Hymn to Saints Peter and Paul
Lokrantz calls this meter: acataleptic iambic dimeter.
Comments from Lokrantz and Facchini 2007.
These poems represent the ecclesiastical tradition. Peter is the head of the apostles, the popularizer of God, the shepherd of the faithful, he is the granite rock on which the Church is founded. Paul is the great doctor, the trumpet that sounds throughout the believing community, he is the blazing light that dispels the darkness, so that the truth reigns supreme. The sources from which he drew are purely biblical
Peter Damian also wrote a letter (159) on the two apostles, De picturis principis Apostolorum, written to the abbot Desiderio of Montecassino after the Lent of 1069 in which he had been a guest in the Benedictine monastery. The work arises from an iconographic question: why in some paintings do we see Paul on the right of Christ and Peter on the left, against common usage that would have Peter on the right because of his primacy and Paul on the left, because he is younger? He answers with four short and intense chapters: first, Paul is originally from the tribe of Benjamin which means “son of the right”; second, he cites the fact that Paul was taken up to the third heaven, symbol of the contemplative life, symbolized in turn by the right. Third is the extraordinary origin of the Pauline ministry: the Lord wanted to confer on him that sum of knowledge that he had patiently tried to communicate also to Peter during the years of his preaching in Palestine. The last point presents the universality of the apostle’s mission that allows him, as a true figure of Christ, to preside in a certain way over all the churches.
Hymnus Sancti Petri Apostoli (30)
Hymn to Saint Peter
1.
Senatus apostolici
Princeps et praeco Domini,
Pastor prime fidelium,
Custodi gregem creditum.
Foremost of the senate of the apostles
And herald of the Lord,
First shepherd of the faithful,
Guard the entrusted flock.
2.
Per pascua virentia
Nos verbi fruge recrea;
Refectas oves praevius
Caulis infer caelestibus.
Through green pastures
Refresh us with the fruit of the word;
You as the leader should bring
Your revived sheep into the celestial choir.
3.
Supernae claves ianuae
Tibi, Petre, sunt traditae,
Tuisque patent legibus
Terrena cum caelestibus.
The keys of the heavenly door have been
Handed over to you, Peter,
And the earthly along along with celestial
Lie open because of your laws.
4.
Tu petram verae fidei,
Tu basim aedificii
Fundas, (in qua) catholica
Fixa surgit ecclesia.
You, Peter, lay down as a foundation of the building
The rock of the true faith,
In which place the Catholic church
Having been rooted rises up.
5.
Umbra tua, dum graderis,
Fit medicina languidis.
Textrinis usa vestium
Sprevit Tabitha feretrum.1
Your shadow, while you proceed,
Becomes treatment for those who are ill.
Tabitha who made clothes for the apostles
Scorned the bier.
6.
Catena vinctum gemina
Virtus solvit angelica;
Veste sumpta cum caligis
Patescunt fores carceris.2
Angelic strength (virtue) released
The one chained with double chain;
With clothing and shoes put on
The doors of the prison are opened.
7.
Sit patri laus ingenito…
May there be praise to the unborn father…
1 Acts 9:39-41. Tabitha made garments for the apostles. When she died, Peter brought her back to life.
2 Acts 12:6-10. The event of Peter’s life which PD describes in this verse is taken directly from Acts.
Hymnus Sancti Pauli Apostoli (31)
Hymn to Saint Paul
1.
Paule, doctor egregie,
Tuba clangens ecclesiae,
Nubs volans ac tonitruum
Per amplum mundi circulum.
Paul, outstanding teacher,
Sounding trumpet of the church,
A flying and thunderous cloud
Through the full circle of the world.
2.
Nobis potenter intona
Ruraque cordis irriga
Caelestis imbre gratiae;
Mentes virescant aridae.
Intone powerfully to us
And irrigate the fields of our hearts
With a shower of celestial grace;
Let our arid minds become verdant.
3.
O magnum Pauli meritum!
Caelum conscendit tertium,
Audit verba mysterii,
Quae nullis audet eloqui.
O great worth of Paul!
He ascended to the third heaven,
He hears the words of mystery,
Which he dared to say to no one.
4.
Dum Verbi spargit semina;
i5 Seges surgit uberrima;
Sic caeli replent horreum
Bonorum fruges operum.
While he spreads the seeds of the word;
The most fertile crop rises up;
In this way the fruits of good works
Refill the granary of heaven.
5.
Micantis more lampadis
Perfundit orbem radiis,
Fugat errorum tenebras,
Ut sola regnet veritas.
In the manner of a twinkling lamp
He fills the world with rays of light,
He puts to flight the shadow of errors,
So that truth alone may reign.
6.
Sit patri laus ingenito…
Amen.
May there be praise to the unborn father…
Amen.
