Nun bitten wir den Heiligen Geist
"" (We now implore the Holy Ghost) is a German Christian hymn. The first stanza is a leise from the 13th century which alludes to the Latin sequence Veni Sancte Spiritus (Come, Holy Spirit) for Pentecost. It was widely known, and aside from its Pentecostal origin was also used as a procession song and in sacred plays. The most prominent form of today's hymn contains three further stanzas written by the Protestant reformer Martin Luther. He recommended the leise in his 1523 liturgy to be used regularly in church services. The request to the Holy Spirit for the right faith most of all ("um den rechten Glauben allermeist") suited Luther's theology well. In 1524, possibly for Pentecost, he wrote the additional stanzas. This version was first published in Wittenberg the same year as part of Johann Walter's First Wittenberg Hymnal. The song's themes of faith, love and hope render it appropriate not only for Pentecost but also for general occasions and funerals. Luther's chorale is part of many hymnals, sung in several Christian denominations and in translations. It inspired vocal and organ music from the Renaissance to contemporary by composers such as Michael Praetorius, Dieterich Buxtehude and Johann Sebastian Bach. Alternate versions of the hymn, employing the same medieval first stanza, have appeared in Catholic hymnals, first in 1537 by Michael Vehe, a Dominican friar and theologian. His hymn was revised by Maria Luise Thurmair and published in 1972, and is still part of the 2013 Catholic hymnal Gotteslob. History and text Medieval leise The medieval leise (a genre of vernacular medieval church song), which later became the first stanza, is documented in the 13th century, attributed to the Franciscan Berthold von Regensburg (died 1272), who quoted it in a sermon: The stanza forms a prayer in German to the Holy Spirit, reminiscent of the Latin sequence Veni Sancte Spiritus. The concern is "most of all" (allermeist) the "right faith" (rechten glouben), considering to return "home" (heim) after the "exile" (ellende) of life. In the old German, "ellende" meant exile and was stressed on the second syllable, rhyming with "ende", whereas the modern "Elend" is stressed on the first syllable and translates to "misery". As in the conclusion of Veni Sancte Spiritus ("da salutis exitum"), the focus is the assistance of the Holy Spirit at the time of death. The leise was widely known. A tune derived from the chant of the sequence first appeared in Jistebnitz around 1420. Aside from its Pentecostal origin, it was also used as a procession song and in sacred plays. Luther's Protestant continuation The Protestant reformer Martin Luther issued a liturgy for services in 1523, Formula missae et communionis. One aspect was the inclusion of hymns in German. He recommended, for lack of alternatives, three medieval songs to be sung regularly: "Gott sei gelobet und gebenedeiet", "Ein Kindelein so lobelich" and, probably as the gradual, "Nun bitten wir den Heiligen Geist". The leise had a long tradition. Its topics of the right faith (rechter