Some of you may be familiar with the English Eucharistic hymn Sweet Sacrament We Thee Adore. Did you know that there is a beautiful Latin hymn sung to the same sublime melody? It is called Ave, Sanctum Viaticum. Viaticum is what Holy Mother Church calls the Blessed Sacrament when it is given to the dying as the Last Sacrament before they leave this world. Though often mistranslated as "Bread for the Journey" (meaning for the spiritual journey of the soul from this life into the next), the word Viaticum actually comes from the Latin words Via tecum, which literally means "With you for the Way." Ave, Sanctum Viaticum (the title of the hymn) can be translated into English as "Hail, Holy Viaticum!"
The words of the Latin hymn are very different than the words sung to the same melody in English ("Sweet Sacrament We Thee Adore"). They speak of the hunger and thirst that a soul, reborn in Christ, has to receive the Blessed Sacrament, the veiled Lamb of God. The soul confesses its unworthiness, but at the same time places all its hope in the power of the words of Christ to heal it. This hymn echos the sentiments of the humble prayer that both the Priest and the faithful say at Holy Mass just before receiving Holy Communion: the Domine, non sum dignus.
Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldst enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.
Here are the Latin words to the hymn:
Ave, Sanctum Viaticum,
Agnus Dei velatus;
Ave, Solamen cordium,
Fons paci consecratus.
Ad Te, O Jesus, sitio;
Te quaero, Te esurio,
Qui sum in te renatus.
Indignum me confiteor,
Recipere te corde;
Divinitatem vereor
In peccatorum sorde.
Dic verbo tantum anima
Sanabitur et vivida,
Tuo fruetur corde.
For your convenience, here is an English translation that I made from the Latin:
Hail, O Holy Viaticum,
Veiled Lamb of God;
Hail, O Solace of hearts,
Consecrated Font of peace.
For Thee, O Jesus, I thirst;
Thee do I seek, for Thee I hunger,
Who in Thee have been reborn.
I confess myself to be unworthy,
To receive Thee in my heart;
I fear the Divinity
In the sordid [souls of] sinners.
Only say the word and [my] soul
Shall be healed and made alive;
And shall rejoice in Thine Heart.
If you would like to hear this hymn sung, there is a beautiful version online which you can listen to here [All rights belong to the original poster of the hymn]: