Come, O Creator Spirit, Come / Veni Creator Spiritus

Make Within Our Heart Thy Home

Come, O Creator Spirit, Come is a translation of the 9th century Latin hymn: Veni Creator Spiritus (see 2nd video), attributed to Rha­ban­us Mau­rus (766-856). A Frankish Benedictine monk and theologian, he eventually became the Archbishop of Mainz and is considered one of the most important writers of the Carolingian Age. In 1899 it was translated into English by the British poet and playwright, Ro­bert S. Bridg­es (1844-1930). It is set to the 1848 adaptation of the ancient plainchant: Veni Creator (Mechlin), first published in the Ves­per­ale Ro­man­um Cum Can­tu Emen­da­to (Mec­hlin, Bel­gium). In the Divine Office, Come, O Creator Spirit, Come is sung at Morning Prayer.


Tune: Veni Creator (Mechlin)

COME, O CREATOR SPIRIT, COME by Robert Bridges, 1899 (Public Domain)

1. Come, O Creator Spirit, come,
and make within our heart thy home;
to us thy grace celestial give,
who of thy breathing move and live.

2. O Comforter, that name is thine,
of God most high the gift divine;
the well of life, the fire of love,
our souls' anointing from above.

3. Thou dost appear in sevenfold dower
the sign of God's almighty power;
the Father's promise, making rich
with saving truth our earthly speech.

4. Our senses with thy light inflame,
our hearts to heavenly love reclaim;
our bodies' poor infirmity
with strength perpetual fortify.

5. Our mortal foes afar repel,
grant us henceforth in peace to dwell;
and so to us, with thee for guide,
no ill shall come, no harm betide.

6. May we by thee the Father learn,
and know the Son, and thee discern,
who art of both; and thus adore
in perfect faith for evermore.


Gregorian Chant

VENI, CREATOR SPIRITUS - Rabanus Maurus, 9th century

1. Veni, creator Spiritus
mentes tuorum visita,
imple superna gratia,
quae tu creasti pectora.

2. Qui diceris Paraclitus,
altissimi donum Dei,
fons vivus, ignis,
caritas et spiritalis unctio.

3. Tu septiformis munere,
digitus paternae dexterae
tu rite promissum
Patris sermone ditans guttura.

4. Accende lumen sensibus,
infunde amorem cordibus,
infirma nostri corporis,
virtute firmans perpeti. 

5. Hostem repellas longius
pacemque dones protinus;
ductore sic te praevio
vitemus omne noxium.

6. Per te sciamus da Patrem
noscamus atque Filium,
te utriusque Spiritum
credamus omni tempore.

7. Deo Patri sit gloria,
et Filio qui a mortuis
Surrexit, ac Paraclito,
in saeculorum saecula. Amen.

All People that on Earth Do Dwell

Sing to the Lord with Cheerful Voice

All People Who on Earth Do Dwell is written by Wil­liam Kethe (d.1608?). Likely born in Scotland, Kethe was a Protestant exile who lived on the continent during the reign of Queen Mary (1542-1587). While in Switzerland he helped translate the Geneva Bible (which predates the KJV by 51 years) and translated twenty-five of the Psalms from French into English verse; one of which was Psalm 100, better know as All People Who on Earth Do Dwell. In 1561 it was included in the Anglo-Genevan Psalter, which was published to serve the expatriate English Protestant community living there. It is set to the the tune that Lou­is Bour­geois (c.1510–1560) had originally composed for Psalm 134 in John Calvin's Genevan Psalter of 1551. The melody has since become so closely associated with Kethe's paraphrase of Psalm 100, that the tune is known as the Old Hundredth. In the Divine Office it is sung at Morning Prayer.

Tune: Old Hundredth

ALL PEOPLE THAT ON EARTH DO DWELL by William Kethe, 1561 (Public Domain)

1. All people that on earth do dwell,
Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice.
Him serve with fear, His praise forth tell;
Come ye before Him and rejoice.

2. The Lord, ye know, is God indeed;
Without our aid He did us make;
We are His folk, He doth us feed,
And for His sheep He doth us take.

3. O enter then His gates with praise;
Approach with joy His courts unto;
Praise, laud, and bless His Name always,
For it is seemly so to do.

4. For why? the Lord our God is good;
His mercy is for ever sure;
His truth at all times firmly stood,
And shall from age to age endure.

5. To Father, Son and Holy Ghost,
The God Whom Heaven and earth adore,
From men and from the angel host
Be praise and glory evermore.

