Nunc sancte nobis spiritus

Nunc, Sancte, nobis Spiritus is a Christian hymn attributed to St. Ambrose of Milan. Traditionally, the hymn is a part of the prayers of Terce in the Liturgy of the Hours.

Hymn in Latin

Nunc, Sancte, nobis, Spiritus,
Unum Patri cum Filio,
Dignare promptus ingeri
Nostro refusus pectori.

Os, lingua, mens, sensus, vigor
Confessionem personent.
Flammescat igne caritas,
Accéndat ardor proximos.

Præsta, Pater piissime,
Patríque compar Unice,
Cum Spiritu Paraclito
Regnans per omne sæculum. Amen.

Hymn in English

Translation by John Henry Newman, 1836.

Come, Holy Ghost, Who ever One
Art with the Father and the Son;
Come, Holy Ghost, our souls possess
With Thy full flood of holiness.

In will and deed, by heart and tongue,
With all our powers, Thy praise be sung;
And love light up our mortal frame,
Till others catch the living flame.

Almighty Father, hear our cry
Through Jesus Christ our Lord most high,
Who with the Holy Ghost and Thee
Doth live and reign eternally.

Another Translation

Below is the even more widely used translation made by Father John Mason Neale in 1852 for his community of Anglican nuns.

Come, Holy Ghost, with God the Son
And God the Father, ever One;
Shed forth Thy grace within our breast,
And dwell with us a ready Guest.

By every power, by heart and tongue,
By act and deed, Thy praise be sung;
Inflame with perfect love each sense,
That others’ souls may kindle thence.

O Father, that we ask be done,
Through Jesus Christ, Thine only Son,
Who, with the Holy Ghost and Thee,
Shall live and reign eternally.

See also

• Ambrosian hymnography