“bear you in the breath of dawn”

I bought a purple raincoat lined in hearts at the thriftstore when I was in Wyoming and when I put my hand in the pocket, I found a bulletin from a Catholic Church in Torrington, Wyoming, there from 1991. The lyrics to “On Eagle’s Wings” were printed inside. I have not been inside a cathedral since before the millennium – my Catholicism not lapsed so much as sloughed — so I do not know if this is still the case, but for the decade of the ’90s, “On Eagle’s Wings” was the single most Catholic-identified song in my parish, even more than “Ave Maria” or that haunting Gregorian minor-keyed rendition of the “Agnus Dei” that I love, so soft and quiet, that I can sing for you but cannot identify its composer. (I might have to call St. Mary’s to find out.)
And lo, I was right about “On Eagle’s Wings.” Like “Buttons” or “Beautiful Day,” we all have it involuntarily memorized.