St. Thomas Aquinas the poet and hymn-writer doesn’t get as much attention as St. Thomas the theologian—given the heights of his theology, that’s not without reason.  Even with that, his poems and hymns are beautifully composed.  Tantum Ergo is likely the most famous.  Adoro Te Devote is a similarly beautiful Eucharistic hymn. 

The Jesuit priest and poet Gerard Manley Hopkins translated the text below.  He is a fascinating figure in his own right.  Born into a high-church Anglican family, Hopkins converted to Catholicism under the tutelage of St. John Henry Newman.  He poetically translated Aquinas’ hymn into the beautiful text below.  

1. Adoro te devote, latens deitas,

Quæ sub his figuris vere latitas;

Tibi se cor meum totum subjicit,

Quia te contemplans totum deficit.

2. Visus, tactus, gustus in te fallitur,

Sed auditu solo tuto creditur.

Credo quidquid dixit Dei Filius;

Nil hoc verbo Veritátis verius.

3. In Cruce latebat sola Deitas,

At hic latet simul et Humanitas,

Ambo tamen credens atque confitens,

Peto quod petivit latro pœnitens.

4. Plagas, sicut Thomas, non intueor:

Deum tamen meum te confiteor.

Fac me tibi semper magis credere,

In te spem habere, te diligere.

5. O memoriale mortis Domini,

Panis vivus, vitam præstans homini,

Præsta meæ menti de te vívere,

Et te illi semper dulce sapere.

6. Pie Pelicane, Jesu Domine,

Me immundum munda tuo Sanguine:

Cujus una stilla salvum facere

Totum mundum quit ab omni scelere.

7. Jesu, quem velatum nunc aspicio,

Oro, fiat illud quod tam sitio:

Ut te revelata cernens facie,

Visu sim beátus tuæ gloriæ. Amen.

1. Godhead here in hiding, whom I do adore,
Masked by these bare shadows, shape and nothing more,
See, Lord, at Thy service low lies here a heart
Lost, all lost in wonder at the God thou art.

2. Seeing, touching, tasting are in thee deceived:
How says trusty hearing? that shall be believed;
What God’s Son has told me, take for truth I do;
Truth Himself speaks truly or there’s nothing true.

3. On the cross Thy godhead made no sign to men,
Here Thy very manhood steals from human ken:
Both are my confession, both are my belief,
And I pray the prayer of the dying thief.

4. I am not like Thomas, wounds I cannot see,
But can plainly call thee Lord and God as he;
Let me to a deeper faith daily nearer move,
Daily make me harder hope and dearer love.

5. O thou our reminder of Christ crucified,
Living Bread, the life of us for whom he died,
Lend this life to me then: feed and feast my mind,
There be thou the sweetness man was meant to find.

6. Bring the tender tale true of the Pelican;
Bathe me, Jesu Lord, in what Thy bosom ran
Blood whereof a single drop has power to win
All the world forgiveness of its world of sin.

7. Jesu, whom I look at shrouded here below,
I beseech thee send me what I thirst for so,
Some day to gaze on thee face to face in light
And be blest for ever with Thy glory’s sight. Amen

Taking the hymn as a whole, St. Thomas takes us through the entire Mass.  In the first verse, he focuses our vision on the Mass in our own time and place.  The second verse moves us past our senses—seeing, touching, tasting are here deceived—and into the realm of faith.  It is in that realm that we must consider the Eucharist.  The mystery of mysteries, the source, the summit, the means, and the destination!

Now seeing with the eyes of faith, St. Thomas takes us to Calvary.  He draws a parallel with the previous verse: by all worldly reckoning, Calvary appeared (to every sense) a complete and utter catastrophe.  The Godhead remained veiled on the cross, just as It does in the Eucharist.  Here, St. Thomas reminds us of the words of the good thief, in Holy Scripture: “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom” (Luke 23:42).  St. Dismas likely did not see, hear, or touch any elements of the kingdom; yet he believed.  

In the fourth verse, Aquinas brings us to Easter Sunday and the apostle Thomas.  The scene is a great illustration on both the divine power of faith and human weakness.  Jesus asked the apostle Thomas to touch his wounds not for simple confirmation of the resurrection.  Our Lord brought Thomas from human doubt to supernatural faith: “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28)

For the concluding three verses, Aquinas brings us back to the Mass.  Yet the living bread that we see brings Calvary into whatever church building we happen to be in.  He reminds us that the Jesus we receive has more healing power in one drop of blood than an ocean of sin.  

The final verse ends with a humble prayer for heaven.  Everything in the hymn builds up to this.  All of salvation history seeks heaven.  The sacraments provide indispensable aid on our earthly pilgrimage toward heaven.  The next time you receive the Eucharist, pray this beautiful prayer and remember: we get a taste of heaven at every Mass.  

St. Thomas Aquinas, pray for us!