St. Cecilia's Abbey, UK
1. From the point
where the sun rises in the east,
to the uttermost
end of the earth, let us sing
Christ our Prince,
born of the Virgin Mary.
2. The blessed Author
of the world
put on a lowly
body,
so that, freeing
flesh by means of flesh,
what He made
should not be lost.
3. Heavenly grace
enters the womb
of His chaste
mother;
a maiden’s womb
bears
secrets which she
had not thought of.
4. The house of a
chaste heart
suddenly becomes
the temple of God;
undefiled, knowing
no man,
she conceives a
Son by a word.
5. The mother has
brought forth Him
Whom Gabriel
foretold,
Whom John had
perceived, leaping
while enclosed in
his mother’s womb.
6. He bears with
lying on hay,
He does not scorn
the crib;
He is nourished
with a little milk, He through
Whose power not
even a bird goes hungry.
7. The chorus of
heaven’s citizens rejoices,
and the angels
sing of God;
the Shepherd and
Creator of all
is made manifest
to the shepherds.
8. O Jesus, glory be
to You,
Who were born of
the Virgin,
with the Father
and the loving Spirit,
for ever and ever. Amen.
Liber Hymnarius page 22
Christmas
Christmas hymn at Lauds
Note: The Latin text is from the Liber Hymnarius (Abbaye Saint-Pierre de Solesmes, 1998, page 22) and used with permission from The Abbaye Saint-Pierre, Solesmes, France. To obtain the music with updated notation, please purchase the Liber Hymnarius ( solesmes.com ). An earlier version may be found in the Antiphonale Monasticum (1934); but music and text may vary.