Before the Reformation dispute between Eck and Luther at Pleissenburg it is said that the assembly knelt and the solemn chant of the Veni Creator was sung three times. Attributed to Charlemagne, but almost certainly older, the first portion of this Latin hymn has been translated in an appendix to the Book of Common Prayer as -
"Come, Holy Ghost, Creator come "Thou art the comforter, the Gift
And visit all the souls of Thine; Of God most High, the Fire of Love,
Thou hast inspired our hearts with life, The everlasting Spring of joy,
Inspire them now with life divine. And holy Unction from above."
In this very readable book, originally called Veni Creator, Handley Moule asks us to come with the same unifying spirit, not to a great battle of arguments but a series of quiet meditations upon the person and the work of the Spirit: both in our lives and in our church.
