Maneant in vobis

- Richard Rice

Use: Holy Thursday
Required Resources: SATB choir
Language: Latin and English

The sixth antiphon from the Graduale Romanum for the Washing of Feet on Holy Thursday is:

Maneant in vobis fides, spes, caritas, tria hæc: major autem horum est caritas.
Let these abide with you: faith, hope and charity, these three things: the greatest is charity.

Richard Rice has metricized the mode VII Gregorian chant found in the Graduale, using it as a refrain for his motet. The four verses are taken from the other prescribed liturgical antiphons:

1. The Lord Jesus, when he had eaten with his disciples...
2. If I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet...
3. If there is this love among you, all will know...
4. I give you a new commandment: that you love one another...

While the time changes from 4 to 5 to 6 beats per measure quite freely, nowhere is it jarring or academic. Rather, the time changes mimic the free rhythm of the original chant and produce a wonderful "motion without accent."

The refrain is presented with both a Latin text and a singable English translation. The verses are in English.