Sower and Seed of Man's Reprieving

Fresco by Giotto di Bondone - Courtesy of Wikipedia

Sower and Seed of Man's Reprieving is by Monsignor Ronald A. Knox (1888 - 1957). In the Divine Office (1974) it is sung at Morning Prayer on the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord. The Office recommends the hymn tune: Les Commandements de Dieu by Louis Bourgeois (c.1510–1560) as it's musical setting. An alternative tune that can all be used is St. Clement, as featured in the following video.


Alternative Tune: St. Clement

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.

Merciful Saviour, Hear Our Humble Prayer

Give Their Spirits Light and Endless Rest

Merciful Saviour, Hear Our Humble Prayer was written by the Sulpician Priest and author, Fr. Melvin L. Farrell. It is sung to the tune, Old 124th by the French Renaissance composer Louis Bourgeois (c.1510–1560). It is just one of several settings of the Psalms he wrote for John Calvin's Genevan Psalter of 1551. The words to Merciful Saviour, Hear Our Humble Prayer can be found in this example of the Liturgy for the Anglican Vespers for the Dead.


Tune: Old 124th

All Hail, Adorèd Trinity / Ave Colenda Trinitas

All Praise Eternal Unity

All Hail, Adored Trinity is a 1852 translation by John David Chambers (1803-1893) of the anonymous Anglo-Saxon Latin hymn, Ave, Colenda Trinitas (see 2nd video). Historic manuscripts show that Ave Co­len­da Trin­i­tas was in use in England prior to the Norman Invasion of 1066. It may have been an Office Hymn of the Sarum Rite used at Salisbury Cathedral. All Hail, Adored Trinity is set to the tune, Old Hundredth (Doxology) by Louis Bourgeois (c. 1510-1561) from the Genevan Psalter of 1551. In the Liturgy of the Hours it is used on Trinity Sunday and for Mid-Afternoon Prayer during Ordinary Time.



ALL HAIL, ADORÈD TRINITY by John Chandler, 1857 (Public Domain)

All hail, adorèd Trinity;
All hail, eternal Unity;
O God the Father, God the Son,
And God the Spirit, ever One.

Behold to Thee, this festal day,
We meekly pour our thankful lay;
O let our work accepted be,
That sweetest work of praising Thee.

Three Persons praise we evermore,
One only God our hearts adore;
In Thy sure mercy ever kind
May we our true protection find.

O Trinity! O Unity!
Be present as we worship Thee;
And with the songs that angels sing
Unite the hymns of praise we bring.



AVE COLENDA TRINITAS, Anonymous (Public Domain)

Ave, colenda Trinitas;
ave, perennis unitas,
Pater Deus, Nate Deus,
et Deus alme Spiritus.

Haec tibi nunc gratuita
depromimus praeconia,
quae tibi sint gratissima
et nobis saluberrima.

Te trinum semper laudamus
atque unum adoramus:
tuae dulcis clementiae
sentiamus munimina.

O Trinitas, O Unitas,
adesto supplicantibus
et angelorum laudibus
admitte quod persolvimus.

Father, We Thank Thee

Watch Over Thy Church, O Lord, in Mercy.

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.

Lord Jesus Christ, Abide With Us / Iesu, Decus Angelicum

Let hope not be obscured by night.

Lord Jesus Christ, Abide With Us is a 1967 paraphrased translation by Jerome Leaman of Mane Nobiscum Domine (see note below), which recalls the appearance of Our Lord to the two disciples on the Road to Emmaus from Luke 24:29: "But they constrained him; saying: Stay with us, because it is towards evening, and the day is now far spent. And he went in with them." It is set to the popular tune, Old 100th (Doxology) attributed to Louis Bourgeois (1510-1561) from the Genevan Psalter (1551). In the Liturgy of the Hours Lord Jesus Christ, Abide With Us is used during Ordinary Time for Evening Prayer.


Tune: Old 100th


MANE NOBISCUM, DOMINE (Public Domain)

Mane nobiscum, Domine,
et nos illustra lumine;
Pulsa mentis caligine,
Mundum reple dulcedine.


