Forth From on High the Father Sends was written by the Scottish Jesuit Priest, Fr. James Quinn (1919-2010). It is sung to the tune: Melcombe, by the English composer Samuel Webbe (1740-1816). Initially published in 1782 as an anonymous chant tune in An Essay on the Church Plain Chant, it was ascribed to Webbe in later hymnals after 1791. In the Divine Office (1974), Forth From on High the Father Sends is used with Morning Prayer on the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi).
The hymns selected from the Liturgy of the Hours for use on the Feast of Corpus Christi, or the Feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ reflect the theme of 'sharing our life with Christ'. In the following video, Fr. James Gardiner of the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land located in Washington, D.C. shares some of his thoughts about Corpus Christi. He begins by noting it's similarity with Holy Thursday and the institution on that day of the Sacrament of the Eucharist. The Feast of Corpus Christi was established in 1264 by Pope Urban IV. In the same year he commissioned St. Thomas Aquinas to compose a special Office for Corpus Christi which included Pange Lingua Gloriosi, Tantum Ergo Sacramentumand Adoro Te Devote. Fr. Gardiner sums up by reminding us that "like the consecrated Bread and Wine, we are challenged to be, ourselves, a real presence of Christ in the world".
God with Hidden Majesty is a 1971 translation by Anthony G. Petti of the Latin hymn, Adoro te Devote (featured in 2nd video). St. Thomas Aquinas (c.1225-1274) wrote this hymn in 1264, along with 4 others at the request of Pope Urban IV (c.1195-1264) as part of his Mass and Office for the (then) newly promulgated Feast of Corpus Christi. It is set to the ancient Gregorian chant melody associated with . It was first published in the Paris Processional of 1697). In the Liturgy of the Office, God With Hidden Majesty is used on the Feast of Corpus Christi.
Tune: Adoro Te Devote
ADORO TE DEVOTE by Thomas Aquinas, 1264 (Public Domain)
1. Adoro te devote, latens Deitas,
Quæ sub his figuris vere latitas;
Tibi se cor meum totum subjicit,
Quia te contemplans totum deficit.
2. Visus, tactus, gustus in te fallitur,
Sed auditu solo tuto creditur.
Credo quidquid dixit Dei Filius;
Nil hoc verbo veritátis verius.
3. In cruce latebat sola Deitas,
At hic latet simul et Humanitas,
Ambo tamen credens atque confitens,
Peto quod petivit latro pœnitens.
4. Plagas, sicut Thomas, non intueor:
Deum tamen meum te confiteor.
Fac me tibi semper magis credere,
In te spem habere, te diligere.
5. O memoriale mortis Domini!
Panis vivus, vitam præstans homini!
Præsta meæ menti de te vívere,
Et te illi semper dulce sapere.
6. Pie Pelicane, Jesu Domine,
Me immundum munda tuo sanguine:
Cujus una stilla salvum facere
Totum mundum quit ab omni scelere.
7. Jesu, quem velatum nunc aspicio,
Oro, fiat illud quod tam sitio:
Ut te revelata cernens facie,
Visu sim beátus tuæ gloriæ. Amen
THOU, WHO AT THY FIRST EUCHARIST DIDST PRAY by William H. Turton, 1881 (Public Domain)
Thou, who at Thy first Eucharist didst pray
That all Thy Church might be forever one,
Grant us that ev’ry Eucharist to say
With longing heart and soul, Thy will be done.
O may we all one bread, one body be,
Through this blest sacrament of unity.
For all Thy Church, O Lord, we intercede;
Make Thou our sad divisions soon to cease;
Draw us the nearer each to each, we plead,
By drawing all to Thee, O Prince of Peace;
Thus may we all one bread, one body be,
Through this blest sacrament of unity.
We pray Thee too for wand’rers from Thy fold;
O bring them back, good Shepherd of the sheep,
Back to the faith which saints believed of old,
Back to the Church which still that faith doth keep;
Soon may we all one bread, one body be,
Through this blest sacrament of unity.
So, Lord, at length when sacraments shall cease,
May we be one with all Thy Church above,
One with Thy saints in one unbroken peace,
One with Thy saints in one unbounded love;
More blessèd still, in peace and love to be
One with the Trinity in Unity.
