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Where have all those Latin songs gone? - One of the first Latin songs I was taught to sing in the seminary as a 13-14 year old homesick little boy from the boondocks was “Veni, Sancte Spiritus” to mark the beginning of the school year in the month of June. This special June devotion to the Holy Spirit was a hallmark of the SVD Founder, Fr. (now St.) Arnold Janssen. As fate and my own innocent curiosity would have it, I had just been torn away from family at such a tender age to try out life in the seminary. It was a baptism of fire or culture shock, to say the least. Seminary life back then was no picnic. It must have been designed by some puritanical, sadistic, ascetics. From my carefree life as postwar street children in war-ravaged Baguio, I was mercilessly thrown into a daily grind of prayer, study, and discipline where every minute of your day was supervised and your every move carefully monitored, or so you thought, by a German gestapo masquerading as a prefect.
The result was that I was homesick as hell. I developed a lifetime sensitivity to and dislike for homesickness that I vowed to myself that if ever I had children of my own I would never allow them to be separated from me until they were old enough to choose to strike out on their own. I have always kept that promise. There oughta be a law regulating homesickness.
I also realized that homesickness has a way of creeping up on you at certain hours, when you least expect it, particularly around about sunset or twilight time. Hence, “Twilight Time” by the Platters has a special place in my heart.
“Heavenly shades of night are falling,
it’s twilight time, out of the mist your voice is calling …
Deepening shadows gather splendor as day is done,
fingers of night will soon surrender the setting sun …”
Anyway, there I was, there we all were, in the chapel, every evening, in the month of June doing our prayer devotions to the Holy Spirit, and thus tearfully I would join in as we would intone in Latin this song which has haunted me and reverberated in my head for the past 50 some years:
“Veni, Sancte Spiritus, reple tuorum corda fidelium,
Et tui amoris in eis ignem accende,
qui per diversitatem linguarum cunctarum
gentes in unitate fidei congregasti.”
Sung in classic Gregorian chant, I didn’t realize at the time that this was your common Holy Spirit prayer: “Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love, who from a multitude of different tongues gathered a people in the unity of faith.”
Now, if you think that’s impressive enough, imagine my surprise when a few years ago, I joined a group of old XVDs who went to Sorsogon City to pay a courtesy call to their classmate,Bishop Arturo Bastes. It turns out that there’s all these brilliant XVD minds who still think and talk in Latin! There we got a full dose of Latin from the likes of Sammy Yap and Marius Diaz. Bishop Bastes celebrated the Mass in Latin, delivered his homily in Latin, with Marius Diaz by his side doing instant translation into English. Evidently not satisfied with their display of Latin reminiscings, these disciples of Virgil and Ovid went back to our hotel and started a karaoke community singing session in Latin. Then we got treated to a solo rendition by Charlie Avila who chanted from memory all seven (7) stanzas of “Veni, Creator Spiritus.” I mean I can go as far as the 2nd stanza, why not, (“Qui diceris Paraclitus, Altissimi donum Dei, Fons vivus, ignis, caritas, Et spiritalis unctio…”); but all seven (7) stanzas by heart, after all these years, for goodness’ sake. The guy is simply a genius or a Latin freak!
Come to think of it, why did we just suddenly drop Latin, Latin songs, Gregorian chants, and Latin liturgy with a vengeance? For so many years I had felt that one spoke to God only in Latin. It was what separated the religious from the laity. Indeed, to this day, when I see the Pope celebrate mass on TV, I shiver when he solemnly intones: “Credo in Unum Deum …” Somehow, I feel it’s the only valid mass.
All the old pious women in our parish, including my sainted mother, used to be able to sing very, very slowly and heartily“Tantum ergo Sacramentum, Veneremur cernui…” (sung every time as if everyone was waiting for the person beside her to retrieve the next word from her memory bank); as well as “O Salutaris Hostia, Quae caeli pandis ostium …” at every Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. Just as at every procession during Holy Week, people would mightily sing a Spanish hymn we all know by heart, “no mas amor que el tuyo, o Corazon Divino, el pueblo Filipino, te da su Corazon …”
In Pampanga, during the Holy Week season, the “pabasa” features what the locals simply refer to as “STABAT,” short I believe for “Stabat mater dolorosa.”
Sonny de los Reyes still gets goose bumps or teary-eyed every time he arranges for us to sing “PANIS ANGELICUS” as the Communion Song during XVD masses. For that matter, I don’t believe “SALVE, REGINA” will sound half as good in any other language.
I can still intone a few lines of “Asperges me,” (Domine, hyssopo et mundabor, lavabis me et super nivem dealbabor…”) as well as the “Te Deum…” ; “Alma Redemptoris Mater” and “Regina Caeli” which we used to alternate with “Salve Regina” depending on the time of the year. How about singing the “Kyrie, eleison,” which is really not Latin but Greek? Or, “Gloria in excelsis Deo.”
At vespers, we would sing and sway to the tune of “Deus, in adjutorium meum intende. Domine, ad adjuvandum me festina;” while making the sign of the cross.
