أنت هنا
قراءة كتاب Hymns of the Early Church being translations from the poetry of the Latin church, arranged in the order of the Christian year
تنويه: تعرض هنا نبذة من اول ١٠ صفحات فقط من الكتاب الالكتروني، لقراءة الكتاب كاملا اضغط على الزر “اشتر الآن"
Hymns of the Early Church being translations from the poetry of the Latin church, arranged in the order of the Christian year
the Sarum, York, and Aberdeen Breviaries.
I
O Thou Eternal One in Three,
Dread Ruler of the earth and sky,
Accept the praise we yield to Thee,
Who, waking, lift our songs on high.
II
Now from the couch of rest we rise,
While solemn night in silence reigns,
And lift to Thee our earnest cries,
To give Thy balm to heal our pains.
III
If in the night by Satan’s guile
Our souls were lured by thought of sin;
O bid Thy light celestial smile,
And chase away the night within.
IV
Purge Thou our flesh from every stain,
Let not dull sloth our hearts depress;
Nor let the sense of guilt remain,
To chill the warmth our souls possess.
V
To Thee, Redeemer blest, we pray,
That in our souls Thy light may shine;
So we shall walk from day to day,
Unerring in Thy way Divine.
VI
Grant it, O Father, in Thy love,
Grant it, O One-begotten Son,
Who with the Spirit reign above,
Now, and while endless ages run.
Sunday Evening
DEUS CREATOR OMNIUM
By St. Ambrose, born at Lyons, Arles, or Trêves in 340; consecrated Bishop of Milan in 374; died on Easter Eve, 397. He introduced antiphonal chanting into the Western Church, and laid the foundation of Church music, which Gregory systematised.
I
Thy works, O God, Thy name extol,
Thou Ruler of the worlds that roll;
The day is clad in garments bright,
And grateful sleep pervades the night,
II
That weary limbs from labour free,
By rest for toil prepared may be;
And jaded minds awhile forget
The anxious thoughts that pain and fret.
III
Fast fades the sunlight in the west;
Thy hand we own our day hath blessed;
Now from the accuser’s power we flee,
And lift our prayers in song to Thee.
IV
O Thou hast stirred our hearts to sing,
Hast tuned the praise our voices bring;
From earth’s vain loves our love hast won,
Hast lured our thoughts that heavenward run.
V
So, when the rayless gloom of night
Hath quenched in dark the expiring light,
Faith waves the ebon clouds away,
And dark is light, and night is day.
VI
That sin may ne’er an entrance make,
May slumber ne’er our souls o’ertake;
Faith, wakeful, keeps the soul secure,
And sleep is sweet, and deep, and pure.
VII
The mind from sin’s enticements free,
O let our dreams be thoughts of Thee;
And by no envious foe oppressed,
Vouchsafe to Thy beloved rest.
O DEUS, EGO AMO TE, NEC AMO TE, UT SALVES ME
Attributed to Francis Xavier. Born at the Castle Xavier, near Pampeluna, Spain, in 1506; graduated at the Paris University, where he became acquainted with Ignatius Loyola; as a Jesuit missionary visited India, Travancore, Ceylon, Malacca, and Japan; died, when near Canton, in 1552. The original of this hymn is supposed to be a Spanish sonnet. All that can be said of the Latin version is that it is probably by Xavier, or by some German Jesuit, and is at least as early as 1668.
I
O God, I love Thee, not alone
Because Thou savest me,
And those who love not in return
Are lost eternally.
II
Thou art mine own, O Christ; Thine arms
Embraced me on the Cross;
Thou didst endure the nails, the spear,
The bitter shame and loss.
III
O sorrows numberless were Thine,
And all were borne for me—
The bloody sweat, the cruel death
Of bitter agony.
IV
Why, therefore, should I love Thee now,
O Jesus, ever blest?
Not lest in hell my soul be cast,
Not that in heaven it rest.
V
No other hope my love inspires,
And wins my heart for Thee—
I only love Thee, Christ, my King,
Because Thou lovest me.
LUCIS CREATOR OPTIME
By Gregory, surnamed the Great, born at Rome about 540; succeeded Pelagius in the Papal Chair, 590; sent Augustine on a mission to Britain in 596; died in 614. He ranks among the Four Latin Doctors, and because of the services he rendered to the ritual of the Church, he was styled Magister Cæremoniarum. The Gregorian tones or chants are the fruit of his study of sacred music.
I
Thou, blest Creator of the light,
From whom the day its splendour brings,
Thy word the earth to beauty woke,
When light came forth on glowing wings.
II
The circle of the day is Thine,
The morn, and night in one are bound;—
O hear our earnest prayer as now
The gloomy shades are gathering round;
III
O free our souls from guilty stains,
That we Thy favour still may know;
And let no thought the mind possess,
To bind the heart to earth below.
IV
That we may beat at heaven’s fair gate,
Where safely stored our treasure lies,
Purge us from every filthy stain,
Teach us all evil to despise.
V
Hear us, O Holy Father, hear,
And Thou the Everlasting Son,
Who with the Holy Spirit reign’st
While the eternal ages run.