O Salutaris Hostia

O salutaris Hostia (Latin, "O Saving Victim" or "O Saving Sacrifice"), 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.

Lyrics

Latin text	Literal Translation	Verse Rendering
O salutaris Hostia, Quæ cæli 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 Victim, Who expandest the door of heaven, Hostile armies press, Give strength; bear aid. To the Triune Lord, May there be everlasting glory; that life without end He to us give in our homeland. Amen.	O saving Victim, opening wide The gate of Heaven to us below; Our foes press hard on every side; Thine aid supply; thy strength bestow. To thy great name be endless praise, Immortal Godhead, One in Three. O grant us endless length of days, In our true native land with thee. Amen.

Local usage

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.

In Notre Dame, Paris, France a middle stanza is inserted, localising the text:

Latin Text	Literal Translation
O vere digna Hostia, Spes unica fidelium: In te confidit Francia; Da pacem, serva lilium.	O truly worthy Victim, Only hope of the faithful : in Thee trusts France; Give peace, conserve the lily.

A verse rendering of the song is used in Baclaran Church, Parañaque, Philippines, for the Wednesday Novena to Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Rev. Teofilo Vinteres, C.Ss.R and Alfredo Buenavista are credited with the music and the arrangement, respectively, and both also produced a Filipino translation, Handóg ng Tagapagligtás ("Gift of the Saviour").

See also

• Gaude Mater Polonia

External links

• O salutaris hostia on the Choral Public Domain Library