IESU, DECUS ANGELICUM (Public Domain)

1. Iesu, decus angelicum,
in aure dulce canticum,
in ore mel mirificum,
in corde nectar caelicum.

2. Qui te gustant, esuriunt,
qui bibunt, adhuc sitiunt;
desiderare nesciunt,
nisi Iesum, quem diligunt.

3. O Iesu mi dulcissime,
spes suspirantis animae!
Te quaerunt piae lacrimae,
Te clamor mentis intimae. 

4. Mane nobiscum, Domine,
et nos illustra lumine;
Pulsa mentis caligine,
Mundum reple dulcedine.

5. Iesu, flos Matris Virginis,
amor nostrae dulcedinis,
Tibi laus, honor nominis,
regnum beatitudinis. Amen.

When Morning Fills the Sky

Our Hearts Awaking Cry.

When Morning Fills the Sky, also known as When Morning Gilds the Skies is an 1854 translation by Edward Caswall of an anonymous German hymn first published in the Catholisches Gesangbuch of 1828. A friend of Cardinal Newman, in 1847 Caswall resigned as a Priest of the Anglican Church and was welcomed into the Catholic Church. The music is by Louis Bourgeois, 16th century French composer best known for his work in the Calvinist, Genevan Psalter (1551) from which comes the tune O Seigneur (1st video). It is more commonly sung to the tune, Laudes Domini (2nd video). In the Liturgy of the Hours, When Morning Fills the Sky is used during Ordinary Time for Morning Prayer.





When Morning Gilds the Skies (Edward Caswall, 1854, Public Domain)

1. When morning gilds the skies my heart awaking cries:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
Alike at work and prayer, to Jesus I repair:
May Jesus Christ be praised!

2. When you begin the day, O never fail to say,
May Jesus Christ be praised!
And at your work rejoice, to sing with heart and voice,
May Jesus Christ be praised!

3. Whene’er the sweet church bell peals over hill and dell,
May Jesus Christ be praised!
O hark to what it sings, as joyously it rings,
May Jesus Christ be praised!

4. My tongue shall never tire of chanting with the choir,
May Jesus Christ be praised!
This song of sacred joy, it never seems to cloy,
May Jesus Christ be praised!

5. Does sadness fill my mind? A solace here I find,
May Jesus Christ be praised!
Or fades my earthly bliss? My comfort still is this,
May Jesus Christ be praised!

6. To God, the Word, on high, the host of angels cry,
May Jesus Christ be praised!
Let mortals, too, upraise their voice in hymns of praise,
May Jesus Christ be praised!

7. Be this at meals your grace, in every time and place;
May Jesus Christ be praised!
Be this, when day is past, of all your thoughts the last
May Jesus Christ be praised!

8. When mirth for music longs, this is my song of songs:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
When evening shadows fall, this rings my curfew call,
May Jesus Christ be praised!

9. When sleep her balm denies, my silent spirit sighs,
May Jesus Christ be praised!
When evil thoughts molest, with this I shield my breast,
May Jesus Christ be praised!

10. The night becomes as day when from the heart we say:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
The powers of darkness fear when this sweet chant they hear:
May Jesus Christ be praised!

11. No lovelier antiphon in all high Heav’n is known
Than, Jesus Christ be praised!
There to the eternal Word the eternal psalm is heard:
May Jesus Christ be praised!

12. Let all the earth around ring joyous with the sound:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
In Heaven’s eternal bliss the loveliest strain is this:
May Jesus Christ be praised!

13. Sing, suns and stars of space, sing, ye that see His face,
Sing, Jesus Christ be praised!
God’s whole creation o’er, for aye and evermore,
Shall Jesus Christ be praised!

14. In Heav’n’s eternal bliss the loveliest strain is this,
May Jesus Christ be praised!
Let earth, and sea and sky from depth to height reply,
May Jesus Christ be praised!

15. Be this, while life is mine, my canticle divine:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
Sing this eternal song through all the ages long:
May Jesus Christ be praised!