By the way, did you know that certain “silent” prayers at Mass used to be reserved for the priest alone? However, I have always liked certain communion prayers which I still insist on reciting myself: “Quid retribuam Domino pro omnibus quae retribuit mihi. Calicem salutaris accipiam, et nomen Domini invocabo.” (Ps. 15).
“Quod ore sumpsimus, Domine, pura mente capiamus; et de munere temporali fiat nobis remedium sempiternum.”
“Corpus tuum, Domine, quod sumpsi, et Sanguis, quem potavi, adhaereat visceribus meis; et praesta, ut in me non remaneat scelerum macula, quem pura et sancta refecerunt sacramenta; Qui vivis et regnas in saecula saeculorum. Amen.”
In my first year in the seminary, I spent many sleepless nights memorizing the Introit which we may have lost forever. What Introit?
“Judica me, Deus… Quia tu es, Deus, fortitude mea, quare me repulisti, et quare tristis incedo, dum affligit me inimicus?” (Ps. 42). If I were the pope, I would require all altar boys to re-learn these lines. It’s only fair. We could not serve at Mass without these few Latin phrases. After all, Muslims still say their prayers in Arabic.
Speaking of which, do you realize why many of our prayers don’t ever seem to be answered or listened to? Particularly, when we pray for our lotto numbers to come out? Why do you think the Pope continues to say Mass in Latin on most great occasions? God, it would seem, understands only Latin. That has been the belief since Roman times … or, as they would say in Rome, in saecula saeculorum. JAMES L.
stephendlr wrote on Jul 21, '08
Dear James,
Thank you for mentioning my favorite Latin song, Panis Angelicus. The Latin words convey concisely how "the Bread of Angels has become the Bread of men". As a matter of fact, (like your own request for your favorite song) I would like this to be my funeral song. I have always been wondering why older guys like you, Marius, Sammy, Charlie, et al. can sing and recite from memory, songs, prayers, poems, speeches, etc. in Latin. We younger guys must have missed something in our Latin classes. But I do remember that, when we were young, we recited our prayers in Latin, read the bible in Latin and sang Vespers in Latin. And even if we could not translate them literally, because we were still learning fundamental Latin, we could actually understand what the words were telling us. In fact, after more than 46 years being out of the seminary, I could still understand Latin prayers, psalms and songs. The first time I heard the Pater Noster sung again, after leaving the seminary was in a London church. I was filled with emotions. I guess it is true with most XVD's when they hear the Gregorian Chants, the Latin High Mass, the Psalms at Vespers. They bring back wonderful memories of our "lost" childhood. |
Hi, Sonny, tnx for comments which are always most relevant and appreciated. I guess every person has his own "thing." Different things strike us differently at various times in our lives.For one thing, nowadays the prospect of death is fast looming in the horizon, or so it seems. We can now think about our "funeral song." But definitely for Sammy, Marius, Charlie and Bishop Bastes, their "thing" is LATIN. These people must still think in Latin. Just as the Romans in their time preferred everything Greek they see things that are not available to mere mortals.Hence, the free and open exchange of views, sentiments and experiences very offten enriches our lives even more than mere commodities in the marketplace. tnx agn. rgards...
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"Where have all those Latin songs gone?" Gone to CD, some of them. Below are two lists of Spiritual + Inspirational Songs on CD to be available in the XdVD office in CKS (not available in DVDsoria).
Spiritual + Inspirational Songs: A Video Collection •Make Me a Channel of Your Peace •He Ain’t Heavy: Hollies •I Will Follow Him (Sister Act) •When the Saints Go Marching In: Andre Rieu •Battle Hymn of the Republic (choir & orchestra) •Turn, Turn, Turn: Byrds •We Are The World (with lyrics) •The Prayer: Andrea Bocelli & Celine Dion •He’s Got the Whole World: Tanya Tucker •You’ll Never Walk Alone: Three Tenors •Amazing Grace: Nana Mouskouri •Panis Angelicus: Celtic Woman •We Shall Overcome: Joan Baez Spiritual + Inspirational Songs: A Second Collection •Ain’t No Mountain High Enough (Sister Act) •You Raise Me Up •De Colores: Nana Mouskouri •I Believe: Loretta Lyn •Wind Beneath My Wings: Bette Midler •I Believe I Can Fly: R. Kelly •I Don’t Know How To Love Him: Yvonne Elliman •Jesus Christ Superstar •Ama Namin (Bukaspalad) •Ave Maria: Pavarotti •Pater Noster: Pope John Paul II •Veni Creator Spiritus •Tantum Ergo •Christus Vincit: Luis Serrano •Salve Regina (pipe organ) •Hallelujah Chorus: Robert Shaw |
bopeepladrido wrote on Jan 23, '09
The XVDs had a prayer service for my brother, Joe Ledesma, at his wake. Most of the songs they sand were in Latin. After that, they had a "concert" and everyone had fun. The only one missing was Joe.
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bopeepladrido wrote on Jan 23, '09
The second sentence should read: Most of the songs they sang were in Latin. . . Sorry for the typo.
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