Eucharistic Hymns By St. Thomas Aquinas
Who would not be awed by the masterpiece of the Angelic Doctor, St. Thomas Aquinas? In 1264, when Pope Urban IV instituted the Feast of the Corpus Christi, he commissioned St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Bonaventure to compose the Mass and Office for this great Feast.
The time came when the two saints were to present their manuscripts to the Holy Father. St. Thomas Aquinas presented his first. While reading his composition, the Holy Father and St. Bonaventure listened with tears, astounded by the beauty of Aquinas’ composition. St. Bonaventure then turned aside and tore his manuscript. He showed to the Holy Father his torn up manuscript, saying “Holy Father, listening to Fr. Thomas, it seemed as if I heard the Holy Spirit speak, for only the Holy Spirit can inspire such beautiful thoughts. It is out of place for me to compare my poor essay with such a perfect masterpiece; and this is all that remains of it!”
And so today, after 800 years, during the Solemnity of the Corpus Christi, as well as at other times wherein the Blessed Sacrament is exposed, the hymns composed by St. Thomas Aquinas continue to reverberate within every single church. The hymns he composed for this Great Feast are the following: Adoro te Devote, Lauda Sion Salvatorem (which is the Sequence for today’s Mass), Sacris Solemniis (including its sixth stanza, the Panis Angelicus), Pange Lingua Gloriosi (including its last two stanzas, the Tantum Ergo), and Verbum Supernum (including its last two stanzas, the O Salutaris).
ADORO TE DEVOTE
Today, this hymn is usually sung during communion and during the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. The hymn refers to the Blessed Sacrament as a hidden God, which cannot be apprehended by human senses, but only by faith in our Lord Who is the “Truth’ (John 14:6). St. Cyril said in a commentary on the institution narrative, “Do not doubt whether this is true, but rather receive the words of the Savior in faith, for since he is the truth, he cannot lie.”
The hymn also mentions that, we, unlike Thomas, never touched or saw the wounds of Christ, yet we believe in Him. Thus, Jesus said in John 20:29 “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Yet humans as we are, we may have doubts (like Thomas), and so we ask Him to make us believe much more in Him, hope in Him, and love Him.
PANGE LINGUA GLORIOSI
We may be familiar of this hymn because this hymn is sung during the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Maundy Thursday. The last two stanzas, the Tantum ergo, which is often treated as a separate hymn, is also sung at the end of the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament.
The hymn describes the Mystery of Transubstantiation, wherein bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ, which happens because of the words of Christ which the priest, acting in persona Christi, says during every Mass. Like other hymns, it gives emphasis on the importance of faith, and not just the senses, in understanding this Mystery.
VERBUM SUPERNUM
We might be less familiar with this hymn, however, its last two stanzas are very much familiar to us. The last two stanzas of this hymn is the O Salutaris Hostia, which is always sung at the beginning of Expositions of the Blessed Sacrament.
The hymn refers to Christ as the Word Who descended from heaven: the Word made flesh (John 1:1–14) which dwelt among us. On earth He offered His own flesh and blood. Christ offered Himself as a Victim to open the gates of heaven to all men. May we receive eternal life in our true native land!
SACRIS SOLEMNIIS
We are very much familiar with an excerpted stanza from this hymn, which we often treat as a separate hymn: the Panis Angelicus, which we often sing during communion.
According to the hymn, when Christ, during the Last Supper, offered His own flesh and blood for his disciples to eat, the Bread of the Angels was made the Bread of man.
The hymn also affirms that the Eucharist that we receive is the whole Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of our Lord, and nothing less.
LAUDA SION SALVATOREM
The Lauda Sion Salvatorem is the Sequence of the Solemnity of Corpus Christi. At Mass, the Sequence is sung after the Readings and before the Alleluia. Certain feasts of the Church have a Sequence. This includes the Octave of Easter (its Sequence is Victimae Paschali Laudes), Pentecost (Veni Sancte Spiritus), Corpus Christi (Lauda Sion Salvatorem), and the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows (Stabat Mater). As prescribed by GIRM 64, the singing of the Sequence is optional, except during Easter and Pentecost, wherein it is required.
The hymn Lauda Sion Salvatorem tells of the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper and emphasizes that, at the words of the Consecration at Mass, the bread and wine becomes the Body and Blood of Our Lord, in the same way that this happened during the Last Supper. The Eucharist brought an end to the “olden rite”.
The Church teaches what the hymn echoes in its verses: The consecrated bread and wine is Christ in either. Thus, by receiving the consecrated bread, we receive not a single part nor a broken part of Christ’s Body, but the entire Christ. “Whether one or thousands eat: All receive the self-same meat: Nor the less for others leave.”
HAVE A BLESSED (and of course, REVERENT) CORPUS CHRISTI CELEBRATION!
