When Jesus Comes to be Baptized

Mural in St. John the Baptism Church, Qasr al-Yahud - Courtesy Wikipedia

When Jesus Comes to be Baptized is written by the Benedictine Nuns of Stanbrook Abbey. In the Divine Office (1974) it is sung on the Sunday after January 6th, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. It is set to the tune: Winchester New by Bartholomäus Crasselius (1667-1724), first published in the Mu­si­kal­isch­es Hand­buch of 1690.


Tune: Winchester New

Liturgical Guide: Baptism of the Lord

The Baptism of the Lord is the manifestation (or 'Epiphany') of Jesus as Messiah of Israel and Son of God. Beginning at paragraph #536, the Catechism of the Catholic Church explains it this way: "The baptism of Jesus is on his part the acceptance and inauguration of his mission as God's suffering Servant... Already he is coming to 'fulfill all righteousness', that is, he is submitting himself entirely to his Father's will: out of love he consents to this baptism of death for the remission of our sins.... The Spirit whom Jesus possessed in fullness from his conception comes to 'rest on him'... At his baptism 'the heavens were opened' - the heavens that Adam's sin had closed - and the waters were sanctified by the descent of Jesus and the Spirit, a prelude to the new creation."

LITURGY OF THE HOURS (1975)
82. Sing Praise to Our Creator
83. When Jesus Comes to Be Baptized
84. Songs of Thankfulness and Praise

DIVINE OFFICE (1974)
When Jesus Comes to be Baptized

ROMAN BREVIARY
A Patre Unigenite
Implente Munus Debitum
Jesus Refulsit Omnium (Iesu Refulsit Omnium)


Commentary by Fr. James Kubicki of the Apostleship of Prayer

Jesus Refulsit Omnium (Iesu Refulsit Omnium)

Pius Redemptor Gentium

Jesus Refulsit Omnium, also known as Iesu Refulsit Omnium, is sung at Lauds on Epiphany in the Roman Breviary. It is one of the earliest hymns of the Western Church. It was composed by one of the great refuters of Arianism: St. Hilary (c.300-c.367), Bishop of Poitiers. He is a Doctor of the Church and is regarded as the earliest writer of Latin hymns. Inspired by St. Hilary, St. Ambrose of Milan (c.340-397) composed several hymns in his own efforts to counter the heresy.

JESUS REFLSIT OMNIUM

1. Jesus refulsit omnium
Pius redemptor gentium
Totum genus fidelium
Laudes celebret dramatum

2. Quem stella natum fulgida
Monstrat micans per author
Magosque duxit praevia
Ipsius ad cunabula

3. Illi cadentes parvulum
Pannis adorant obsitum
Verum fatentur ut Deum
Munus ferendo mysticum.

Implente Munus Debitum

Ioanne, Rerum Conditor

Implente Munus Debitum is sung at 2nd Vespers (Evening Prayer) and with the Officium Lectionis (Office of Readings) in the Roman Breviary on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord.

Cathedral-Basilica of the Nativity of Saint Mary, Milan (Ambrosian Rite)

IMPLENTE MANUS DEBITUM

1. Implente munus debitum
Ioanne, rerum conditor
Iordane mersus hac die
aquas lavando diluit,

2. Non ipse mundari volens
de ventre natus Virginis,
peccata sed mortalium
suo lavacro tollere.

3. Dicente Patre quod "meus
dilectus hic est Filius",
sumente Sancto Spiritu
formam columbæ cælitus,

4. Hoc mystico sub nomine
micat salus Ecclesiæ;
Persona trina commanet
unus Deus per omnia.

5. O Christe, vita, veritas,
tibi sit omnis gloria,
quem Patris atque Spiritus
splendor revelat cælitus.

A Patre Unigenite

Ad Nos Venit Per Virginem

A Patre Unigenite is sung at 1st Vespers in the Roman Breviary on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. This anonymous Latin hymn is believed to have been composed some time be­tween the 10th and 13th Cen­tu­ries.


