The Holy Eucharist and the Hymn "T'Adoriam, Ostia Divina"

Abstract

Dun Karm Psaila - Malta's National Poet - wrote the lyrics for a Eucharistic hymn, 'Inno Eucaristico', later on more popularly called T'Adoriam, Ostia Divina, to be sung during the celebrations which took place throughout the 24th International Eucharistic Congress held in Malta in 1913. This publication includes two studies: the first deals with the inextricable relationship which binds together the celebration of the Eucharist and the daily life of Christians as they seek to put into practice what they have experienced during the liturgical assembly - by strengthening the bonds of love which bind them together, by serving each other and by bearing witness in today's world. The second study deals with the vicissitudes accompanying the composition of the hymn and its dissemination to the four corners of the Earth. A detailed exegesis of the hymn is also carried out. This second section is accompanied by a very vast array of photographic documentation, some of which is being published for the first time.