Sacris Solemniis is a hymn written by St Thomas Aquinas

Thomas Aquinas

Thomas Aquinas, O.P. , also Thomas of Aquin or Aquino, was an Italian Dominican priest of the Catholic Church, and an immensely influential philosopher and theologian in the tradition of scholasticism, known as Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Communis, or Doctor Universalis...

 (1225–1274) for the Feast of Corpus Christi

Corpus Christi (feast)

Corpus Christi is a Latin Rite solemnity, now designated the solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ . It is also celebrated in some Anglican, Lutheran and Old Catholic Churches. Like Trinity Sunday and the Solemnity of Christ the King, it does not commemorate a particular event in...

 (now called the Solemnity of the Holy Body and Blood of Christ). The strophe of Sacris solemniis that begins with the words "Panis angelicus" (bread of angels) has often been set to music separately from the rest of the hymn. Most famously, in 1872 César Franck

César Franck

César-Auguste-Jean-Guillaume-Hubert Franck was a composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher who worked in Paris during his adult life....

 set this strophe for voice (tenor

Tenor

The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...

), harp

Harp

The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...

, cello

Cello

The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...

, and organ

Organ (music)

The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...

, and incorporated it into his Messe à trois voix Opus 12. The hymn expresses the doctrine of transubstantiation

Transubstantiation

In Roman Catholic theology, transubstantiation means the change, in the Eucharist, of the substance of wheat bread and grape wine into the substance of the Body and Blood, respectively, of Jesus, while all that is accessible to the senses remains as before.The Eastern Orthodox...

, in which, according to the Roman Catholic faith, the bread and wine are changed into the Body and Blood of Christ

Jesus

Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...

.

The phenomenon whereby the strophe of Sacris solemniis that begins with the words "Panis angelicus

Panis Angelicus

Panis angelicus is the penultimate strophe of the hymn Sacris solemniis written by Saint Thomas Aquinas for the Feast of Corpus Christi as part of a complete liturgy of the Feast including prayers for the Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours....

" is often treated as a separate hymn has occurred also with other hymns that Thomas Aquinas wrote for Corpus Christi

Corpus Christi (feast)

Corpus Christi is a Latin Rite solemnity, now designated the solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ . It is also celebrated in some Anglican, Lutheran and Old Catholic Churches. Like Trinity Sunday and the Solemnity of Christ the King, it does not commemorate a particular event in...

: Verbum supernum prodiens

Verbum Supernum Prodiens

Verbum Supernum Prodiens is a Catholic hymn by St Thomas Aquinas. It was written for the Hour of Lauds in the Divine Office of Corpus Christi. It is about the institution of the Eucharist by Christ at the Last Supper, and His Passion and death...

(the last two strophes begin with "O salutaris Hostia

O Salutaris Hostia

O salutaris Hostia, "O Saving Host", is a section of one of the Eucharistic hymns written by St Thomas Aquinas for the Feast of Corpus Christi. He wrote it for the Hour of Lauds in the Divine Office. It is actually the last two stanzas of the hymn Verbum supernum prodiens, and is used for the...

") and Pange lingua gloriosi (the last two strophes begin with "Tantum ergo

Tantum Ergo

Tantum ergo are the opening words of the last two verses of Pange Lingua, a Mediaeval Latin hymn written by St Thomas Aquinas. These last two verses are sung during veneration and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament in the Roman Catholic Church and other churches that practice this devotion...

", in which case the word ergo ["therefore"] makes evident that this part is the continuation of a longer hymn).

Latin text and English version

The Latin text below is from the Liturgia Horarum. The English translation is a cento based upon a translation by John David Chambers (1805–1893).

Text of Sacris Solemniis

Latin text

An English translation

Sacris solemniis iuncta sint gaudia, et ex praecordiis sonent praeconia; recedant vetera, nova sint omnia, corda, voces, et opera. Noctis recolitur cena novissima, qua Christus creditur agnum et azyma dedisse fratribus, iuxta legitima priscis indulta patribus. Post agnum typicum, expletis epulis, Corpus Dominicum datum discipulis, sic totum omnibus, quod totum singulis, eius fatemur manibus. Dedit fragilibus corporis ferculum, dedit et tristibus sanguinis poculum, dicens: Accipite quod trado vasculum; omnes ex eo bibite. Sic sacrificium istud instituit, cuius officium committi voluit solis presbyteris, quibus sic congruit, ut sumant, et dent ceteris. Panis angelicus fit panis hominum; dat panis caelicus figuris terminum; O res mirabilis: manducat Dominum pauper, servus et humilis. Te, trina Deitas unaque, poscimus: sic nos tu visita, sicut te colimus; per tuas semitas duc nos quo tendimus, ad lucem quam inhabitas.

At this our solemn feast let holy joys abound, and from the inmost breast let songs of praise resound; let ancient rites depart, and all be new around, in every act, and voice, and heart. Remember we that eve, when, the Last Supper spread, Christ, as we all believe, the Lamb, with leavenless bread, among His brethren shared, and thus the Law obeyed, of all unto their sire declared. The typic Lamb consumed, the legal Feast complete, the Lord unto the Twelve His Body gave to eat; the whole to all, no less the whole to each did mete with His own hands, as we confess. He gave them, weak and frail, His Flesh, their Food to be; on them, downcast and sad, His Blood bestowed He: and thus to them He spake, "Receive this Cup from Me, and all of you of this partake." So He this Sacrifice to institute did will, and charged His priests alone that office to fulfill: to them He did confide: to whom it pertains still to take, and the rest divide. Thus Angels' Bread is made the Bread of man today: the Living Bread from heaven with figures dost away: O wondrous gift indeed! the poor and lowly may upon their Lord and Master feed. Thee, therefore, we implore, O Godhead, One in Three, so may Thou visit us as we now worship Thee; and lead us on Thy way, That we at last may see the light wherein Thou dwellest aye.

External links

• Sacris Solemniis in the Catholic Encyclopedia
  Catholic Encyclopedia
  The Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia and the Original Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language encyclopedia published in the United States. The first volume appeared in March 1907 and the last three volumes appeared in 1912, followed by a master index...
  
  discusses the merits of a number of different translations.
• Another translation and historical explanation of the text
• Full text of Sacris Solemniis, with an English translation
• Gregorian Chants