Hi Friends,
Earlier today a dear friend (and fellow forum member) and I were discussing hymns that were appropriate for communion, and that got me wondering about collating a list of everyone's favorite eucharistic hymn texts (along with melody pairings, if desired) that we think everyone should know about. While there are many hymns that are commonly sung (some of which, I daresay, we wish we could escape!) I have no doubt that some of you know of some hidden gems as well, and I'd love to know what they are. I use worship aids at my parish, so it is very easy for me to slip new things in, hence my query. As you'll see below, I have already used quite a few different texts, and generally they are quite well received.
Please post titles (if they are commonly known) or even links to hymnary.org or elsewhere if that's easier. I'd love to just list some favorites before we (inevitably) dive in to discussing the merits (or lack thereof) of individual hymns, although I'm happy for that discussion to happen as well.
Hymns that came up this morning were:
• Soul of My Savior
• Shepherd of Souls, Refresh and Bless
• Lord, Who at Thy First Eucharist
• Draw Near and Take the Body of The Lord
• You Satisfy the Hungry Heart
• Take and Eat
• I Am the Bread of Life
• Let all Mortal Flesh Keep Silent
• O Saving Victim / O Salutaris Hostia
• Godhead Here in Hiding (Adoro Te)
• O Sacrament Most Holy ("Oh Jesus We Adore You")
• Psalm 63 "My Soul is Thirsting"
• Psalm 34 "Taste and See the Goodness of the Lord"
To these I'll add one that we are doing this very weekend which is directly related to the Gospel, "https://hymnary.org/text/there_is_a_gift_of_wondrous_price" (that I'm pairing with ST. COLUMBA) whose text is:
1.
There is a Gift of wondrous price,
God has within His keeping;
but we forget this goodly Pearl,
while earthly treasures heaping.
(Refrain)
Oh, seek this Pearl, this precious Pearl,
For It can never perish!
The Word of God makes known Its worth,
and bids us own and cherish.
2.
The gems of earth soon fail to charm,
they satisfy no yearning—
then let us prize this Gift of God,
Its value rare discerning. [Refrain]
3.
For having This, the Pearl of Price,
Its pure delight possessing,
our souls enjoy an endless peace,
and God’s eternal blessing! [Refrain]
______________________________________________
Here are many other texts that I've used in the past, although do bear in mind that they may require a little editing (leaving certain verses out, etc.) depending on the source. Anything you see listed below I restored original language, and occasionally even made selective edits such as capitalizing any proper titles of our Lord, ("Bread of Heaven" rather than "bread of heaven") etc.
• Jesu, Thou Joy of Loving Hearts
• How Shall I Sing that Majesty (great at communion paired with Tallis' Third Mode Melody — and for that matter, another great text is 'I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say' to the same tune)
• Approach, My Soul, The Mercy Seat (a great alternative to the text of 'Amazing Grace' and can be sung to the same tune!)
• Deck Thyself, My Soul With Gladness
• When All Thy Mercies, O My God (this can be paired with a number of tunes)
• Arise, My Soul, Arise (paired to LOVE UNKNOWN)
• Thee We Adore, O Hidden Saviour, Thee (trope of Adoro Te; I've paired this with WOODLANDS although others would work, of course)
• Hail, True Victim [Ave Vivens Hostia] (I've paired this with 'Ecce Panis' from the end of the Corpus Christi sequence and it worked well)
• Sweet Sacrament ("Jesus, My Lord, My God, My All")
• Wondrous Love that Cannot Falter (I've paired this with IRBY to great success, although I'm sure some people would be loathe to take my lead on that!)
• Lord, Enthroned in Heavenly Splendor (I've done this to LAUDA ANIMA on festal days)
• My God and Is Thy Table Spread? (I've done this to a few tunes, including O WALY WALY which makes a nice offertory hymn, or you can pair it nicely with Conditor Alme Siderum)
• Luke Massery's The Lord Hath Opened Heaven's Gate which is a trope of the Offertory Antiphon for Corpus Christi. (We did this to Conditor Alme Siderum as well.)
• Now, My Tongue, the Myst'ry Telling (Pange Lingua trope)
There are more... I'll have to keep combing through my archives later. This is a good start, at any rate!
