Jesu Dulcis Amor Meus (Jesus, My Sweet Love) is a Cistercian Gregorian hymn, which honors the Holy Shroud of Turin and is attributed to St. Bernard of Clairvaux.
The hymn is a touching recollection of the various wounds of Our Lord: first, how He was stripped of His garments, then stretched out and laid in a shroud. His Sacred Head, blood stained and pierced by the Crown of Thorns, disfigured His beauty; His side, pierced by the lance of St. Longinus, spilled blood and water that would be the remedy for mankind's sin; His hands, torn by the hard nails that were so cruelly driven into them.
Finally, the faithful penitent, looking up at the Cross with love and compassion, draws near and asks His Savior to not turn him away from His sacred feet. And he humbly adores the Body of He who was broken and bruised to save us from eternal torment and to open the gates of Heaven to us.
Jesu Dulcis Amor Meus is here interpreted by Giovanni Vianini.
Listen to Jesu Dulcis Amor Meus
Lyrics:
Latin text:
1. Jesu dulcis amor meus,
Ac si praesens sis accedo:
Te complector cum affectu,
Tuorum memor vulnerum.
2. O quam nudum hic te cerno,
Vulneratum et distentum,
Inquinatum, involutum,
In hoc sacrato tegmine.
3. Salve caput cruentatum
Spinis cujus dulcis vultus
Immutavit suum florem,
Quem caeli tremit curia.
