"Adoro Te Devote" - Saint Thomas Aquinas

Another great hymn from the great St. Thomas Aquinas. This version of the hymn does not include the 3rd or 4th verses. The art is "The temptation of St. Thomas Aquinas" by Diego Velazquez; "Triumph of St. Thomas Aquinas over the heretics" by Filippino Lippi; "The Apotheosis of Thomas Aquinas" by Francisco de Zurbaran. The Latin lyrics and English translation: Adoro te devote, latens Deitas, Quæ sub his figuris vere latitas; Tibi se cor meum totum subjicit, Quia te contemplans totum deficit. Visus, tactus, gustus in te fallitur, Sed auditu solo tuto creditur. Credo quidquid dixit Dei Filius; Nil hoc verbo veritátis verius. O memoriale mortis Domini! Panis vivus, vitam præstans homini! Præsta meæ menti de te vívere, Et te illi semper dulce sapere. Pie Pelicane, Jesu Domine, Me immundum munda tuo sanguine: Cujus una stilla salvum facere Totum mundum quit ab omni scelere. Jesu, quem velatum nunc aspicio, Oro, fiat illud quod tam sitio: Ut te revelata cernens facie, Visu sim beátus tuæ gloriæ. Amen I devoutly adore you, O hidden God, Truly hidden beneath these appearances. My whole heart submits to you, And in contemplating you, It surrenders itself completely. Sight, touch, taste are all deceived In their judgment of you, But hearing suffices firmly to believe. I believe all that the Son of God has spoken; There is nothing truer than this word of truth. O memorial of our Lord's death! Living bread that gives life to man, Grant my soul to live on you, And always to savor your sweetness. Lord Jesus, Good Pelican, wash me clean with your blood, One drop of which can free the entire world of all its sins. Jesus, whom now I see hidden, I ask you to fulfill what I so desire: That on seeing you face to face, I may be happy in seeing your glory. Amen

Libera - "Adoro Te Devote"

From Thomas Aquinas' hymn 'Adoro Te Devote', arranged by Robert Prizeman.

Prostrate I adore Thee, Deity unseen,

Who Thy glory hidest 'neath these shadows mean;

Lo, to Thee surrendered, my whole heart is bowed,

Tranced as it beholds Thee, shrined within the cloud.

Taste, and touch, and vision, to discern Thee fail;

Faith, that comes by hearing, pierces through the veil.

I believe whate'er the Son of God hath told;

What the Truth hath spoken, that for truth I hold.

On the Cross lay hidden but thy Deity,

Here is hidden also Thy Humanity:

But in both believing and confessing, Lord,

Ask I what the dying thief of Thee implored.

Thy dread wounds, like Thomas, though I cannot see,

His be my confession, Lord and God, of Thee,

Make my faith unfeigned ever-more increase,

Give me hope unfading, love that cannot cease.

O memorial wondrous of the Lord's own death;

Living Bread, that giveth all Thy creatures breath,

Grant my spirit ever by Thy life may live,

To my taste Thy sweetness never-failing give.

Pelican of mercy, Jesu, Lord and God,

Cleanse me, wretched sinner, in Thy Precious Blood:

Blood where one drop for human-kind outpoured

Might from all transgression have the world restored.

Jesu, whom now veiled, I by faith descry,

What my soul doth thirst for, do not, Lord, deny,

That thy face unveiled, I at last may see,

With the blissful vision blest, my God, of Thee. Amen

'AdoroTe Devote' by Saint Thomas Aquinas

Devoutly I Adore Thee

O Godhead hid, devoutly I adore Thee,
Who truly art within the forms before me;
To Thee my heart I bow with bended knee,
As failing quite in contemplating Thee.

Sight, touch, and taste in Thee are each deceived;
The ear alone most safely is believed:
I believe all the Son of God has spoken,
Than Truth's own word there is no truer token.

God only on the Cross lay hid from view;
But here lies hid at once the Manhood too;
And I, in both professing my belief,
Make the same prayer as the repentant thief.

Thy wounds, as Thomas saw, I do not see;
Yet Thee confess my Lord and God to be:
Make me believe Thee ever more and more;
In Thee my hope, in Thee my love to store.

O thou Memorial of our Lord's own dying!
O Bread that living art and vivifying!
Make ever Thou my soul on Thee to live;
Ever a taste of Heavenly sweetness give.

O loving Pelican! O Jesu, Lord!
Unclean I am, but cleanse me in Thy Blood;
Of which a single drop, for sinners spilt,
Is ransom for a world's entire guilt.

Jesu! Whom for the present veil'd I see,
What I so thirst for, O vouchsafe to me:
That I may see Thy countenance unfolding,
And may be blest Thy glory in beholding. Amen.

Saint Thomas Aquinas, translated by E. Caswall