"Segne dieses Kind" (Bless this child) is a poem in six stanzas by

Lothar Zenetti Lothar Zenetti (6 February 1926 – 24 February 2019) was a German Catholic theologian, priest, and author of books and poetry. In Frankfurt, he was both a minister for young people and a parish priest. He was also active on radio and television. ...

. With different melodies, it became a Christian

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' d ...

of the genre

Neues Geistliches Lied (, ''new spiritual song''), abbreviated NGL, is a music genre of songs in German intended for church usage, and based on contemporary lyrics and with music by contemporary composers. History The idea to reach young people by new songs for ...

(NGL), appearing in current German hymnals, usually sung for

baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

. The full title is "Segne dieses Kind und hilf uns, ihm zu helfen" (Bless this child and help us to help him), which is the beginning of all six stanzas. The first five stanzas follow the same pattern: a group of people feeling responsible for a child express that they request blessing for the child, and blessing for themselves, helping them to help the child to learn. It should learn to see, to hear, to reach out, to speak, to walk, to love. In five stanzas, the ability is further described by poetic images, for example "to see": the mother's face, the colours of the flowers, the snow on the mountains, the country of promise. ''Verheißung'' (promise) is the last word in all five stanzas. The last stanza is shorter, ending the poem on "learn to love with his whole heart" ("dass es lieben lernt mit seinem ganzen Herzen"). The text was written in 1971. It was included in the Catholic German hymnal ''

Gotteslob ''Gotteslob'' ("Praise of God") is the title of the hymnbook authorized by the Catholic dioceses in Germany, Austria, South Tyrol, Luxembourg and Liège, Belgium. First published in Advent 2013, it is the current official hymnal for German-speak ...

'' (GL) with a melody by Erna Woll (former GL 636). It was also printed in 1981 in the collection ''Lieder vom neuen Leben'' (Songs of new life). A different melody by Michael Schütz, composed in 1983, appears in current German hymnals, both in the new ''

'' (GL 490), as in Protestant hymnals. The text was published also in ''Texte der Zuversicht'' by J. Pfeiffer Verlag in Munich in 1987. The text was printed again in 2012 as part of Zenetti's book ''Auf seiner Spur''. It has been used for books and greeting cards for birth and baptism.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Segne Dieses Kind Catholic hymns in German German poems Neues Geistliches Lied