Note that there is a new melody for every pair of verses: the melody for verse 1 is repeated for verse 2, the melody for verse 3 is repeated for verse 4, and so on. This is a common pattern in sequence hymns, and strongly suggests alternating choirs between verses.
I haven’t had time to mingle any English version of the text with the music notation, but for now will just present it in table form. The second column is a literal translation from The Parish Book of Chant*; the third column is a metrical translation by Edward Caswall (altered) as found in The Hymnal 1940. Each verse has three lines; each line has seven syllables.
In the Novena to the Holy Spirit, each day’s prayer begins with a verse of this hymn (the last day, two verses). Some versions of the novena alter the hymn text for days 2–8, so the verse speaks about the gift which is the “topic” of that day. In the original Latin, only verse 9 refers to the seven gifts–and without explicitly using the word for “gift.” But you can sing any version of the text you like, Latin or English, according to the version of the novena you are praying.
| 1 Veni Sancte Spiritus, | Come, Holy Spirit, | Come, thou Holy Spirit, come! |
| Et emitte caelitus | and send forth from heaven | And from thy celestial home |
| Lucis tuae radium. | the rays of thy light. | Shed a ray of light divine! |
| 2 Veni pater pauperum, | Come, Father of the poor; | Come, thou Father of the poor! |
| Veni dator munerum, | come, giver of gifts; | Come, thou source of all our store! |
| Veni lumen cordium. | come, light of hearts. | Come, within our bosoms shine! |
| 3 Consolator optime, | O best Comforter, | Thou, of comforters the best; |
| Dulcis hospes animae, | sweet guest of the soul, | Thou, the soul’s most welcome guest; |
| Dulce refrigerium. | sweet refreshment. | Sweet refreshment here below; |
| 4 In labore requies, | Rest amidst labor; | In our labor, rest most sweet; |
| In aestu temperies, | temperateness amidst heat; | Grateful coolness in the heat; |
| In fletu solatium. | solace amidst tears. | Solace in the midst of woe. |
| 5 O lux beatissima, | O most blessed Light, | O most blessed Light divine, |
| Reple cordis intima | fill the inmost heart | Shine within these hearts of thine, |
| Tuorum fidelium. | of thy faithful. | And our inmost being fill! |
| 6 Sine tuo numine, | Without thy divinity, | Where thou art not, man hath naught, |
| Nihil est in homine, | there is nothing in man, | Nothing good in deed or thought, |
| Nihil est innoxium. | nothing is harmless. | Nothing free from taint of ill. |
| 7 Lava quod est sordidum, | Wash what is filthy, | Heal our wounds, our strength renew; |
| Riga quod est aridum, | water what is dry, | On our dryness pour thy dew; |
| Sana quod est saucium. | heal what is wounded. | Wash the stains of guilt away: |
| 8 Flecte quod est rigidum, | Bend what is rigid, | Bend the stubborn heart and will; |
| Fove quod est frigidum, | warm what is cold, | Melt the frozen, warm the chill; |
| Rege quod est devium. (a) | direct what is deviant. (a) | Guide the steps that go astray. |
| 9 Da tuis fidelibus, | Give to thy faithful, | On the faithful, who adore |
| In te confidentibus, | who trust in thee, | And confess thee, evermore |
| Sacrum septenarium. | the sacred sevenfold [gift]. | In thy sev’nfold gift descend; |
| 10 Da virtutis meritum, | Grant [us] the merit of virtue, | Give them virtue’s sure reward; |
| Da salutis exitum, | grant [us] salvation at our going forth, | Give them thy salvation, Lord; |
| da perenne gaudium. | grant [us] perpetual joy. | Give them joys that never end. |
| Amen. Alleluia. | Amen. Alleluia. | Amen. Alleluia. |
G. Weber, 2020 May 23
* Literal translation from The Parish Book of Chant, ©2012 CMAA, Creative Commons Attribution 3.0.