Veni Creator Spiritus
A blessed, joyous and grace-filled solemnity of Pentecost to all our readers, the feast of the descent of the Holy Spirit, the public manifestation of the Church, the offer of salvation to all people, the ‘Gentiles’, and the confirmation of the Apostles in their mission. Celebrated fifty days after Easter, Pentecost inaugurated the age of the Spirit, after Christ’s earthly mission was at an end. It is to our benefit that He go away, so that we may live no longer a sensual life, but one founded on the spirit and soul.
We sing the Veni Creator Spiritus in this season, a hymn set to Gregorian chant written by the ninth-century ascetic and Frankish Benedictine monk, Rabanus Maurus, which celebrates the seven-fold gifts of the Third Person of the Trinity, in words and melody that are hauntingly beautiful.
Peruse the words of the hymn, pray over them, and invoke the help and grace of the Holy Spirit for yourself, your loved ones, the world.
As the psalm and prayer have it:
Come, O Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful, enkindle in them the fire of They love. And they shalt renew the face of the earth.
| Latin text | English version |
| Veni Creator Spiritus,
mentes tuorum visita, imple superna gratia, quae tu creasti, pectora. |
Come, Holy Ghost, Creator, come
from thy bright heav’nly throne; come, take possession of our souls, and make them all thine own. |
|
Qui diceris Paraclitus, donum Dei altissimi, fons vivus, ignis, caritas, et spiritalis unctio. |
Thou who art called the Paraclete,
best gift of God above, the living spring, the living fire, sweet unction and true love. |
|
Tu septiformis munere, dextrae Dei tu digitus tu rite promissum Patris, sermone ditans guttura. |
Thou who art sevenfold in thy grace,
finger of God’s right hand; his promise, teaching little ones to speak and understand. |
|
Accende lumen sensibus, infunde amorem cordibus, infirma nostri corporis virtute firmans perpeti. |
O guide our minds with thy blest light,
with love our hearts inflame; and with thy strength, which ne’er decays, confirm our mortal frame. |
|
Hostem repellas longius pacemque dones protinus; ductore sic te praevio vitemus omne noxium. |
Far from us drive our deadly foe;
true peace unto us bring; and through all perils lead us safe beneath thy sacred wing. |
|
Per te sciamus da Patrem noscamus atque Filium, te utriusque Spiritum credamus omni tempore. |
Through thee may we the Father know,
through thee th’eternal Son, and thee the Spirit of them both, thrice-blessed three in One. |
| Deo Patri sit gloria,
et Filio qui a mortuis Surrexit, ac Paraclito, in saeculorum saecula. |
All glory to the Father be,
With his coequal Son; The same to thee, great Paraclete, While endless ages run. |
| Amen. | Amen. |
Here is the simple chant version:
And Palestrina’s sublime polyphonic rendition, from his 1589 collection:
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