Tantum Ergo, Part I

During Eucharistic Adoration, a hymn is frequently sung just prior to receiving Benediction. This hymn is known as the Tantum Ergo (from the first two words of the first verse). It actually is the last portion of a longer hymn, the Pange Lingue Gloriosi, that was composed by St. Thomas Aquinas for the Feast of Corpus Christi in the mid 13th century. The longer hymn is chanted as we process with the Blessed Sacrament from the tabernacle to the altar of repose during the Mass on Holy Thursday.

It is instructive for us to go through the Tantum Ergo to help us better appreciate what it is we chant at Adoration and see the connection to the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. This week we’ll look at the first verse, and next week, the concluding verse.

Tantum ergo Sacramentum, veneremur cernui: “Therefore, let us worship by bowing down to so great a Sacrament (the sacred Host)”. We worship only God, and we recognize that in this host that we see in the monstrance, it is indeed Jesus: Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity.

Et antiquum documentum novo cedat ritui: “And let the old practice (the Old Covenant, with its rites and rituals) give way to the new.” Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the Old Testament. We partake in this Eucharist because Christ offered himself for us, shedding his blood for the New Covenant. It is in this New Covenant that we are fully reconciled with God and have the hope of eternal life with him.

Praestet fides supplementum sensuum defectui: “Faith provides for us a help when our senses fail.” We cannot literally see, touch or smell Jesus in the Eucharist. Yet we believe he is present. This is only possible by our faith, granted to us by the Holy Spirit. This is a part of our larger belief in God and his presence among us. It is sometimes very difficult to have faith, and so it is fitting to meditate on the goodness of God especially during Adoration, who gave his only Son to us, for our sake, and on the Real Presence of Jesus, right there in front of us in the monstrance.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Contact me at eucharist@stmli.org.