"Adoro te devote" is a prayer written by Thomas Aquinas. Unlike hymns which were composed and set to music for the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, instituted in 1264 by Pope Urban IV for the entire Latin Church of the Catholic Church, it was not written for a liturgical function and appears in no liturgical texts of the period; some scholars believe that it was written by the friar for private use at Mass. The text has since been incorporated into public worship as a hymn.
The authorship of the hymn by Thomas Aquinas was previously doubted by some scholars. More recent scholarship has put such doubts to rest. Thomas seems to have used it also as a private prayer, in daily adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
Adoro te devote is one of the medieval poetic compositions, being used as spoken prayers and also as chanted hymns, which were preserved in the Roman Missal published in 1570 following the Council of Trent (1545–1563).
The hymn is still sung today, though its use is optional in the post-Vatican II ordinary form.
Text and literal translation
| Latin text | Literal English translation |
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There are two variant readings of the Latin text, with slightly different nuances to some of the words: "most of the variations occur in the first two verses. The substitution of the words "posset omni scélere" in place of "quit ab omni scélere" in the second-to-last verse and "cupio" for "sitio" in the closing one are practically the only other changes". This does not affect the overall meaning of the lines or stanzas so that "either variant may be legitimately used according to local custom."
Poetic English translations
There have been at least 16 significant English translations of Adoro te devote, reflecting its popularity as a prayer and hymn, including versions by Edward Bouverie Pusey, Edward Caswall, and Gerard Manley Hopkins. There are also several popular hymns such as "Humbly We Adore Thee," which employ the 13th century Benedictine plainsong melody, but use modern texts not related to the Latin text.
Liturgical use
This hymn was added to the Roman Missal in 1570 by Pope Pius V, and also it has more quotations in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (n. 1381). This Eucharistic hymn was generally chanted with a genuflection in front of the Blessed Sacrament.
The hymn is typically used as an Eucharistic hymn and is sung either during the distribution of communion at Mass, or during the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.
There are modern musical settings and arrangements by Alexandre Guilmant (Offertoire sur Adoro te devote for organ, 1908), Cecilia McDowall (2016), Carlo Pedini (2021) and Healey Willan (chorale prelude, 1954).
Final prayer
Until the first half of the nineteenth century, the (Eucharistic) chant Adoro te devote was often used to be followed by this second Thanksgiving prayer, referred to Jesus Christ God:
- Obsecro Te, sancte Domine Jesu
- Christe, ut passio tua sit mihi virtus
- qua muniar atque defendar,
- vulnera tua sit mihi cibus potusque
- quibus pascar, inebrier atque delecter;
- aspersio sanguinis tui sit mihi ablutio
- omnium delictorum meorum;
- resurrectio tua sit mihi gloria
- sempiterna. In his sit mihi refectio,
- exultatio sanitas et dulcedo
- cordis mei. Qui vivis et regnas in
- unitate Patri et Spiritus Sancti Deus
- per omnia saecula saeculorum.
- Amen.
On 13 December 1849, Pope Pius IX stated a period of 3 years of indulgence. Partial indulgence remains in force even after the suppression of the prayer from the 1969 missal.
See also
- Trinitarian indwelling
- Veni Creator Spiritus
- Lauda Sion
- Pange Lingua
- Sacris solemniis
- Verbum supernum prodiens
Notes
- Christopher Howse, 'Not a hymn but a personal poem,'. The Telegraph. 17 Jan 2015. retrieved 5 Nov 2015.
- The Feast of Corpus Christi by Barbara R. Walters, published by Penn State Press, 2007 ISBN 0-271-02924-2 page 12
- Murray, Paul (2013). Aquinas at Prayer: The Bible, Mysticism, and Poetry. London: Bloomsbury. pp. 240–241. ISBN 9781441107558.
- Torrell, Jean-Pierre (2005). Saint Thomas Aquinas: the person and his work. CUA Press. ISBN 9780813214238.
- ^ Murray, Paul (10 October 2013). Aquinas at Prayer: The Bible, Mysticism and Poetry. A&C Black. ISBN 9781441107558.
- ^ Schola Cantorum Mediolanensis. Video with music sheet with Latin text and trigram notation. youtube (in Latin). Mikan. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2018., at the points: 1:10, 2:00, 3:46 minutes
- ^ E. McNamara (23 May 2010). "The Adoro te Devote and more on blue vestments". zenit.org. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
- Catholic Encyclopedia 1917, Adoro te devote. retrieved 5 Nov 2015
- mjmselim (30 July 2017). "Hymns of St. Thomas Aquinas of Christ the Savior". REFLECTIONS. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
- Caswall, Edward (1873). Hymns and Poems, Original and Translated. Burns, Oates & Company.
adoro te devote.
- Hopkins, Gerard Manley (1990). The Poetical Works of Gerard Manley Hopkins. Oxford. pp. 111–12.
- "Adoro Te Devote", Hymnary
- Giuseppe Riva, Manuale di Filotea, Milan, 1901, pag. 206
- Manuale delle indulgenze (Indulgences' Handbook) n. 4. Cited in Prayers & liturgical songs. New edition 2020. Ares. 2021. p. 74. ISBN 978-88-9298-053-2.
References
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Adoro Te Devote". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
External links
- Latin Wikisource has original text related to this article: Adoro te devote
- "Humbly We Adore Thee
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