After 50 days of celebration, the official Church Year celebration of Eastertide is now concluding with Pentecost, the festival we celebrated on Sunday. On Pentecost, so-called because it is the 50th day of Easter and “pente” means “five” in Greek, the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples, appearing as tongues of fire over their heads. In “Come, Holy Ghost, Creator Blest”, then, we are singing about the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, and asking for his “grace and heav’nly aid”.

This hymn has a long history in the Church. Next to the Te Deum, “Come, Holy Ghost, Creator Blest” is considered one of the greatest Latin hymns. In the past, it was sung with great dignity, including the use of bells, incense, and vestments. Throughout its history, it has been used, and continues to be used, at the ordinations of priests, at British coronations, at the consecration of bishops, at the laying of foundation stones, and at the consecration of churches. Martin Luther created a German translation of this hymn, published in 1524. The first English translation was included in the Book of Common Prayer in 1549.

This hymn is a prayer to the Holy Spirit who sanctifies us. In it, we pray for the Holy Spirit to come and fill our hearts, much like he did at Pentecost centuries ago. For it is the Holy Spirit who, according to the Small Catechism, “calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.”

Review questions:

1. Which day of the Church Year are we celebrating this week?

2. What happened on that day of the Church Year?

3. Which person of the Trinity is this hymn primarily about?

4. Which language was this hymn originally written in?

5. What does the Holy Spirit do?