Catholic Book of Worship III ‎#407

407. Come Down, O Love Divine

1 Come down, O Love divine,
Seek now this soul of mine,
And visit it with your own ardor glowing;
O Comforter, draw near,
Within my heart appear,
And kindle it, your holy flame bestowing.

2 O let it freely burn,
Till earthly passions turn
To dust and ashes in its heat consuming;
And let your glorious light
Shine ever on my sight,
And clothe me round, the while my path illuming.

3 And so the yearning strong,
With which the soul will long,
Shall far outpass the power of human telling;
For none can guess its grace,
Till we become the place
Wherein the Holy Spirit makes a dwelling.

Text Information

• First Line: Come down, O Love divine
• Title: Come Down, O Love Divine
• Italian Title: Discendi, Amor Santo
• Author: Bianco da Siena, d. 1434
• Translator: Richard Frederick Littledale, 1833-1890 (alt.)
• Language: English
• Publication Date: 1994
• Topic: Light; Pentecost; Thirsting for God

Tune Information

• Name: DOWN AMPNEY
• Composer: Ralph Vaughan Williams, 1872-1958
• Meter: 66 11 D
• Key: D Major
• Source: English Hymnal
• Copyright: By permission of Oxford University Press