Adoro Te Devote: Meditations on the Great Eucharistic Hymns

Recently, the Church held its 50th Annual Eucharistic Congress in Dublin, Ireland.  The Dominican Friars were active in their support of the Congress, and in their preaching and teaching the people who made their pilgrimage to this great Congress.  As part of their activities, the Friars there prepared a series of meditations on four of the great Latin Eucharistic hymns of the Church, called the Adoro Te Devote Series, at the church of St. Saviour in Dublin. The hymn Adoro Te Devote (which translates as, Faithfully I Adore You) was written by St. Thomas Aquinas specifically as a Eucharistic hymn. The audio files for all four talks are at the bottom of this post.  A short description of each talk is below.

First Session:  Pange Lingua

In the first part of the Adoro Te Devote series, the Theologian to the Papal Household, Fr. Wojciech Giertych OP, a priest of the Polish Province, preached a homily on the text of one of the best-loved Eucharistic hymns: the Pange Lingua, composed by St. Thomas Aquinas specifically for the feast of Corpus Christi.

Second Session: Adoro Te Devote

In the second session, Fr. Paul Murray, OP, Professor of Spiritual Theology at the Angelicum University in Rome, preached on the text of the Adoro Te itself.  As a poet and theologian himself, Fr Paul shares with us some insights into poetical and theological aspects of St. Thomas.

Third Session: Lauda Sion

In this third in the series of talks, Fr Terence Crotty, OP, the Prior of San Clemente in Rome, speaks on the Lauda Sion.  The the Lauda Sion is not a hymn, but rather is the Sequence for the feast of Corpus Christi, and it was also written by our brother St Thomas Aquinas.

Final Session: Verbum Supernum Prodiens

In the final installment of the Adoro Te series from Ireland, Fr. John Harris, OP, the Regent of Studies of the Irish Province of Dominicans, spoke on the hymn Verbum Supernum Prodiens. This hymn–also by St. Thomas Aquinas–was originally written as the hymn for Lauds (the Office of Morning Prayer) on the feast of Corpus Christi.