O Bread to Pilgrims Given

O Bread to pilgrims given,
O Food that angels eat,
O Manna sent from Heaven,
For Heav’n-born natures meet,
Give us, for Thee long pining,
To eat till richly filled;
Till, earth’s delights resigning,
Our every wish is stilled.

O Water, life-bestowing,
Forth from the Savior’s heart,
A fountain purely flowing,
A fount of love Thou art:
O let us, freely tasting,
Our burning thirst assuage;
Thy sweetness, never wasting,
Avails from age to age.

Jesus, this feast receiving,
We Thee unseen adore;
Thy faithful word believing,
We take, and doubt no more;
Give us, Thou true and loving,
On earth to live in Thee;
Then, death the veil removing,
Thy glorious face to see.

Author: Thomas Aquinas

Year: 1264

This is an English translation of the Latin hymn 'O esca viatorum' (or 'O esca viatorum'), traditionally attributed to Thomas Aquinas as part of his Eucharistic hymns for the Office of Corpus Christi. The most common English version is by an anonymous 19th-century translator, but the original author is Aquinas.