Salvete Christi Vulnera

The Lauds hymn in honour of the Most Precious Blood

July 1 is traditionally the Feast of the Precious Blood of Our Lord, and as a result, the entire month of July is dedicated to the Precious Blood. We know from Sacred Scripture that Our Lord shed His Blood five times during His life on earth: at His Circumcision, during His bitter Agony in the Garden, at the cruel Scourging at the Pillar, at His Crowning with Thorns, and in the most supreme way at His Crucifixion. Every drop of Precious Blood that Our Lord shed is worthy of our adoration, as it was for us alone that He shed His Blood.

Today’s chant, Salvete Christi Vulnera, comes from the traditional Roman Breviary, as the Feast of the Sacred Heart is no longer observed in the new liturgical calendar and breviary. The chant is traditionally sung at Lauds (Morning Prayer) on the Feast of the Precious Blood. The origin of the chant seems to be unknown; we only know that the chant existed when the Feast of the Precious Blood began spreading throughout the Latin Church.

The chant is written in a minor scale (chant mode II), giving a solemn and almost plaintive tone to the melody. The tone of this chant is appropriate given its subject matter; it is a hymn of praise, but praise to Christ Who poured forth His Most Precious Blood for our sake. The chant is not Lenten in its somberness; it ends on a note of hope, remembering that Christ’s “Blood redeems our souls from guilt” and that Christ Himself is “[e]nthroned” in Heaven with the Father.

Below is an English translation of Salvete Christi Vulnera. Below the words is a video recording with the chant notation so that listeners can follow along. Please enjoy listening to this beautiful chant in honour of Our Lord’s Most Precious Blood.

1. Hail wounds! which through eternal years
The love of Jesus show;
Hail wounds! from whence unfailing streams
Of grace and glory flow.

2. More precious than the gems of Ind,
Than all the stars more fair;
Nor honeycomb, nor fragrant rose,
Can once with you compare.

3. Through you is open'd to our souls
A refuge safe and calm,
Whither no raging enemy
Can reach to work us harm.

4. What countless stripes did Christ receive
Naked in Pilate's hall!
From his torn flesh how red a shower
Did all around Him fall !

5. How doth th' ensanguined thorny crown
That beauteous brow transpierce!
How do the nails those hands and feet
Contract with tortures fierce!

6. He bows his head, and forth at last
His loving spirit soars;
Yet even after death his heart
For us its tribute pours.

7. Beneath the wine-press of God's wrath
His Blood for us He drains;
Till for Himself, O wondrous love!
No single drop remains.

8. Oh, come all ye on whom abide
The deadly stains of sin!
Come! wash in this encrimson'd tide,
And ye shall be made clean.

9. Praise Him, who with the Father sits
Enthroned upon the skies;
Whose Blood redeems our souls from guilt.
Whose Spirit sanctifies.