When God Made Man, He Gave Him All the Earth

Creation with Tremendous Voice Cries Out

When God Made Man, He Gave Him All the Earth is written by the Benedictine Nuns of Stanbrook Abbey. It is set to the 1919 tune: Woodlands by the English composer, musician and educator; Walter Greatorex (1877-1949). In the Divine Office, When God Made Man, He Gave Him All the Earth is used with Evening Prayer.


Tune: Woodlands

When God Filled the Earth with Life

By Whom Creation Lives and Moves, in Whom it Comes to Rest

When God Filled the Earth with Life is written by the Benedictine Nuns of Stanbrook Abbey. It is set to the tune: St. Bernard, an arrangement by John Ri­chard­son (1816-1879) of a chorale from the Toch­ter Si­on of 1741. In the Divine Office, When God Filled the Earth with Life is sung at Evening Prayer.


Tune: St. Bernard (Ri­chard­son)

The Father's Glory, Christ Our Light

We Bless You Father, Fount of Light

The Father's Glory, Christ Our Light is written by the Benedictine Nuns of Stanbrook Abbey. It is set to the tune associated with the 7th century hymn, Creator Alme Siderum. In the Divine Office, The Father's Glory, Christ Our Light is sung during Morning Prayer.


Tune: Creator Alme Siderum

Christ be Near at Either Hand

Christ Behind, Before Me Stand

Christ be Near at Either Hand is an adaption of a segment of the Lorica of St. Patrick. It was written by the Irish Catholic Priest, Fr. John Fennelly (1890–1966). Besides his work as a pastor, he was also a poet, expert on Plain Chant, and later in life was made a Canon of the Church. Christ be Near at Either Hand is set to the Irish folk tune, Greystones. In the Divine Office it is sung at Evening Prayer. It was also sung during the Offertory of the open-air Mass at Bellahouston Park, Glasgow celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI on the 2010 Papal Visit to the UK.


Tune: Greystones

O Strength and Stay / Rerum, Deus, Tenax Vigor

Grant to Life's Day a Calm Unclouded Ending

O Strength and Stay, Upholding All Creation is a translation of the 4th century Latin hymn: Rerum Deus Tenax Vigour, composed in the Ambrosian tradition, but not likely by St. Ambrose (c.340-397) himself. In the Breviarium Romanum it is used throughout the year as the hymn for None (Mid-Afternoon). In 1871, the ancient text was translated into English by John Ellerton (1826-1893) and Fenton J. A. Hort (1828-1892). In 1875, John Bacchus Dykes (1823-1876) composed the tune: Strength and Stay specifically for their words. In the Divine Office, O Strength and Stay is sung during Evening Prayer. For an alternative translation, see: O God, Creation's Secret Force.


Tune: Strength and Stay

O STRENGTH AND STAY by Ellerton/Hort, 1871 (Public Domain)

1. O Strength and Stay upholding all creation,
who ever dost thyself unmoved abide;
yet day by day the light in due gradation
from hour to hour through all its changes guide.

2. Grant to life's day a calm unclouded ending,
An eve untouched by shadows of decay,
the brightness of a holy deathbed blending
With dawning glories of the eternal day.

3. Hear us, O Father, gracious and forgiving,
through Jesus Christ thy co-eternal Word,
who, with the Holy Ghost, by all things living
Now and to endless ages art adored.


Ambrosian Chant

RERUM, DEUS, TENAX VIGOR

1. Rerum, Deus, tenax vigor,
immotus in te permanens,
lucis diurnae tempora
successibus determinans,

2. Largire clarum vespere,
quo vita numquam decida,
sed praemium mortis sacrae
perennis instet gloria.

3. Praesta, Pater piissime,
Patrique compar Unice,
cum Spiritu Paraclito
regnans per omne saeculum. Amen.

Liturgical Guide: Advent

Advent is a 4 week period of hopeful preparation as we await the coming of the Lord. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, in paragraph #522 speaks of Advent this way: "The coming of God's Son to earth is an event of such immensity that God willed to prepare for it over centuries. He makes everything converge on Christ: all the rituals and sacrifices, figures and symbols of the "First Covenant". He announces him through the mouths of the prophets who succeeded one another in Israel. Moreover, he awakens in the hearts of the pagans a dim expectation of this coming." In paragraph #524, the Catechism continues: "When the Church celebrates the liturgy of Advent each year, she makes present this ancient expectancy of the Messiah, for by sharing in the long preparation for the Savior's first coming, the faithful renew their ardent desire for his second coming."

