Te Deum Laudamus! The Martyr’s Plenary Indulgence on 31 December. Blood and guts everywhere. Faith flourishing.

Te Deum laudamus: te Dominum confitemur.
Te aeternum Patrem omnis terra veneratur.
Tibi omnes Angeli; tibi caeli et universae Potestates;
Tibi Cherubim et Seraphim incessabili voce proclamant:
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth.
Pleni sunt caeli et terra maiestatis gloriae tuae.
Te gloriosus Apostolorum chorus,
Te Prophetarum laudabilis numerus,
Te Martyrum candidatus laudat exercitus.
Te per orbem terrarum sancta confitetur Ecclesia,
Patrem immensae maiestatis:
Venerandum tuum verum et unicum Filium;
Sanctum quoque Paraclitum Spiritum.
Tu Rex gloriae, Christe.
Tu Patris sempiternus es Filius.
Tu ad liberandum suscepturus hominem, non horruisti Virginis uterum.
Tu, devicto mortis aculeo, aperuisti credentibus regna caelorum.
Tu ad dexteram Dei sedes, in gloria Patris.
Iudex crederis esse venturus.
Te ergo quaesumus, tuis famulis subveni: quos pretioso sanguine redemisti.
Aeterna fac cum sanctis tuis in gloria numerari.

V. Salvum fac populum tuum, Domine, et benedic hereditati tuae.
R. Et rege eos, et extolle illos usque in aeternum.

V. Per singulos dies benedicimus te.
R. Et laudamus nomen tuum in saeculum, et in saeculum saeculi.

V. Dignare, Domine, die isto sine peccato nos custodire.
R. Miserere nostri, Domine, miserere nostri.

V. Fiat misericordia tua, Domine, super nos, quemadmodum speravimus in te.
R. In te, Domine, speravi: non confundar in aeternum.

O God, we praise Thee, and acknowledge Thee to be the supreme Lord.
Everlasting Father, all the earth worships Thee.
All the Angels, the heavens and all angelic powers,
All the Cherubim and Seraphim, continuously cry to Thee:
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts!
Heaven and earth are full of the Majesty of Thy glory.
The glorious choir of the Apostles,
The wonderful company of Prophets,
The white-robed army of Martyrs, praise Thee.
Holy Church throughout the world acknowledges Thee:
The Father of infinite Majesty;
Thy adorable, true and only Son;
Also the Holy Spirit, the Comforter.
O Christ, Thou art the King of glory!
Thou art the everlasting Son of the Father.
When Thou tookest it upon Thyself to deliver man,
Thou didst not disdain the Virgin’s womb.
Having overcome the sting of death, Thou opened the Kingdom of Heaven to all
believers.
Thou sitest at the right hand of God in the glory of the Father.
We believe that Thou willst come to be our Judge.
We, therefore, beg Thee to help Thy servants whom Thou hast redeemed with Thy
Precious Blood.
Let them be numbered with Thy Saints in everlasting glory.

V. Save Thy people, O Lord, and bless Thy inheritance!
R. Govern them, and raise them up forever.

V. Every day we thank Thee.
R. And we praise Thy Name forever, yes, forever and ever.

V. O Lord, deign to keep us from sin this day.
R. Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us.

V. Let Thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, for we have hoped in Thee.
R. O Lord, in Thee I have put my trust; let me never be put to shame.

The usual conditions for any plenary indulgence:

• Sacramental confession, within abut 20 days before or after
• Eucharistic communion, preferably on the day, or the days before or after
• Prayer for the intentions of Supreme Pontiff, for instance, the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, the Glory Be
• The will to be detached from even venial sin

The recitation or singing of the Te Deum Laudumus is to be solemnized in a church, chapel or oratory.

Whatever the origin of this hymn, it seems that Saints Ambrose and Augustine were seen exclaiming the verses in alternation from memory. I love that kind of enthusiasm.

I’m hoping my little Holy Souls Hermitage Chapel counts, and that the way I sing this, perhaps quite pitifully, will count as “solemn”!

I’m going to ask our Lord to free the soul of priest in purgatory. Perhaps he will greet me at the gates of heaven and help to welcome me, as I hope, into the eternal habitations, as they are called in the Gospels.

Nota Bene: Don’t think that our Lord is misery in indulging souls with His good graces. He is good and kind. There are many, however, who insist that an indulgence is farcical, that there is no such thing, insisting that the soul has to be virtually enjoying the beatific vision, transformed in grace as much as the Immaculate Conception, before any indulgence would be granted by our Lord, which, by the way, would make the indulgence superfluous, right?

No, no. The will to be detached from even venial sin means that this is one’s intention. It does not mean that one is not weak. Honestly!

So, do an act of charity, offer an indulgence for one of the faithful departed.

Tomorrow, there is another special indulgence. Perhaps offer that for yourself. You can’t offer an indulgence for any other living person.

Anecdote: I know of a seminarian who was thrown out of an international Marian pilgrimage destination because he mentioned that the Stations of the Cross carried a plenary indulgence. Yikes!

Blood and guts everywhere: There are many stories of the martyrs going to their deaths singing the Te Deum Laudamus in thanksgiving for having been given the priviledge to bear witness to our Lord in the most trying of circumstances, which makes that witness, that martyrdom, shine all the more brilliantly.

When we are thankful to our Lord, that thankfulness must include all that which He has has permitted to happen to us which is rather horrific, in the sense that we know that He can and will draw a much greater good out of such events for our good and the good of others.

Thank you, Jesus!