Posted on 12/18/2015 7:26:29 AM PST by Salvation
For my money, the best Advent hymn ever is Veni Redemptor Gentium (Come Redeemer of the Nations), written by St. Ambrose in the 4th century. It is known more widely by the title "Come Thou Redeemer of the Earth." Sadly, it is not widely sung in Catholic parishes. Most Catholics I've asked have never even heard of it.
One of the beautiful things about the ancient Latin hymns is how richly theological they are. Not content to merely describe an event, they give sweeping theological vision and delve into its more hidden mysteries.
So here we are in Advent, and Jesus is coming. Get ready! Well, yes, but He's not just coming; He's redeeming, dying, rising, ascending, and reigning at the Father's right hand! But how can you get all that into an Advent hymn? Well, just below you can read the text and see.
Full vision – For now, ponder the theological point that hymns like this make: no act of God can be reduced merely to the act in itself. Everything God does is part of a sweeping master plan to restore all things in Christ, to take back what the devil stole from us! Too often we see the events of our redemption in a disconnected sort of way. But it is all really one thing and the best theology connects the dots. It is not wrong for us to focus on one thing or another, but we must not forget that it is all one thing in the end.
Without this reminder, we can develop a kind of myopia that overemphasizes one aspect of redemption at the expense of others. In the 1970s and 1980s it was "all resurrection all the time," but no passion or death.
Christmas, too, has its hazards. We get rather sentimental about the "baby Jesus" but miss other important aspects of his incarnation. The passion and death are present in His birth in homeless poverty, the swaddling clothes, the flight into Egypt, and so forth. The Eucharist is evident in His birth at Bethlehem (House of Bread) and His being laid in a manger (a feed box for animals). His glory as God and His ultimate triumph are manifested in the star overhead and the angels' declaration of glory! You see, it is all tied together, and the best theology connects the dots.
So with that in mind I present this wonderful Advent hymn, so seldom sung in our Catholic parishes. It can be sung to any Long Meter (LM) tune but is usually sung to its own melody ("Puer Natus"). I provide below only the English translation, but both the Latin and the English are available in this document: Veni Redemptor Gentium. I think the poetic translation reprinted below is a minor masterpiece of English literature and hope you'll agree. Enjoy this sweeping theological vision of the mystery of Advent caught up into the grand and fuller vision of redemption.
Among the theological truths treated in this brief hymn are these: His title as Redeemer, His birth to a virgin, His inclusion of the Gentiles, His sinlessness, His two natures in one person, His incarnation at conception, His passion, His death, His descent into Hell, His ascension, His seat at the Fathers right hand, His divinity and equality with the Father, His healing and sanctification of our humanity so wounded by sin, His granting us freedom and eternal life, His renewing of our minds through the light of faith, and His opening of Heaven to us.
Not bad for seven verses! St. Ambrose, pray for us!
Come, thou Redeemer of the earth,
Come manifest thy virgin birth:
All lands admire, all times applaud:
Such is the birth that fits our God.
Forth from his chamber goeth he,
That royal home of purity,
A giant in twofold substance one,
Rejoicing now his course to run.
The Virgin's womb that glory gained,
Its virgin honor is still unstained.
The banners there of virtue glow;
God in his temple dwells below.
From God the Father he proceeds,
To God the Father back he speeds;
Runs out his course to death and hell,
Returns on God's high throne to dwell.
O Equal to thy Father, thou!
Gird on thy fleshly mantle now;
The weakness of our mortal state
With deathless might invigorate.
Thy cradle here shall glitter bright,
And darkness breathe a newer light,
Where endless faith shall shine serene,
And twilight never intervene.
All laud, eternal Son, to thee
Whose advent sets thy people free,
Whom with the Father we adore,
And Holy Ghost, for evermore.
This video gives you an idea of what the tune for Veni Redemptor Gentium sounds like. The words in this version are slightly different from what is shown above, but the hymn tune is perfect. Just try not to dance as it is sung! You can find the melody for this hymn tune, "Puer Natus," in the index of most hymnals. The words to the hymn, however, can be sung to any Long Meter (LM) hymn tune.
Monsignor Pope Ping!
My choir sang it once maybe fifteen years ago. Very pretty and not difficult at all.
Beautiful...
Is there an “equivalent” in TLH or LSB?
Thanks
Here is a suggestion
Since the purge latin music books which once filled the parish choir loft along with the loft itself are no longer available and replaced with approved missalettes containing anything but .
To encourage the use of this and other liturgical hymns it would be helpfull if one could post the music along with the latin lyics. So those (including myself) could pass it on to their choir masters.
What is something you will never see at the Dove Awards?
The Latin is in the link provided by Monsignor Pope. I don’t know what the LM hymn melody means, but I’m sure your choir director dos understand that terminology.
The version I am familiar with is entitled “Come, Thou Savior of Our Race,” which is set to a tune composed in the nineteenth century by Henri Malan, a Swiss composer.
Your reply.
The Latin is in the link provided by Monsignor Pope. I don’t know what the LM hymn melody means, but I’m sure your choir director dos understand that terminology.
Never heard of or used the term; LM hymn melody. I belong to a rural parish which relys on volunteers to play organ or piano for mass and other services. They rely on the new missalette issued by the diocese for the liturgical readings and the hymns to be selected listed in it. Hymns are to be congregationally sung on Sundays or the few feastdays we used to call holy days of obligation. Some hymns beside the lyrics may also include the music.
Most of hymns in it considered traditional which are very few have had the lyrics modified I suspect for copyright reasons.It also contains dozens of popular Baptist,and other Protestant denomination melodys conforming to the ecumenic direction Novus Ordo has taken. That missalette they are using might have two or three of the very traditional Catholic latin rite hymns in it. But that is it.
“Savior of the Nations, Come” (Lutheran Service Book 332). We sing it at least once every Advent. I’ve got it slotted for this Sunday.
We Lutherans sing it every year in Advent.
Just curious but is “Shall We Gather At River?” sung in Lutheran churches? Ironically, this song written by a Baptist pastor was popularized in the 20th Century by Irish Catholic John Ford in many of his films.
Example:
O SAluTARis HOStiA
Qui CAEli PANdis OSTiUM,
BelLA preMUNT hosTIliA;
Da ROBur, FER auxIliUM.
LM = “Long Meter”
Not in my Lutheran experience? Too much focus on “works” righteousness and synergism (but I repeat myself).
But, if bring the beer and fry-coating for the fish, you and I certainly can gather at the river!
:o)
Merry Christmas, Brother Cletus!
Well, I think “Shall We Gather At The River?” has to qualify as the most “American” of all hymns. Definitely originated here and not the British Isles or elsewhere in Europe.
Thank you for explaining to me.
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