The Tantrum Song
I’ve just got back home from my Holy Hour. Despite being brought up a practising Catholic and being in Catholic education for the majority of my schooling, I somehow missed out on many quintessentially Catholic experiences, two of which are Adoration and Benediction.
I remember an incident a few years ago when my girlfriend and I were asked to do the music at a healing Mass. We presented our song suggestions to the planning team and they were well received, but it was also requested that, at Benediction after Mass, we play “Tantum Ergo”.
At this point in my journey I was vaguely aware of what Benediction was, but neither of us were familiar with the hymn “Tantum Ergo”. We tried to “push back” on this suggestion and recommended other songs instead, ones with which we were more familiar. However, the planning team was adamant, we had to do “Tantum Ergo”…
After spending some time looking at the music we eventually concluded that it was “actually not too bad”. However, because of the unusually strong reaction to our suggestion to play something else, that hymn was forever dubbed in our minds as “The Tantrum Song”!
Tonight at Benediction we sang The Tantrum Song. I know many Catholics will be familiar with the Latin, but I’m sure that quite a few will not know the exact meaning of the words. Here they are:
| Latin | Literal Translation | English |
| Tantum ergo Sacramentum Veneremur cernui: Et antiquum documentum Novo cedat ritui: Praestet fides supplementum Sensuum defectui |
Hence so great a Sacrament Let us venerate with heads bowed And let the old practice Give way to the new rite; Let faith provide a supplement For the failure of the senses. |
Down in adoration falling, Lo! the sacred Host we hail, Lo! o’er ancient forms departing Newer rites of grace prevail; Faith for all defects supplying, Where the feeble senses fail. |
| – | ||
| Genitori, Genitoque Laus et jubilatio, Salus, honor, virtus quoque Sit et benedictio: Procedenti ab utroque Compar sit laudatio. Amen. |
To the Begetter and the Begotten, Be praise and jubilation, Hail, honor, virtue also, And blessing too: To the One proceeding from Both Let there be equal praise. Amen. |
To the everlasting Father, And the Son Who reigns on high With the Holy Ghost proceeding Forth from Each eternally, Be salvation, honor, blessing, Might and endless majesty. Amen. |
This great Eucharistic hymn was written by (surprise, surprise) St. Thomas Aquinas (seriously, where did they guy find the time?!). Over recent years I’ve developed an increased liking for this song, but it wasn’t until I heard Matt Maher’s rendition that I truly began to fall in love with it.
My favourite lyric is:
“Faith for all defects supplying, where the feeble senses fail”
(Literally “Let faith provide a supplement for the failure of the senses”)
It is because of this line that I always take off my glasses during Adoration. I figure that, if my senses are going to fail me in discerning the Body of Christ, then I may as well rely on them even less, in the hope that my faith might have a greater opportunity to grow 😉
Thank YOU, DB. I truly appreciate this post. It reminds me that the Lord started this healing process in Adoration and He’s going to continue this for me there. I’ll see you in the Eucharist.
I really liked this one 🙂 and now I’ll always remember to pray for you at the line during benediction because I will inevitably think of you taking your glasses off at that point haha 🙂