“Lord of all hopefulness” follows the singer’s moods through the day from hopefulness and joy in the morning to eagerness and faith at noon, kindliness and grace in the evening, and finally to gentleness and calm at the end of the day. The various periods of the day represent in an idealized way the stages of life, from youth to adulthood, full maturity and finally to the eve of death.

The hymnal identifies the author of the hymn as “Jan Struther,” which was the pen name of Joyce Anstruther, an English writer best known for her stories about the fictitious Mrs. Miniver. The stories inspired a patriotic film that won Best Picture of 1942. The tune is a traditional Irish one that the hymnal calls Slane after a town in County Meath, Ireland, on the banks of the River Boyne. The Slane area has historic sites dating back to Neolithic times. By tradition, St. Patrick lit a Paschal fire on Slane Hill in the year 433 in defiance of a royal edict. Slane was a center of Christian learning in medieval times.

Here’s the last verse of the hymn, suitable for the eve of the day or for the end of life:

Lord of all gentleness, Lord of all calm,
whose voice is contentment, whose presence is balm:
Be there at our sleeping, and give us, we pray,
your peace in our hearts, Lord, at the end of the day.

Follow the link to hear the hymn: https://hymnary.org/text/lord_of_all_hopefulness_lord_of_all_joy

God bless your heart with peace.