«ETERNAL GIFTS OF CHRIST». — Hymn of the Roman Breviary for Matins of the Common of Apostles. Composed by St. Ambrose in eight strophes, it presents here only four: 1, 2, 6, 7, leaving the others for the Matins of the Common of Several Martyrs. The hymn invites us to celebrate the apostles (strophe 1), princes of the Church, heroes victorious in battle, soldiers of the faith and light of the world (strophe 2). Their weapons, which must also be ours against the demon, are none other than the three theological virtues: faith, hope, and charity (strophe 3). The Most Holy Trinity celebrates in the apostles its own triumph, while heaven is filled with joy for their noble deeds.
BIBL.: G. M. Dreves and C. Blume, Analecta hymnica, 50 (1907), p. 19; L. Venturi, Gli Inni della Chiesa trionfante e commentati, 3rd ed., Florence 1880, pp. 382–87; K. Kastner, Praktischer Brevior-Kommentar, II, Breslau 1924, p. 356; C. Albin, La poésie du Bréviaire, Lyons n.d., pp. 384–87; A. Mirra, Gli Inni del Breviario romano per i Licei filosofici e per il clero, Naples 1947, pp. 246–47.