Pie pelicane, Jesu Domine…
In the traditional calendar, March 7 remains the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas. Aside from being a brilliant philosopher and theologian, the Angelic Doctor is also one of the foremost poets of medieval Christianity. His poetry is the foundation of the traditional Office and Mass of the feast of Corpus Christi.
However, one of his most famous hymns was actually not written as part of the liturgical texts for the feast: the Adoro te Devote. It seems that St. Thomas actually wrote it for private devotion in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. It really is a powerful thing to imagine, this great titan of theology humbly kneeling before Our Lord and reciting this from memory. I would like to focus just on a single of these beautiful verses, which reads as follows:
Pie Pelicane, Jesu Domine,
Me immundum munda tuo Sanguine
Cujus una stilla salvum facere
Totum mundum quit ab omni scelere.
Lord Jesus, Good Pelican,
clean me, the unclean, with Your Blood,
One drop of which can heal
the entire world of all its sins.
The pelican is an interesting Christian symbol. Its use comes from a mythical tale that predates Christianity. It was supposed that in times of famine a mother pelican would strike her own breast with her beak and feed her chicks with her blood. Other versions take it further, namely that the mother dies in this process to bring her dead chicks back to life. This was adopted as a symbol of Christ, who feeds the faithful with His Body and Blood in the Eucharist. Indeed, He raises us from death to life through His Blood.
How fitting, then, that St. Thomas takes up the symbol in one of his great hymns to the Blessed Sacrament. Putting this in the context of the Lenten season, and meditating on Our Lord’s Passion, that third line, which the chant emphasises on the height of the word stilla, takes on a powerful meaning. Only one drop is able to save the whole world, yet Our Lord poured forth all of His Precious Blood in his overflowing love. He goes far beyond the mother pelican, and gives in abundance to bring us to life. I have a special connection to this symbol, as the High Altar at my parish has a pelican carved into the face. Every time I kneel at the rail to receive Our Blessed Lord, I see this beautiful reminder of His salvific love. The parish has even taken on the symbol for her logo. Check out the website: https://fsspatl.com/
I’m only giving the chant here, as I think the simplicity lends itself to memorisation, something I’m working on for this great hymn. The first two lines repeat the same notes exactly, but the second still serves as a sort of rising transition to the third line. Everything crescendos into the climax of the whole verse on the third line. Then the fourth line returns it down to earth and resolves on the same three note pattern found in the first two lines. However, each of the four lines can be further subdivided into smaller rhythmic groups, each line and each section having its own rising and falling. Overall, this leaves the singer/lister rising in prayer toward the Almighty, and then receiving from her Creator as everything descends back down.
Sancta Caecilia, ora pro nobis!