We ask you, humbly: don't scroll away.
Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Thank you.Help Now >
Rerum Crerator Optime
FREE Catholic Classes
The hymn for Matins of Wednesday in the Divine Office. It comprises four strophes of four iambic dimeters rhymed in couplets, e.g.
Rerum Creator optime,Rectorque noster aspice:
Nos a quiete noxia
Mersos sopore libera.
Its ascription to St. Ambrose is not sanctioned by the most recent authorities. Mone cites it as in an eighth-century manuscript at Trier, denying it to St. Ambrose because of its rhyme and thinking it may possibly be by St. Gregory with the remark that, if a choice must be made between the two, he would certainly choose him; Biraghi does not include it in his inni sinceri of St. Ambrose, nor does Dreves place it among those "possibly his". Blume thinks that neither St. Ambrose nor St. Gregory may seriously be considered for ascription of authorship. Daniel, citing it as in a manuscript of the tenth century at Rheinau, puts it in his category of hymns of the seventh and eighth century. Pimont ("Les hymnes du bréviaire romain", I Paris, 1874, pp. 192-9) gives the Latin text and an extended commentary. The "Hymnarium Sarisburiense" (London, 1851, p. 49) gives the uncorrected Latin text with various manuscript readings. The variants from the text of the Roman Breviary are nine in number and of small importance, but Pimont thinks that in the couplet of what he styles the texte primitif
Te, sancte Christe,poscimus,
Ignosce Tu criminibus,
the contrast between the holiness of Christ and the sinfulness of His petitioners is better emphasized by criminibus than by the culpis of the Roman Breviary text (Ignosce culpis omnibus), while the Te of the first line and the Tu of the second line heighten the energy of the prayer. He also defends gessimus in the line, "Vides malum quod gessimus", changed in our Breviary to fecimus (possibly because in the older poem the three forms, gerendum, gestis, gessimus, of the verb gero, occur in close proximity, and also possibly because of the words of the "Miserere")("Et malum coram Te feci"). There are thirteen translations into English verse, eight by Catholics. Newman's version is given in the Marquess of Bute's "The Roman Breviary". To the list given in Julian's "Dictionary of Hymnology" (2nd ed., 1907, p. 956) should be added the version of Archbishop Bagshawe, "Most Holy Maker of the world" ("Breviary Hymns and Missal Sequences", London, 1900, p. 11) and that of Judge D. J. Donahoe, "Creator of the earth and skies" ("Early Christian Hymns ", New York, 1908, p. 99).
We ask you, humbly: don't scroll away.
Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Thank you.Help Now >
Join the Movement
When you sign up below, you don't just join an email list - you're joining an entire movement for Free world class Catholic education.
-
Mysteries of the Rosary
-
St. Faustina Kowalska
-
Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
-
Saint of the Day for Wednesday, Oct 4th, 2023
-
Popular Saints
-
St. Francis of Assisi
-
Bible
-
Female / Women Saints
-
7 Morning Prayers you need to get your day started with God
-
Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Chaplain Reveals Unrest at Columbia University Caused by Communists
-
Discovering Who We Are: God's Truth in Scripture
-
Pope Francis Advises Parish Priests on Fostering a Missionary Church
-
5 Reasons Going To Church Is Important (even on days you feel like you can skip)
-
U.S. Catholic Parishes Experience Resurgence of Traditional Practices
Daily Catholic
- Daily Readings for Saturday, May 04, 2024
- St. Florian: Saint of the Day for Saturday, May 04, 2024
- The Universal Prayer (attributed to Pope Clement Xi): Prayer of the Day for Saturday, May 04, 2024
- Daily Readings for Friday, May 03, 2024
- St. James the Lesser: Saint of the Day for Friday, May 03, 2024
- Prayer before Starting on a Journey: Prayer of the Day for Friday, May 03, 2024
We ask you, humbly: don't scroll away.
Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Thank you.Help Now >
Copyright 2024 Catholic Online. All materials contained on this site, whether written, audible or visual are the exclusive property of Catholic Online and are protected under U.S. and International copyright laws, © Copyright 2024 Catholic Online. Any unauthorized use, without prior written consent of Catholic Online is strictly forbidden and prohibited.
Catholic Online is a Project of Your Catholic Voice Foundation, a Not-for-Profit Corporation. Your Catholic Voice Foundation has been granted a recognition of tax exemption under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Federal Tax Identification Number: 81-0596847. Your gift is tax-deductible as allowed by law.