Ave Verum

The depths of human pain,  suffering and grief can produce some of the most exquisite beauty in art. The suffering and death of Jesus is an example, and one of the most beautiful works ever composed is Mozart’s Ave Verum.

Hail, true body
born of the Virgin Mary,
Who truly suffered, sacrificed
on the Cross for man,
Whose pierced side overflowed
with water and blood,
Be for us a foretaste
In the test of death.

Ave, verum corpus
natum de Maria Virgine,
Vere passum immolatum
in Cruce pro homine,
Cujus latus perforatum
unda fluxit (et) sanguine,
Esto nobis praegustatum
in mortis examine.