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Happy Feast of Pentecost to all our readers! Pentecost is a favorite feast of mine, and particularly poignant to me since I entered the Church on its vigil in the year 2005. I am working on a post in honor of this great day, but you’re going to have to wait until my Thursday column to read it. However, I didn’t want to let the glorious day go entirely unnoticed on the blog, so I’m posting the words to the classic Pentecost hymn. (We sadly didn’t get to sing it today in Mass, though we did have a very nice Mass here in other respects.) Happy feast!
Come Holy Ghost, Creator Blest,
And in our hearts take up Thy rest;
Come with Thy grace and heav’nly aid
To fill the hearts which Thou hast made,
To fill the hearts which Thou hast made.
O Comfort Blest to Thee we cry,
Thou heav’nly Gift of God most high;
Thou fount of life and fire of love,
And sweet anointing from above,
And sweet anointing from above.
Praise be to Thee Father and Son,
And Holy Spirit Three in one;
And may the Son on us bestow
The gifts that from the Spirit flow,
The gifts that from the Spirit flow.
St. Louis-Marie de Montfort,
Pope St. Pius X,
St. Joseph,
St. Ambrose of Milan,
St. Thomas Aquinas,
St. Francis (and St. Clare),
St. Catherine of Siena,
St. Alphonsus Ligouri,
St. John Chrysostom,
Happy Pentecost!
I’m happy to relate that the Gregorian Chant schola here in Singapore sang “Veni Creator Spiritus” at last night’s Vespers and Compline (in Latin from start to finish, I might add), thus securing for all of us the plenary indulgence under the usual conditions.
Thanks for the lyrics, Clara; I intended to look them up on the internet after hearing the hymn at Mass yesterday. Also, congratulations on the anniversary of your conversion. The birthday of the Church and the birthday of your entrance into the Church line up then.
EM, I was not aware of this indulgence. When I hear about the Parthians, Medes, Cretans, etc., in Jerusalem for Pentecost, I’ll have to think of Singaporeans too.
Yep, I entered the Church on the same day when the doors were flung open to all the Gentiles. We didn’t specifically plan it that way (the date was picked mainly for the convenience of the priest/my godfather) but I thought it appropriate.
The words to Veni Creator Spiritus may be found here:
http://www.preces-latinae.org/thesaurus/Hymni/VeniCreator.html
“Veni, Creator Spiritus is attributed to Rabanus Maurus (776-856). It is used at Vespers, Pentecost, Dedication of a Church, Confirmation, and Holy Orders and whenever the Holy Spirit is solemnly invoked. A partial indulgence is granted to the faithful who recite it. A plenary indulgence is granted if it is recited on January 1st or on the feast of Pentecost.”
“We sadly didn’t get to sing it today in Mass, though we did have a very nice Mass here in other respects.”
Actually, Clara — BTW, it was good to see you back in town with the good Doctor — I’m sure the choir would have been happy for you to sing Veni Creator Spiritus along with them at the offertory Sunday. Of course, they sang it in the language of the Church, rather than the vulgar vernacular, in which I recited all 7 verses upon entering the pew, as I do before each Mass (since a priest some years ago challenged me to come up with a concrete way of fostering personal devotion to the Holy Ghost).
Thank you, Henry Edwards! It was good to see you as well, and I hope the choir will accept me into their ranks as a regular once the Doctor and I have settled in (that was just a brief stop to leave my stuff, before heading out to my parents’ place for our wedding.) But I confess that, as lovely as it is to have the Veni Creator Spiritus in Latin, I like to sing it in English as well. I favor singing hymns in both languages: Latin has its own special beauty, but it can also be enjoyable to sing in a language that you more easily understand.