LITURGY OF THE HOURS (1975)
54. On Jordan's Bank
55. Maranatha
56. Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus
57. Be Consoled, My People
58. Hear the Herald Voice Resounding
59. The King of Glory
60. Wake, Awake, the Night is Dying
61. Creator of the Stars at Night
62. You Heavens, Open From Above
63. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
64. The Coming of Our God
65. Behold a Virgin Bearing Him
66. Song of Salvation Drawing Near
67. Behold a Rose of Judah

DIVINE OFFICE (1974)
1. Hear the Herald Voice Resounding
2. Creator of the Stars of Night
4. O Come, O Come Emmanuel

Fr. Robert Barron reflects on the season of Advent.

Come, Praise the Lord, the Almighty

Praise to the Son, the Redeemer Who Wrought Our Salvation!

Come, Praise the Lord the Almighty is written by the Scottish Jesuit, Fr. James Quinn (1919-2010). Based on Psalm 117, his paraphrase is set to the anonymous German hymn tune: Lobe den Herren, first published in the Stralsund Gesangbuch of 1665. In the Divine Office, Come, Praise the Lord the Almighty is sung during Evening Prayer.


Tune: Lobe Den Herren

The Day is Filled with Splendour

Awakening With the Day, We Turn to God Our Father

The Day is Filled with Splendour is a hymn written by the Benedictine Nuns of Stanbrook Abbey. It is sung during Morning Prayer in the Divine Office. It is set to the hymn tune: Paderborn, first published in the Katholische Kirchengesänge of 1616. An alternative melody (as featured in the following) is Christus Der Ist Mein Leben composed in 1609 by Melchior Vulpius.


Tune: Christus Der Ist Mein Leben (with introduction)

Christ is the World’s Redeemer / Christ­us Re­demp­tor Om­ni­um

Iona Abbey

Christ is the World's Redeemer is a translation of the 6th century Latin hymn, Christ­us Re­demp­tor Om­ni­um (see below) by St. Columba (521-597). Born in Ireland, as a young man he entered Clonard Abbey under St. Finnian (470–549) where he took Holy Orders. In 563, he along with twelve companions crossed over to the island of Iona, off the coast of Scotland. There he converted the northern Picts to Christianity and established the Iona Abbey, a monastery that became a focal point of spirituality and learning. Christ­us Re­demp­tor Om­ni­um is one of several hymns that he wrote. The English translation is by the Reverend, Duncan MacGregor (1854-1923) and is set to the traditional Irish folk tune: Moville.


Tune: Moville

CHRIST IS THE WORLD’S REDEEMER by Dun­can Mac­Greg­or (Public Domain)

1. Christ is the world’s Redeemer,
The lover of the pure,
The Fount of heavenly wisdom,
Our trust and hope secure;
The Armor of His soldiers,
The Lord of earth and sky;
Our Health while we are living,
Our Life when we shall die.

2. Christ hath our host surrounded
With clouds of martyrs bright,
Who wave their palms in triumph,
And fire us for the fight.
Christ the red cross ascended,
To save a world undone,
And, suffering for the sinful,
Our full redemption won.

3. All glory to the Father,
The unbegotten One;
All honor be to Jesus,
His sole begotten Son;
And to the Holy Spirit -
The perfect Trinity.
Let all the worlds give answer,
“Amen—so let it be.”


CHRISTUS REDEMPTOR OMNIUM by St. Columba

Refrain: Christus lorica militum.
              Christus creator omnium.

1. Christus, redemptor gentium,
Christus, amator virginum,
Christus, fons sapientium,
Christus, fides credentium;

2. Christus, salus viventium
Et vita morientium,
Coronavit exercitum
Nostrum cum turba martyrum. 

3. Christus crucem ascenderat,
Christus mundum salvaverat,
Christus et nos redemerat,
Christus pro nobis passus est;

4. Christus infernum penetrat,
Christus caelum ascenderat,
Christus cum Deo sederat,
Ubi nunquam defuerat.

5. Gloria haec altissimo
Deo Patri ingenito,
Honor ac summo Filio,
Unico, unigenito,

6. Spirituique optimo,
Sancto, perfecto, sedujo;
Amen, fiat perpetua
In sempiterna saecula.

Refrain: In te, Christe, credentium
              Miserearis omnium;
              Tu es Deus in saecula
              Saeculorum in gloria. 

