Pope Urban VI was the Pope that established the feast of Corpus Christi in 1264, so he requested that St. Thomas Aquinas should write five beautiful hymns to the Eucharist.
And so many translations exist for his hymn titled Adoro Te Devote, which was written in Latin.
Spending some time in prayer with more than one translation can help us go very deep in the beauty of the poetry and the faith that brought it about.
For instance, the verse below rendered in three different verse translations which places emphasis on how God, who is Truth himself, simply cannot utter untruth. In that case, what God has told us can be believed, even when the senses of touch and seeing “tell” us something different.
Dear brethren, enliven your faith in the Eucharist today by meditating with this particular verse;
Not by sight, or taste, or touch by credit.
Only by hearing do we secure trust;
I only believe, for God the Son has said it —
These are the word of truth that shall ever endure.
Seeing, touching, tasting are in Thee deceived:
How do we trust by hearing?
But, thou shall believe, what the Son of God has told me,
Because, He is the truth;
For only truth Himself speaks truly or there’s nothing true.
We are easily deceived by sight, touch, and taste;
For only the ear is most safely believed:
I believe in all the Son of God has spoken,
Than Truth’s own word there is no truer token.
