Tempus Paschale: Ad Officium lectionis : Ambrosius? : ad libitum in feriis post octavam: notanda

Walpole: The great antiquity of this hymn is proved by the mention of it in the Rule of Caesarius ad virgines, whose direction-is quem  hymnum totum pascha et ad matutinos et ad uesperam psallere debetis. The Rule of Aurelian is to the same effect, except that for ad uesperam he writes ad lucernarium. The sense of Easter must not be unduly restricted. The present hymn is as much on the Passion as on the Resurrection. In early times the Passion, the Death, and the Resurrection of Christ were regarded as one great celebration. Easter was the chief season for Baptism, and the thought of this underlies the hymn, especially the first two stanzas. Walpole seems to accept Ambrose as the author of this hymn.

Hic est dies verus Dei,

sancto serénus lúmine, (1)

quo díluit sanguis sacer

probrósa mundi crímina.

Fidem refúndit pérditis (2)

cæcósque visu illúminat; (3)

quem non gravi solvit metu

latrónis absolútio?

Opus stupent et ángeli,

pœnam vidéntes córporis (4)

Christóque adhæréntem reum (5)

vitam beátam cárpere.

Mystérium mirábile, (6)

ut ábluat mundi luem,

peccáta tollat ómnium

carnis vitia mundans caro, (7)

Quid hoc potest sublímius, (8)

ut culpa quærat grátiam, (9)

metúmque solvat cáritas

reddátque mors vitam novam? (10)

Esto perénne méntibus

paschále, Iesu, gáudium,

et nos renátos grátiæ

tuis triúmphis ággrega.

Iesu, tibi sit glória,

qui morte victa prænites,

cum Patre et almo Spíritu,

in sempitérna sæcula. Amen.

 1.   W: Sancto lumine: the light of Christ, to which might be added, particularly the paschal candle; Serenus: from the same root as sol, hence here, ‘bright’; 2. W reads fidem refundens perditis/ caecosque uisu inluminans;  perditis 'to the lost'; 3. Illúminat: The enlightenment is partly, but not wholly, that of Baptism;  4.  pœnam vidéntes córporis: 'the bodily sufferings ' might be those of the robber, but W. thinks it more probable that it refers to the sufferings of Christ ‘amidst which He was able to do such miracles of grace’;  5. Christo adhaerentem is a biblical phrase, cf. Deut. iv. 4,  Jos. xxiii. 8, Ps. Ixxii. (Ixxiii.) 28;  6. 'O wondrous mystery that flesh should....';  7.  carnis vitia mundans caro: The use of * the flesh ' personified is common in the N.T., especially in St Paul's epistles, e.g. Rom. iii. 20; 8. ' What can be grander than this, that guilt should win grace ?;  9. Quaerat:  'win'; 10. mors vitam: thus standing together form an oxymoron. The pointed contrast of life and death is

common in hymns of all ages;

This is the true day of God, peaceful with holy light, when  his sacred blood washed away the shameful sins of the world. It restored faith to the lost, enlightened the blind with sight; whom has the absolution of the thief not delivered from the burden of fear?  Angels are astonished at this work, when they see the punishment of his body and the guilty thief clinging to Christ and seizing  the life of the blessed. O wondrous mystery! That washes away the pestilence of the world, takes away the sin of all,  cleanses the vices of the flesh by flesh. What is more sublime than this,  that sin should seek out grace, and love dissolve fear, and death give again new life? Be, O Jesus to our souls forever our paschal joy, gather those reborn by grace to your victory. O Jesus, to you be glory, shining by your victory over death, with the Father and loving Spirit, in eternal ages. Amen