Adoro Te Devote

A eucharistic hymn composed by Aquinas, probably for the Feast of Corpus Christi. In seven stanzas of extraordinary compression, the hymn moves from the hiddenness of God in the sacrament through the insufficiency of the senses to the act of faith that sees what the senses cannot. The final stanza's prayer — to see God face to face — connects the sacramental life to the beatific vision. The Adoro Te reveals the mystic behind the systematizer: Aquinas on his knees before the mystery his Summa could never exhaust.

Adoro Te Devote is a central text in the Christian mystical tradition, offering insight into the spiritual life, the nature of divine union, and the transformation of the soul.