Fr. Ronoaldo Pelaquin, C.Ss.R, from the Province of São Paulo, composed a song dedicated to St. Clement Maria Hofbauer, to commemorate the 200th anniversary of his death. Its lyrics offer a beautiful summary of the life of this great Saint who inspires the apostolic life of the Congregation.
Fr. Rogério Gomes, C.Ss.R.
Saint Clement Mary Hofbauer
Lyrics and music by Fr. R. Pelaquin, C.Ss.R.
(translated from Portugues; the original in the pdf file is available here)
Saint Clement Mary Hofbauer,
I want to be if God this will,
there where you are,
in the sky.
John was your name from the baptism,
Then as a hermit, you took Clement’s name,
Because of your devotion, Mary is your other name,
an idea of the love the one who is a saint,
the God of love who created you,
the God of love who saved you.
With humility, you entered a monastery
You were a baker and a cook,
but God wanted something else from his saint
he wanted you to spill sweat and tears,
he wanted to see your fervor,
he wanted to give you more love.
With the idea of being a pilgrim,
you arrived in Rome in search of a destination,
and you found your future soon,
realizing in one sentence what you sought:
“A Redemptorist I want to be,
a Redemptorist to the death”
If I can talk to you like this
is that you are alive in God’s heart,
The grace I say I need it now,
is the certainty of winning the same sky.
A Redemptorist I want to be,
a Redemptorist to death.