Alleluia! Sing to Jesus was written by British surgeon and author, William Chatterton Dix (1837-1898). It was first published in 1867 as part of his collection, Altar Songs, Verses on the Holy Eucharist. It was intended as a communion hymn for Ascension Sunday and was originally titled: "Redemption by the Precious Blood". It is sung to the 1830 tune, Hyfrydol by the Welsh composer and choir director, Rowland Prichard (1811-1887). Prichard was not a professional musician, he worked as a loom-tenders' assistant at a flannel manufacturing mill in Wales. In the Liturgy of the Hours, Alleluia! Sing to Jesus is used during Easter and on the the Feast of Corpus Christi.
ALLELUIA! SING TO JESUS! by William Chatterton Dix, 1867 (Public Domain)
1. Alleluia! sing to Jesus! His the scepter, His the throne.
Alleluia! His the triumph, His the victory alone.
Hark! the songs of peaceful Zion thunder like a mighty flood.
Jesus out of every nation has redeemed us by His blood.
2. Alleluia! not as orphans are we left in sorrow now;
Alleluia! He is near us, faith believes, nor questions how;
Though the cloud from sight received Him when the forty days were o’er
Shall our hearts forget His promise, “I am with you evermore”?
3. Alleluia! bread of angels, Thou on earth our food, our stay;
Alleluia! here the sinful flee to Thee from day to day:
Intercessor, Friend of sinners, Earth’s Redeemer, plead for me,
Where the songs of all the sinless sweep across the crystal sea.
4. Alleluia! King eternal, Thee the Lord of lords we own;
Alleluia! born of Mary, Earth Thy footstool, Heav’n Thy throne:
Thou within the veil hast entered, robed in flesh our great High Priest;
Thou on earth both priest and victim in the Eucharistic feast.
Father We Thank Thee, first published in 1940 was written by the Reverend Francis Bland Tucker (1895–1984), an Episcopal priest and hymn writer from the United States. The text draws upon prayers found in Chapters 9 and 10 of the Didache(see below), a pastoral manual of the early Church dated to the late 1st or early 2nd century. It is set to the tune, Rendez à Dieu attributed to French composer Louis Bourgeois (c.1510–1560). In the Liturgy of the Hours, Father, We Thank Thee, Who Hast Planted is used during Ordinary Time for Evening Prayer and on the Feast of Corpus Christi.
from the THE DIDACHE, translated 1885 (Public Domain)
Chapter 9
1. Now as regards the Eucharist (the Thank-offering), give thanks after this manner:
2. First for the cup: "We give thanks to Thee, our Father, for the holy vine of David Thy servant, which thou hast made known to us through Jesus, Thy servant: to Thee be the glory for ever."
3. And for the broken bread: "We give thanks to Thee, our Father, for the life and knowledge which Thou hast made known to us through Jesus, Thy servant: to Thee be the glory for ever.
4. "As this broken bread was scattered upon the mountains and gathered together became one, so let Thy church be gathered together from the ends of the earth into Thy kingdom, for Thine is the glory and the power through Jesus Christ for ever."
5. But let no one eat or drink of your Eucharist, except those baptized into the name of the Lord; for as regards this also the Lord has said: "Give not that which is holy to the dogs."
Chapter 10
1. Now after being filled, give thanks after this manner:
2. "We thank Thee, Holy Father, for Thy Holy Name, which Thou hast caused to dwell (tabernacle) in our hearts, and for the knowledge and faith and immortality which Thou hast made known to us through Jesus Thy Servant, to Thee be the glory for ever.
3. "Thou, O, Almighty Sovereign, didst make all things for Thy Name's sake; Thou gavest food and drink to men for enjoyment that they might give thanks to Thee; but to us Thou didst freely give spiritual food and drink and eternal life through Thy Servant.
4. "Before all things we give thanks to Thee that Thou art mighty; to Thee be the glory for ever.
5. "Remember, O Lord, Thy Church to deliver her from all evil and to perfect her in Thy love; and gather her together from the four winds, sanctified for Thy kingdom which Thou didst prepare for her; for Thine is the power and the glory for ever.
6. "Let grace come, and let this world pass away. Hosanna to the God of David. If any one is holy let him come, if any one is not holy let him repent. Maranatha. Amen."
7. But permit the Prophets to give thanks as much as [in what words] they wish.
