by Saint Thomas Aquinas, 13th Century
Adoro te devote, latens Deitas,
(I adore you devoutly, O hidden God),
Quae sub his figuris vere latitas:
(truly present under these veils:)
tibi se cor meum totum subjicit,
(my heart subjects itself to you,)
Quia te contemplans totum deficit.
(without reserve; for in contemplating you
it feels utterly powerless.)
Visus, tactus, gustus in te fallitur,
(Sight, touch, and taste are deceived concerning
you,)
Sed auditu solo tuto creditur.
(but hearing alone suffices to confirm my
faith.)
Credo quidquid dixit Dei Filius,
(I believe whatever the Son of God has said,)
Nil hoc verbo veritatis verius.
(nothing is more true than this word of him
who is the truth.)
In cruce latebat sola Deitas,
(On the cross your divinity alone was concealed,)
At hic latet simul et humanitas;
(but here your humanity also is hidden;)
Ambo tamen credens atque confitens,
(yet believing and confessing both,)
Peto quod petivit latro poenitens.
(I pray for what the penitent thief asked
of you.)
Plagas sicut Thomas non intueor;
(I do not see your wounds, as Thomas did;)
Deum tamen meum te confiteor.
(yet I acknowledge you as my God.)
Fac me tibi semper magis credere,
(Increase daily my faith,)
In te spem habere, te diligere.
(my hope and my love for you.)
O memoriale mortis Domini,
(O memorial of the Lord's death,)
Panis vivus vitam praestans homini,
(living bread that gives life to us,)
Praesta meae menti de te vivere,
(grant that my soul may live of you,)
Et te illi semper dulce sapere.
(and always taste the sweetness of your presence.)
Pie pellicane, Jesu Domine,
(O loving pelican, Jesus, my Lord,)
Me immundum munda tuo sanguine;
(wash away my sins in your blood;)
Cujus una stilla salvum facere
(one drop of it can save)
Totum mundum quit ab omni scelere.
(the whole world from all its crimes.)
Jesu quem velatum nunc aspicio;
(Jesus, whom I now behold under a veil;)
Oro, fiat illud quod tam sitio;
(I beseech you, may this happen which I so
desire;)
Ut, te revelata cernens facie,
(may I, beholding you with your face unveiled,)
Visu sim beatus tuae gloriae. Amen.
(be for ever happy in the vision of your glory. Amen.)