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 Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. The other two hymns written by Aquinas for the Feast contain the famous sections Panis angelicus and Tantum ergo.

Latin text	Literal Translation	Verse Rendering
O salutaris Hostia, Quae caeli pandis ostium: Bella premunt hostilia, Da robur, fer auxilium. Uni trinoque Domino Sit sempiterna gloria, Qui vitam sine termino Nobis donet in patria. Amen.	O salutary Host, Who expandest the door of the sky, Hostile wars press. Give strength; bear aid. To the Lord One in Three, May there be sempiternal glory; for life without end he gives to us in our homeland. Amen.	O saving Victim, opening wide The gate of Heaven to man below; Our foes press hard on every side; Thine aid supply; Thy strength bestow. All praise and thanks to thee ascend, For ever more, blest one in three. O grant us life that shall not end, In our true native land with thee. Amen.

As a liturgical text, the hymn is usually sung in Latin. There are however some cases in which it is found sung in the vernacular.

At Notre Dame, in Paris, a middle stanza is inserted, localizing the text:

O vere digne Hostia,

Spes unica fidelium :

In te confidit Francia ;

Da pacem, serva lilium.

See also

Gaude Mater Polonia

External links

• O salutaris hostia on the Choral Public Domain Library

co:O salutaris hostia