Back in 2011, a contest for poetry and music was held in honor of the upcoming Centennial of Our Lady of Fatima. The combination of these compositions was the creation of the beautiful Portuguese hymn, “Teacher of the Announcement, Prophecy of Love.” When I discovered this 13 verse hymn existed a few weeks ago, I immediately began searching for an English translation to teach to my sons as part of our family’s Fatima celebration. But, after my googling proved a sore disappointment, I was faced with a short list of possible options. I could scrap the whole idea, find someone who knew Portuguese and was willing to translate for me, or I could take the leap and attempt an English translation myself. This first option was completely out of the question and the second turned out to be a more difficult feat than I had anticipated.
So… I decided to try my hand at translating the Portuguese of the first verse and am humbly sharing my efforts with you. I did my best to stay as close to the original language as possible and did not alter the Latin chorus.
Should your family like to join us in the study of this hymn, I have provided an educational quality downloadable recording of my English version, a printable word sheet for your family hymnal, and the printable worksheets we will be using for penmanship. A video of the original hymn and link to the sheet music are also shown.
I’d love to hear your family’s plans for the Fatima Centennial, so please share them with me in the comments!
My English Translation
She the chosen field of the Spirit
Gave her fiat to the herald she heard
With the angel we say, “Hail full of grace,
The servant and messenger of the Word.”
Welcomed by all generations
Happy among women and ever blessed
Praise be to the fruit of thy womb
Guardian and mother of the Eucharist
Chorus:
Ave o clemens, Ave o pia
Salve Regina Rosarii Fatimae!
Ave o clemens, Ave o pia
Ave o dulcis Virgo Maria.
“Teacher of the Announcement, Prophecy of Love” sung in English
“Mestra do Anúncio, Profecia do Amor” Sheet Music
Original Hymn
Our Fatima Hymn Study
We typically begin our Hymn Study time by reviewing an older hymn we have learned, then proceed to the new hymn. Only two of my sons are of reading age, so I introduce a new hymn by having everyone repeat the lines of the first verse after me. Next I sing the first verse once and then have my boys join in the second time through with humming, a neutral syllable, or attempting the words. We sing the current verse we are learning about three times a day during our Morning Liturgy (Morning Time). They pick up a verse in about a week. After our singing we choose a few of the additional activities below to help us dig a little deeper. I have provided some printable sheets for your family’s use, should you be interested in having them participate in any of the following with us.
A few ideas to try for expanding a Hymn Study are:
- Catechesis: discussing the theological truths painted in the text.
- Commonplacing – Florilegium entries: choosing to copy down a line that is personally meaningful.
- Dictation: use a selection from the hymn text (blank writing page below)
- Ear Training: have your family practice Attentive Listening by drawing what is heard in the text or music (page below)
- Handwriting: use a selection from the hymn text (both print and cursive pages below)
- Memorization
- Narration of Hymn Text: have your family speak and/or write what they remember about the hymn text in their own words (blank writing page below)
- Singing for Beauty and Enjoyment: add hymn singing to a meal or bedtime ritual
- Vocabulary Enrichment: discuss unfamiliar words and phrases with your family (blank writing page for new words below)
Printable English Word Sheet
(Just click on the pictures to download)
(3 penmanship pages)
