By stony paths in desert lands
By stony paths in desert lands,
we wander, weary from the way;
our questions rise like wind-torn grass,
our doubts like shadows in the day.
Yet still You call from rock and stream,
from Shannon’s waters, calm and clear:
“Come, drink the life I freely give,
the grace that casts out every fear.”
O Christ, who meets the lone and lost
beside the well at noonday’s heat,
Your living water, freely poured,
makes parched and restless spirits meet.
In Barrow’s flow, in silent bog,
Your mercy moves with gentle power;
You cleanse the wounds we dare not name
and bless the hidden, holy hour.
The Spirit stirs in ancient fields,
in ringed stone lands and pilgrim ways;
our hearts, once hardened, turn again
toward springtime light and songs of praise.
Through peace You give, through hope unbound,
through love poured out in wounded hands,
You shape a people reconciled,
a living spring within our lands.
So let us trust the Rock who holds,
and bow before the God who saves;
with joyful hearts and lifted voice
we praise the One whose mercy waves.
From desert thirst to flowing streams,
from fear to faith, from death to life,
Your living stream renews the earth
and heals our world of shame and strife.
At quiet altars bread’s broken,
like dawnlight on a pilgrim stone;
the cup is raised where wells recall
the grace that flows from Christ alone.
In stillness deep as breathing bogs,
His mercy fills the cloistered air;
the Host who fed the desert tribes
now bids our thirsty souls to share.
Hymn information
First line: By stony paths in desert lands
Text: Michael McFarland Campbell
Metre: 88 88 D
Suggested tune: In Christ alone or St Patrick
Theme: Lent 3 – Year A
Reflection
On the Third Sunday of Lent, we journey with Christ to the well—the place of thirst, longing, and encounter. Like the Samaritan woman who came seeking ordinary water and found living grace, we too come carrying our questions, our weariness, and our hidden needs.
Lent leads us through desert places—places of testing and reflection—yet it is also the season in which God draws near. From rock and river, from ancient paths and quiet wells, Christ calls us still: “Come, drink the life I freely offer.”
As we sing, we pray for hearts open to that living water—water that cleanses, restores, and gathers us into a reconciled people. May this hymn be our Lenten prayer: from thirst to trust, from fear to faith, from desert wandering to the wellspring of grace.
Stained-glass style illustration of a Celtic Christian landscape. In the foreground, a stone well with a jug pours water into a clear stream that flows toward a small arched bridge and a round tower in the distance. A Celtic cross stands beside white lilies, and a small altar holds bread and grapes. Above it all, a glowing chalice with a radiant host shines beneath a bright sun breaking through clouds over mountains and green hills, suggesting Eucharistic grace flowing through creation.
Copyright
© Michael McFarland Campbell. 2026.
Permission granted for local church or parish use with attribution. Not for commercial reproduction.
NeuroDivine 
Leave a comment