Latin text is from the collection: Latin Hymns (p.26) by Matthew Germing S.J., Loyola University Press, 1920

Liturgical Guide: Christ the King

Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

The Solemnity of Christ the King was instituted in 1925 by Pope Pius XI as a response to the growing secularism and nationalism of the time. 1925 had been a Holy Year in which Pius XI asked the Church to pray for peace among all peoples. The Jubilee Year concluded with the promulgation of his encyclical, Quas Primas (On the Feast of Christ the King) in which he wrote: "Men must look for the peace of Christ in the Kingdom of Christ ...and that peace could not be more effectually restored nor fixed upon a firmer basis than through the restoration of the Empire of Our Lord." He concluded by reminding us that "if to Christ our Lord is given all power in heaven and on earth; if all men, purchased by his precious blood, are by a new right subjected to his dominion; if this power embraces all men, it must be clear that not one of our faculties is exempt from his empire. He must reign in our minds...our wills...our hearts...and our bodies".

LITURGY OF THE HOURS (1975)
101. Crown Him With Many Crowns
102. Hail, Redeemer, King Divine
141. To Jesus Christ, Our Sovereign King

DIVINE OFFICE (1974)
To Christ the Lord of Worlds We Sing

Reflection on the Solemnity of Christ the King by the Apostleship of Prayer.

Transcendent God in Whom We Live

New Life and Hope Spring Up Again

Transcendent God in Whom We Live is sung with Morning Prayer in the Divine Office. It set to the tune, Morning Hymn by composer, Fran­çois H. Bar­thé­lé­mon (1741-1808). Written at the request of an orphanage chaplain in London, it was published in 1785 in Hymns and Psalms used at the Asy­lum House of Ref­uge for Fe­male Or­phans. The French born Bar­thé­lé­mon spent most of his working life in England where he enjoyed a very active career as a music instructor, composer and violinist.

Tune: Morning Hymn

All Ye Who Seek / Quicumque Certum Quæritis

New Grace, New Hope Inspire

All Ye Who Seek is a translation the 18th century anonymous Latin hymn, Quicumque Certum Quæritis. It was translated into English by Fr. Edward Caswall (1814-1878) and included in his 1849 publication, Lyra Ca­thol­i­ca. It is set to the tune: St. Bernard, an arrangement by John Ri­chard­son (1816-1879) of a chorale from the Toch­ter Si­on of 1741. In the Divine Office, All Ye Who Seek is used on the Feast of the Sacred Heart.

Tune: St. Bernard (Ri­chard­son)

ALL YE WHO SEEK FOR SURE RELIEF by Ed­ward Cas­wall, 1849 (Public Domain)

1. All ye who seek for sure relief
In trouble and distress,
Whatever sorrows vex the mind,
Or guilt the soul oppress,

2. Jesus, who gave Himself for you
Upon the cross to die,
Opens to you His sacred heart;
O to that heart draw nigh.

3. Ye hear how kindly He invites;
Ye hear His words so blest;
“All ye that labor come to me,
And I will give you rest.”

4. What meeker than the Saviour’s Heart?
As on the Cross He lay,
It did His murderers forgive,
And for their pardon pray.

5. O Heart, Thou joy of Saints on high,
Thou hope of sinners here,
Attracted by those loving words
To Thee I life my prayer.

6. Wash thou my wounds in that dear Blood,
Which forth from Thee doth flow;
New grace, new hope inspire, a new
And better heart bestow.


QUICUMQUE CERTUM QUAERITIS, (Public Domain)

1. Quicumque certum quæritis
Rebus levamen asperis:
Seu culpa mordet anxia,
Seu pœna vos premit comes.

2. Jesu, qui, ut agnus innocens,
Sese immolandum tradidit,
Ad cor reclusum vulnere,
Ad mite cor accedite.

3. Auditis ut suavissimis
Invitet omnes vocibus:
Venite quos gravat labor
Premitque pondus criminum:

4. Quid Corde Jesu mitius?
Jesum cruci qui affixerant
Excusat, et Patrem rogat
Ne perdat ultor impios.

5. O Cor, voluptas Cœlitum,
Cor, fida spes mortalium,
En hisce tracti vocibus,
Ad te venimus supplices.

6. Tu nostra terge vulnera
Ex te fluente sanguine
Tu da novum cor omnibus
Qui te gementes invocant.

Hail Our Savior's Glorious Body / Pange Lingua

Hail Our Saviour's Glorious Body is a translation of the 13th century Latin hymn Pange Lingua by St. Thomas Aquinas (c.1225-1274). In 1264 Aquinas was commissioned by Pope Urban IV (c.1195-1264) to compose an Office for the institution of the Feast of Corpus Christi. Pange, Lingua was one of several hymns he wrote for the Office. In 1969, the Scottish Jesuit, Fr. James J. Quinn (1919-2010) translated the text into English as Hail Our Saviour's Glorious Body. It is set to a 1964 arrangement of Gregorian Mode III by the Canadian composer, Eugene Lapierre (1899-1970). In the Divine Office it is used on the Feast of Corpus Christi.