Earlier today a dear friend (and fellow forum member) and I were discussing hymns that were appropriate for communion, and that got me wondering about collating a list of everyone's favorite eucharistic hymn texts (along with melody pairings, if desired) that we think everyone should know about. While there are many hymns that are commonly sung (some of which, I daresay, we wish we could escape!) I have no doubt that some of you know of some hidden gems as well, and I'd love to know what they are. I use worship aids at my parish, so it is very easy for me to slip new things in, hence my query. As you'll see below, I have already used quite a few different texts, and generally they are quite well received.
Please post titles (if they are commonly known) or even links to hymnary.org or elsewhere if that's easier. I'd love to just list some favorites before we (inevitably) dive in to discussing the merits (or lack thereof) of individual hymns, although I'm happy for that discussion to happen as well.
Hymns that came up this morning were:
• Soul of My Savior
• Shepherd of Souls, Refresh and Bless
• Lord, Who at Thy First Eucharist
• Draw Near and Take the Body of The Lord
• You Satisfy the Hungry Heart
• Take and Eat
• I Am the Bread of Life
• Let all Mortal Flesh Keep Silent
• O Saving Victim / O Salutaris Hostia
• Godhead Here in Hiding (Adoro Te)
• O Sacrament Most Holy ("Oh Jesus We Adore You")
• Psalm 63 "My Soul is Thirsting"
• Psalm 34 "Taste and See the Goodness of the Lord"
To these I'll add one that we are doing this very weekend which is directly related to the Gospel, "https://hymnary.org/text/there_is_a_gift_of_wondrous_price" (that I'm pairing with ST. COLUMBA) whose text is:
1.
There is a Gift of wondrous price,
God has within His keeping;
but we forget this goodly Pearl,
while earthly treasures heaping.
(Refrain)
Oh, seek this Pearl, this precious Pearl,
For It can never perish!
The Word of God makes known Its worth,
and bids us own and cherish.
2.
The gems of earth soon fail to charm,
they satisfy no yearning—
then let us prize this Gift of God,
Its value rare discerning. [Refrain]
3.
For having This, the Pearl of Price,
Its pure delight possessing,
our souls enjoy an endless peace,
and God’s eternal blessing! [Refrain]
______________________________________________
Here are many other texts that I've used in the past, although do bear in mind that they may require a little editing (leaving certain verses out, etc.) depending on the source. Anything you see listed below I restored original language, and occasionally even made selective edits such as capitalizing any proper titles of our Lord, ("Bread of Heaven" rather than "bread of heaven") etc.
• Jesu, Thou Joy of Loving Hearts
• How Shall I Sing that Majesty (great at communion paired with Tallis' Third Mode Melody — and for that matter, another great text is 'I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say' to the same tune)
• Approach, My Soul, The Mercy Seat (a great alternative to the text of 'Amazing Grace' and can be sung to the same tune!)
• Deck Thyself, My Soul With Gladness
• When All Thy Mercies, O My God (this can be paired with a number of tunes)
• Arise, My Soul, Arise (paired to LOVE UNKNOWN)
• Thee We Adore, O Hidden Saviour, Thee (trope of Adoro Te; I've paired this with WOODLANDS although others would work, of course)
• Hail, True Victim [Ave Vivens Hostia] (I've paired this with 'Ecce Panis' from the end of the Corpus Christi sequence and it worked well)
• Sweet Sacrament ("Jesus, My Lord, My God, My All")
• Wondrous Love that Cannot Falter (I've paired this with IRBY to great success, although I'm sure some people would be loathe to take my lead on that!)
• Lord, Enthroned in Heavenly Splendor (I've done this to LAUDA ANIMA on festal days)
• My God and Is Thy Table Spread? (I've done this to a few tunes, including O WALY WALY which makes a nice offertory hymn, or you can pair it nicely with Conditor Alme Siderum)
• Luke Massery's The Lord Hath Opened Heaven's Gate which is a trope of the Offertory Antiphon for Corpus Christi. (We did this to Conditor Alme Siderum as well.)
• Now, My Tongue, the Myst'ry Telling (Pange Lingua trope)
There are more... I'll have to keep combing through my archives later. This is a good start, at any rate!