“Sacris solemniis” is one of the five beautiful hymns St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) composed in honor of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament at specific request of Pope Urban IV (1261-1264) when the Pope first established the Feast of Corpus Christi in 1264. Today Sacris Solemniis is used as a hymn for the Office of the Readings for Corpus Christi, as well as during the procession of that day. The last two stanzas are the text for the hymn Panis Angelicus. “Sacris solemniis” Latin and English Lyrics Sacris solemniisiuncta sint gaudia,et ex praecordiissonent praeconia;recedant vetera,nova sint omnia,corda, voces, et opera. At[…]

Stabat Mater Dolorosa is considered one of the seven greatest Latin hymns of all time.  It is based upon the prophecy of Simeon that a sword was to pierce the heart of Our Lord’s mother, Mary (Lk2:35). The hymn title means “‘Stood the mother, full of grief’.”  In Latin, the hymn consists of twenty couplets which describe the Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin at the Cross.  The Stabat Mater’s popularity is reflected by its use in the popular devotion of the Stations of the Cross. The message of the Stabat Mater focuses on the spiritual and emotional bond which unites Mary and all[…]

Te Deum laudamus, ( Latin: “God, We Praise You”, ) is an Early Christian Hymn of praise. Traditionally ascribed to Saint Ambrose and Saint Augustine. In the Roman Breviary it is entitled as “Hymnus SS. Ambrosii et Augustini”. In the traditional office, the Te Deum is sung at the end of Matins on all days when the Gloria is said at Mass; those days are all Sundays outside Advent, Septuagesima, Lent, and Passiontide; on all feasts (except the Triduum) and on all ferias during Eastertide. A plenary indulgence is granted, under the usual conditions, to those who recite it in[…]

“And there followed him a great multitude of people, and of women, who bewailed and lamented him. But Jesus turning to them, said: Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not over me; but weep for yourselves, and for your children. For behold, the days shall come, wherein they will say: Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that have not borne, and the paps that have not given suck. Then shall they begin to say to the mountains: Fall upon us; and to the hills: Cover us. For if in the green wood they do these things, what shall be done in[…]

The Magnificat is a canticle, also known as the Song of Mary, the Canticle of Mary and, in the Byzantine tradition, the Ode of the Theotokos. The text of the canticle is taken directly from the Gospel of Luke (1:46–55) where it is spoken by Mary upon the occasion of her Visitation to her cousin Elizabeth. An explanation of the Canticle Magnificat is given below from the “Devout instructions on the Epistles and Gospels for the Sundays and holydays” by Leonard Goffiné (1648-1719). In this hymn Mary with joy praises God, the Lord, that He has regarded her humility, and[…]

The Feast of Christ the King – Domini Nostri Jesu Christi Regis – was established by Pope Pius XI in 1925 in the encyclical Quas Primas, as an antidote to secularism, a way of life which leaves God out of man’s thinking and living and organizes his life as if God did not exist. The feast is intended to proclaim in a striking and effective manner Christ’s royalty over individuals, families, society, governments, and nations. “If to Christ our Lord is given all power in heaven and on earth; if all men, purchased by his precious blood, are by a[…]