If Great Wonders Thou Desirest

This hymn is based on " Si quaeris miracul" a devotion to St Anthony of Padua, which is believed to have been written by Friar Julian of Speyer, who is sometimes called Julian of Spires or Fra Giuliano da Spira. (ref)

It was translated and written as a hymn in English by Dominican monk and lecturer James Dominick Ambrose Aylward (1813-1872).

With meter 87 87 87, tunes it is set to include:

• An unnamed tune from a Slovak hymnal, presented in the The St. Gregory Hymnal and Catholic Choir Book, 1020
• Two unnamed tunes in The Catholic Church Hymnal with Music, 1905

Downloads

Sheet music from the
St Gregory Choir Book, 1920

PowerPoint
slides

Examples

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Lyrics

Traditional language

If great wonders thou desirest,
Hopeful to Saint Anthony pray;
Error, Satan, wants the direst,
Death and pest his will obey,
And the sick, who beg his pity,
From their couches haste away.

Young and old are ever singing,
Praises to Saint Anthony bringing;
Stormy ocean calms its passion,
Bonds and fetters break in twain,
Treasures lost and limbs disabled,
These his pow'r restores again.

Padua has been the witness
Of these deeds six hundred years;
Dangers flee and need must perish,
Grief and sorrow disappear,
Filling all the world with wonder,
While the demons quake with fear.

Glory be to God the Father
And to His coequal Son,
To the Holy Ghost resplendent;
One in Three -- Three in One;
Praise we Father, Son and Spirit
While eternal ages run.

See more ...

• Hymns about St Anthony of Padua