Performed by: Schola Gregoriana Monostorinensis

A PATRE UNIGENITE

1. A Patre Unigenite,
ad nos venis per Virginem,
baptismi rore consecrans
cunctos, fide regenerans. 

2. De cælo celsus prodiens
excipis formam hominis,
facturam morte redimens,
gaudia vitæ largiens. 

3. Hoc te, Redemptor, quæsumus:
illabere propitius,
clarumque nostris cordibus
lumen præbe deificum.

4. Mane nobiscum, Domine,
noctem obscuram remove,
omne delictum ablue,
pie medelam tribue.

5. O Christe, vita, veritas,
tibi sit omnis gloria,
quem Patris atque Spiritus
splendor revelat cælitus.

Songs of Thankfulness and Praise

God in Man Made Manifest

Songs of Thankfulness and Praise, first published in 1862 was written by Christopher Wordsworth (1807-1855). Nephew of poet William Wordsworth, he was a Priest of the Church of England. He was a prolific author and hymn writer. His hymns often reflect the kind of mysticism and use of scripture present in the writings of the Early Fathers of the Eastern Church that he studied. Songs of Thankfulness and Praise is sung to the 1678 tune, Salzburg by Jakob Hintze (1622-1702). In the Liturgy of the Hours it is used on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord.



SONGS OF THANKFULNESS AND PRAISE by Christopher Wordsworth, 1862 (Public Domain) 

1. Songs of thankfulness and praise
Jesu, Lord, to Thee we raise.
Manifested by the star
To the sages from afar;
Branch of royal David's stem
In Thy birth at Bethlehem;
Anthems be to Thee addressed,
God in Man made manifest.

 2. Manifest at Jordan's stream,
Prophet, Priest, and King supreme;
And at Cana, wedding-guest,
In Thy God-head manifest;
Manifest in power divine,
Changing water in to wine;
Anthems be to Thee addressed,
God in Man made manifest.

 3. Manifest in making whole
Palsied limbs and fainting soul;
Manifest in valiant fight,
Quelling all the devil's might;
Manifest in gracious will,
Ever bringing good from ill;
Anthems be to Thee addressed,
God in Man made manifest.

 4. Sun and moon shall darkened be.
Stars shall fall, and heavens shall flee;
Christ will then like lightning shine,
All will see His glorious sign:
All will then the trumpet hear;
All will see the Judge appear;
Thou by all wilt be confessed,
God in Man made manifest.

 5. Grant us grace to see Thee, Lord,
Present in Thy holy Word;
May we imitate Thee now,
And be pure, as pure art Thou;
That we like to Thee may be
At Thy great Epiphany;
And may praise Thee, ever blest,
God in Man made manifest.

When Jesus Comes to Be Baptized

The Spirit of the Lord Comes Down

When Jesus Comes to Be Baptized, first published in 1971, it was written by the Benedictine Nuns of Stanbrook Abbey, England. The convent is supported spiritually in prayer by some 100 Oblates and over 800 Friends. Oblates (25,000 world-wide) are similar to Third-Order Franciscans or Dominicans. Friends of UK Benedictine Orders have included such luminaries as Dame Laurentia McLachlan, George Bernard Shaw and Sydney Cockerell. When Jesus Came to Be Baptized is sung to the tune, St. Venantius from the Clausener Gesangbuch (1653). The following video features an unknown alternative melody. In the Liturgy of the Hours it is used on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord.

Sing Praise to Our Creator

Praise the Holy Trinity, Undivided Unity

Sing Praise to Our Creator (1961) was written by Omer Westendorf (1916-1997). He was one of the early writers of English language hymns for the Roman Catholic Church. In 1950 he founded what would eventually known as World Library Publications. In 1955, WLP published it's first hymnal which included many new works for the liturgy and introduced to the Church the first of a number of new composers whose works anticipated the reforms of Vatican II. Sing Praise to Our Creator is set to the tune: Gott Vater! Sei Gepriesen, first published in 1833 as part of the Mainz Gesangbuch. In the Liturgy of the Hours it is used on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord and for Mid-Afternoon Prayer during Ordinary Time.