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We celebrate the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000
in many ways . At Midnight Mass on Christmas of 1999 we blessed Jubilee Doors, a sign of
hearts and lives open wide to Jesus Christ. Our diocese goes in pilgrimage to our
Eucharistic Congress in August, 2000, at Notre Dame. During major Jubilee liturgies in our
parish, through Epiphany of 2001, we sing the "Te Deum" (You, O God),
an ancient hymn of praise, that the Holy Father has designated the Jubilee Hymn.
Once thought to be the work of Saint Ambrose of Milan, the "Te Deum" was
written by the early fifth century bishop of Remesiana (now in Romania), Nicetas, a Greek
bishop, theologian and composer of hymns. In his instructions for catechumens he
championed an orthodox understanding of the Trinity when heresy threatened.
The Te Deum is the great Christian hymn of Thanksgiving. It
was sung after great victories or after delivery from catastrophe. It is sung in the
Office of Readings of the Liturgy of the Hours. It is the hymn for the ending of every
year, a celebration of the Holy Trinity.
Why is the "Te Deum" the Jubilee Hymn? It shows our
complete dependence on God for everything we are and everything we have. The premise of
Jubilee is that the earth belongs to God alone. In Leviticus 25:23, God calls the faithful
to understand: "The land shall not be sold in perpetuity; for the land is mine, and
you are but aliens who have become my tenants." Our ritual response, as the Body of
Christ, is to sing praise, glory, blessing, and thanks to God.
At Saint Jude Church, our "Te Deum" is number 535 in
the Worship hymnal, "God, We Praise You." Christopher Idle, born in England in
1938, wrote this paraphrase of the "Te Deum," based on the Latin original, in
August of 1978. It was first published in London in 1982.
Make the "Te Deum" your Jubilee prayer. Sing the
hymn or recite the text that follows in your daily private prayer, at meal times or when
the family gathers for a feast during the year of Jubilee. Make it your Thanksgiving,
Christmas, New Year, Epiphany, Easter and Pentecost prayer. This translation, used in the
Liturgy of the Hours, is by the International Consultation on English Texts.
YOU ARE GOD (Te Deum)
You are God: we praise you;
You are the Lord: we acclaim you;
You are the eternal Father:
All creation worships you.
To you all the angels, all the powers of heaven,
Cherubim and Seraphim, sing in endless praise:
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
The glorious company of apostles praise you.
The noble fellowship of prophets praise you.
The white-robed army of martyrs praise you.
Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims you:
Father, of majesty unbounded,
your true and only Son, worthy of all worship,
and the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide.
You, Christ, are the king of glory,
the eternal Son of the Father.
When you became man to set us free
you did not spurn the Virgin's womb.
You overcame the sting of death,
and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
You are seated at God's right hand in glory.
We believe that you will come, and be our judge.
Come then, Lord, and help your people,
bought with the price of your own blood,
and bring us with your saints to glory everlasting.
Save your people, Lord, and bless your inheritance.
Govern and uphold them now and always.
Day by day we bless you.
We praise your name for ever.
Keep us today, Lord, from all sin.
Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy.
Lord, show us your love and mercy;
for we put our trust in you.
In you, Lord, is our hope:
and we shall never hope in vain. |
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