Hymn in praise of St Joseph



The video runs through the hymn twice, first with the Latin text and then with the metrical English translation. Here are both for you to follow, courtesy of Preces Latinae.

Te Ioseph, celebrent agmina caelitum,
te cuncti resonent Christiadum chori,
qui, clarus meritis, iunctus es inclitae,
casto foedere Virgini. 		Joseph! to thee by hosts on high
and choirs of Christians, laud be paid!
saintly of life, by purest tie
joined unto her, the glorious Maid.
Almo cum tumidam germine coniugem
admirans dubio tangeris anxius,
afflatu superi Flaminis, Angelus
conceptum puerum docet. 		When thou didst doubt thy wife's repute,
and mark her great with motherhood,
the angel taught thee that her fruit
came from the Holy Ghost of God.
Tu natum Dominum stringis, ad exteras
Aegypti profugum tu sequeris plagas;
amissum Solymis quaeris et invenis,
miscens gaudia fletibus. 		To clasp the Son, the Lord, was thine,
to share His flight to Egypt's shore,
with tears, to seek in Salem's shrine
Him lost, -with joy, to find once more.
Electos reliquos mors pia consecrat1
palmamque emeritos gloria suscipit;
tu vivens, Superis par, frueris Deo,
mira sorte beatior. 		Death brings to other Saints their rest;
through toil they win the victor's place;
thou happier, like the Angels blest,
alive, hast seen God face to face.
Nobis, summa Trias, parce precantibus;
da Ioseph meritis sidera scandere,
ut tandem liceat nos tibi perpetim
gratum promere canticum.
Amen. 		Spare us, O Trinity most High!
grant that, with Joseph, we may gain
Thy starry realm, and ceaselessly
there raise to Thee our thankful strain.
Amen.

Joseph is the second Christian name that my parents chose for my baptism and therefore I have a special devotion to the "upright and just man". I asked people this morning at Mass to pray especially for men and for fathers of families that St Joseph would intercede and assist us to acquire and develop the manly virtues which he lived.

On a mundane note, this was also a test to see whether the old table html tags which veteran webmasters know and love will work in Blogger. Looking at the result, it seems OK but I haven't done a comprehensive browser test so do put in a comment if things go haywire.

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