Lord, Help Us Ever to Retain

Lord, help us ever to retain
The catechism’s doctrine plain
As Luther taught the word of truth
In simple style to tender youth.

Help us Thy holy law to learn,
To mourn our sin, and from it turn
In faith to Thee and to Thy Son
And Holy Spirit, Three in One.

Hear us, dear Father, when we pray
For needed help from day to day
That as Thy children we may live,
Whom Thou in baptism did receive.

Lord, when we fall and sin doth stain,
Absolve and lift us up again;
And thro’ the sacrament increase
Our faith till we depart in peace.

Author: Unknown

The text is a 19th/20th-century didactic hymn explicitly referencing Luther's Small Catechism. It is most often found in Missouri Synod hymnals (e.g., The Lutheran Hymnal, 1941) without a named lyricist; it is sometimes listed as "anonymous" or simply attributed to "the Catechism." No widely recognized individual author (such as a named pastor or poet) is attached to these verses.