Adoro Te Devote

I devoutly adore Thee, hidden God — a soul before the veiled Sacrament.

LatineThe Latin text

Adóro te devóte, latens Déitas,
quæ sub his figúris vere látitas:
tibi se cor meum totum súbjicit,
quia te contémplans totum déficit.

Visus, tactus, gustus in te fállitur,
sed audítu solo tuto créditur:
credo quidquid dixit Dei Fílius;
nil hoc verbo veritátis vérius.

In cruce latébat sola Déitas,
at hic latet simul et humánitas:
ambo tamen credens atque cónfitens,
peto quod petívit latro pǽnitens.

Plagas, sicut Thomas, non intúeor:
Deum tamen meum te confíteor:
fac me tibi semper magis crédere,
in te spem habére, te dilígere.

O memoriále mortis Dómini,
panis vivus vitam præstans hómini,
præsta meæ menti de te vívere,
et te illi semper dulce sápere.

Pie pellicáne Jesu Dómine,
me immúndum munda tuo sánguine,
cujus una stilla salvum fácere
totum mundum quit ab omni scélere.

Jesu, quem velátum nunc aspício,
oro fiat illud quod tam sítio:
ut te reveláta cernens fácie,
visu sim beátus tuæ glóriæ. Amen.

EnglishTranslation

I devoutly adore Thee, hidden Godhead, who truly lie concealed beneath these appearances. To Thee my whole heart submits, for contemplating Thee it wholly fails.

Sight, touch, and taste are deceived in Thee, but by hearing alone one safely believes: I believe whatever the Son of God has said; nothing is truer than this word of Truth.

On the Cross was hidden Thy Divinity alone, but here Thy Humanity also lies concealed; nevertheless believing and confessing both, I pray for what the penitent thief did pray.

Thy Wounds, I do not see, as Thomas did, yet do I confess Thee to be my God: make me ever more and more believe in Thee, put my hope in Thee, and love Thee.

O Memorial of the Lord's death, O Living Bread that givest life to man: grant to my soul ever to live on Thee, and that Thou mayest ever taste sweet to it.

O loving Pelican, Jesus Lord, cleanse me, unclean, in Thy Blood, one drop of which hath power to save the whole world from all its sin.

Jesus, whom now I gaze upon veiled, I pray that there may come to pass what I so thirst for: that beholding Thee with unveiled face, I may be blessed by the sight of Thy glory. Amen.

Traditionally attributed to St Thomas Aquinas (d. 1274) — the complete hymn · English partly after M. Britt, O.S.B. (1922)

A prayer, not a proof

Adoro Te Devote stands apart from the other Eucharistic hymns ascribed to Aquinas because it is written in the first person singular — not the Church's public praise but one soul kneeling before the Host. Where his theology proves, this hymn simply adores; the mind that mapped the Eucharist in the Summa here confesses that, contemplating God, it 'wholly fails'.

The hymn moves through the senses one by one and dismisses them: sight, touch, and taste are all deceived at the altar, for they report only bread. Hearing alone is safe — the ear that receives Christ's own word, 'This is my Body.' It is the classic statement that faith rests on the word of God, not on the evidence of the eyes.

Its history

Tradition assigns Adoro Te Devote to St Thomas Aquinas, and the Church has long prayed it as a thanksgiving after Mass. The attribution is debated — the hymn is not part of his Corpus Christi office — but whoever wrote it, the voice is worthy of him: rigorous, humble, and wholly given over to the mystery.

The hymn ends not in the present but in longing — the desire to see, one day, with 'unveiled face' the glory now hidden under bread. Adoration on earth reaches toward vision in heaven.

III

How it is prayed

Adoro Te Devote is most at home in silence before the Blessed Sacrament, prayed slowly as a personal act of faith and love. It is not a processional hymn but a kneeling one.

Sung to its gentle mode-five melody, it becomes a way of staying — of remaining before the veiled Christ long enough for the heart to catch up with what faith already holds.

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Questions

On the Adoro Te Devote.

What does Adoro Te Devote mean?

It means 'I devoutly adore Thee.' The hymn is a personal act of adoration to Christ truly present but hidden under the appearances of bread and wine in the Eucharist.

Who wrote it?

It is traditionally attributed to St Thomas Aquinas (d. 1274), though the attribution is debated, and it is prayed especially as a thanksgiving after Mass.

Why does it say the senses are 'deceived'?

At the altar sight, touch, and taste perceive only bread and wine; they cannot detect Christ's presence. Faith relies instead on Christ's own words, received by hearing.

Repertorium

The other chants.

All chants →

The Penitential CryKyrie EleisonThe Cry for Mercy The Antiphon of MortalityMedia VitaIn the Midst of Life The Hymn of InvocationVeni Creator SpiritusThe Invocation of the Spirit The Marian AntiphonSalve ReginaThe Evening Antiphon The Sequence of JudgmentDies IraeThe Day of Wrath The Cry of AdventRorate CaeliThe Cry of Advent A Child Is BornPuer Natus EstA Child Is Born The Lenten PleaAttende DomineThe Lenten Plea The Hymn of the SacramentPange LinguaThe Hymn of the Sacrament The Easter AntiphonRegina CaeliThe Easter Antiphon The Golden SequenceVeni Sancte SpiritusThe Golden Sequence Hail, True BodyAve Verum CorpusHail, True Body Star of the SeaAve Maris StellaStar of the Sea The Great ThanksgivingTe DeumThe Great Thanksgiving