PANGE, LINGUA, GLORIOSI by Thomas Aquinas, 1264

1. Pange, lingua, gloriosi
Corporis mysterium,
Sanguinisque pretiosi,
quem in mundi pretium
fructus ventris generosi
Rex effudit Gentium.

2. Nobis datus, nobis natus
ex intacta Virgine,
et in mundo conversatus,
sparso verbi semine,
sui moras incolatus
miro clausit ordine.

3. In supremae nocte coenae
recumbens cum fratribus
observata lege plene
cibis in legalibus,
cibum turbae duodenae
se dat suis manibus.

4. Verbum caro, panem verum
verbo carnem efficit:
fitque sanguis Christi merum,
et si sensus deficit,
ad firmandum cor sincerum
sola fides sufficit.

5. Tantum ergo Sacramentum
veneremur cernui:
et antiquum documentum
novo cedat ritui:
praestet fides supplementum
sensuum defectui.

6. Genitori, Genitoque
laus et jubilatio,
salus, honor, virtus quoque
sit et benedictio:
Procedenti ab utroque
compar sit laudatio. Amen. Alleluja.

Bring All Ye Dear Bought Nations, Bring / Victimae Paschali Laudes

Bring Your Richest Praises to the King

Bring All Ye Dear Bought Nations Bring is a translation of the 11th century Latin Easter sequence: Victimae Paschali Laudes, attributed to Wipo of Burgundy (c.995-1048). A priest and writer, he was the Chaplain to the Holy Roman Emperor, Conrad II (c.990 –1039). Victimae Paschali Laudes is one of four remaining medieval sequences that continued to be used in the Catholic Church after 1570 as a result of liturgical reforms by Pius V (1504-1572). In 1670 it was translated into English by Sir Walter Kirkham Blount (d.1717) and published in his book, The Office of the Holy Week: According to the Missal and Roman Breviary. His translation, Bring All Ye Dear Bought Nations Bring is set to the tune: Lasst ins Erfreun, adapted by Pe­ter von Brach­el in 1623. In the Divine Office it is sung on Easter Sunday.

Tune: Lasst Uns Erfreuen

BRING, ALL YE DEAR BOUGHT NATIONS BRING by Walter Blount 1670 (Public Domain)

1. Bring, all ye dear-bought nations,
bring your richest praises to the king,
Alleluia, Alleluia,
That spotless Lamb, who more than due,
paid for his sheep, and those sheep you,
Alleluia.

2. The guiltless Son, who bought your peace,
and made his father’s anger cease,
Alleluia, Alleluia,
Then, life and death together fought,
each to a strange extreme were brought.
Alleluia.

3. Life died, but soon revived again,
and even death by it was slain.
Alleluia, Alleluia,
Say, happy Magdalen, oh say,
what didst thou see there by the way?
Alleluia.

4. ‘I saw the tomb of my dear lord,
I saw himself and him adored,
Alleluia, Alleluia,
I saw the napkin and the sheet,
that bound his head and wrapped his feet.’
Alleluia.

5. ‘I heard the angels witness bear,
Jesus is ris’n; he is not here;
Alleluia, Alleluia,
Go, tell his followers they shall see,
thine and their hope in Galilee.’
Alleluia.

6. We, Lord, with faithful hearts and voice,
on this thy rising day rejoice.
Alleluia, Alleluia,
O thou, who power o’came the grave,
by grace and love us sinners save.
Alleluia.
 
Gregorian Chant

VICTIMAE PASCHALI LAUDES

Victimae paschali laudes
immolent Christiani.

Agnus redemit oves:
Christus innocens Patri
reconciliavit peccatores.

Mors et vita duello
conflixere mirando:
dux vitae mortuus,
regnat vivus.

Dic nobis Maria,
quid vidisti in via?

Sepulcrum Christi viventis,
et gloriam vidi resurgentis:

Angelicos testes,
sudarium, et vestes.

Surrexit Christus spes mea:
praecedet suos in Galilaeam.

Scimus Christum surrexisse
a mortuis vere:
tu nobis, victor Rex, miserere.
Amen. Alleluia.