Te Deum

• 7 years ago

By JUDE DOUGHERTY

There are times when nothing less than a Te Deum is called for, nothing less than a Te Deum to express joy or gratitude. This has been recognized by the Church and Christian monarchs through history. It came to be used not only in the liturgy but at coronations, victories, and sometimes even when the king entered a city.

The origin of the Te Deum remains obscure. EWTN, in providing an English translation of the ancient text of the hymn, tells us that it has sometimes been called the “Ambrosian Hymn” because of its association with St. Ambrose, but it has also been attributed to St. Augustine and St. Hilary. Multiple sources now accredit it to Nicetas, the fourth-century bishop of Remesiana.

The hymn begins: “O God, we praise Thee and acknowledge Thee to be the Supreme Lord/ Everlasting Father, all the earth worships Thee/ All the heavens and all the angelic powers/ All the Cherubim and Seraphim continuously cry to Thee/ Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of Hosts.”

The hymn follows the outline of the Apostles’ Creed and is clearly a robust profession of the Catholic faith, but the simple beauty of the hymn commends it for occasions great and small. In the Roman Missal, it is used at the conclusion of the Office of the Readings of the Liturgy of the Hours, on Sundays outside of Lent, and daily during the octaves of Christmas and Easter, and on many solemnities and feast days.

Given the suppression of the old liturgy in the wake of Vatican II, something which Stuart Reid has called the greatest act of vandalism in the world, its use may not be found in a church near you.

Through the centuries the Te Deum has been set to music, notably by Haydn, Mozart, Verdi, Berlioz, Dvorak, and Elgar, to mention only a few composers.

As an expression of joy, it was chanted when French troops led by Joan of Arc entered the city of Orleans, at the coronation of Henry III, frequently at the Royal Chapel in England as monarchs assumed the throne and were buried, and on the Continent at the installation of numerous bishops and officials.

Catholics in the United States had reason to sing a Te Deum at the announcement that Donald Trump prevailed in the recent presidential election.

The alternative would have inflicted considerable damage on Catholic institutions. For decades the nation has witnessed in every department of life fundamental changes, signaled by a rejection of its founding principles. The preservation of what is left of the Christian character of the nation was threatened by the near victory of an administration pledged to vague socialist principles.