church, where she is an elder. She is also a recent president of the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada and served as the chair of the Presbyterian Committee on Congregational Song, the group responsible for the most recent Presbyterian (PCUSA) hymnal, Glory to God (2013).
Categorized in Glory to God under “Living and Dying in Christ,” “When Memory Fades” is a hymn that touches on life, both mortal and spiritual. Written specifically for the tune FINLANDIA, the stirring theme from the orchestral work of the same name by Jean Sibelius (1865-1957), its rhythmic and melodic solemnity are well suited to the honesty of hesitation and hope in the words.
This hymn text, prompting one to acknowledge the frailty and inadequacies of our earthly vessels, looks to God, who is the source of all life. Dr. Bringle guides the singer through emotions of petition, grieving, and gratitude. Rather than asking for healing, she is concerned about remembering and declaring who God is in the midst of this situation.
Professor Bringle draws heavily upon Scripture, especially referencing the psalms and the epistles. Stanzas one and two address the experience of pain. The second half of each stanza addresses God. “O God of Life and healing peace” (stanza one) suggests Psalm 36:9, where God is declared the giver or fountain of life. The last line of stanza one “with patient courage” strongly echoes the sentiments of Psalm 31, “Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart” (KJV) .The text leading into line four of stanza one petitions God to “empower us,” and concludes with strength gained through God’s “grace infused.” Second Corinthians 12:9 declares that “my [God’s] grace is sufficient.” Encouraged by Paul to “fight the good fight,” the servant is comforted by the psalmist’s words, “The Lord is my strength.”
Stanza two of “When Memory Fades” speaks of God’s will as a mystery still being completed by God’s servants. “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end” (Jeremiah 29:11, KJV).
While it is unknown to the servants, Jeremiah assures the servant that God knows our every need. The calm assurance of the God who will sustain us concludes stanza two:We grieve their waning, yet rejoice, believing your arms unwearied, shall uphold us still.
The poet begins the final stanza by declaring the eternal nature of God’s love and ends with the declamatory statement “deathless life is won!” Hebrews 6:10 reminds us of the following, “For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love” (KJV). Because in Christ we are freed from sin (Romans 8), we can receive the gift of eternal life (Romans 6:23); even when strength and memory fail us, we cannot lose this promise.
One of the most significant gifts of this text is how the hymn writer gives dignity and theological meaning to God’s “aging servant.” In spite of the present situation, God’s “goodness lives unfading,” a statement in antithesis to fading memories in the first line of stanza one. Present suffering becomes more bearable and gains perspective when we draw upon memories of the past and hopes for future resolution. Then the poet, in a richly reverberant phrase, seizes on a central thought that places into context the condition of one suffering from loss of memory and dignity: “no valued deed will ever be undone.”
This hymn was first published in the author’s collection, "Joy and Wonder. Love and Longing: 75 Hymn Texts… (Chicago: GIA Publishing, Inc., 2002).
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Stan's Note: the words are actually put to music in the tune "Finlandia"...In 1899 Finnish composer and violinist, Jean Sibelius, (Born in 1865 - Died in 1957)... He wrote a musical score for six historical tableaux in a pageant that celebrated and supported the Finnish press...In 1900 Sibelius revised the music…
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Reader's Comments
Kathy Williams - Riverside, Texas - (24 January 2017): "Very nice ! I really like it!"
Elisabeth Buckley - Manchester, United Kingdom - (24 January 2017): "I think it is fantastic to have a hymn which directly deals with this topic. It affirms the value of the Alzheimer's patient in the eyes of God."
Lynda Etlicher - Rice Lake, Wisconsin - (24 January 2017): "I think it's very very nice...Thank you."... Stan's Note: Lynda is June's youngest sister.
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June's Passing
After an almost 12 year journey into the shadows of Alzheimer's, early one morning in late October 2008, an exhausted June felt God's gentle touch on her shoulder and heard the words: "Come Home June!" As June lay like a wounded soldier on a battlefield, it was God's Angels that ushered June into a Heavenly Kingdom to the sound of a chorus of Angels...and into June's new home, a "Mansion on the Hilltop", where there is no pain, nor illness nor tears...June's funeral notice as published in the Minneapolis Star in October 2008 can be seen on this website in the drop down menu under the "In Memoriam" label - just Click on:
"June K. (Rolstad) Berg - In Memoriam"