Feria secunda: Ad tertiam in Quadragesima
In the Durham Hymnal this hymn is used at Compline. The collectar specifies it for the 3rd and 4th Saturdays and the 3rd Sunday of Lent. The Anglo-Saxon version does not have the third stanza, nor the same doxology. It is taken from Prudentius, Cathemerinon VII.
O
Nazarene, lux Bethlehem, Verbum Patris.
Quem
partus alvi Virginalis protulit,
Adesto
castis, Christe, parsimoniis,
Festumque
nostrum rex serenus adspice,
Jejuniorum
dum litamus victimam.
Nil hoc profecto purius mysterio,
Quo
fibra cordis expiatur vividi,
Intemperata
quo domantur viscera,
Arvina
putrem ne resudans crapulam
Obstrangulatae
mentis ingenium premat.
Hinc subjugatur luxus, et turpis gula,
Vini
atque somni degener socordia,
Libido
sordens, inverecundus lepos,
Variaeque
pestes languidorum sensuum
Parcam
subactae disciplinam sentiunt.
Nam si licenter diffluens potu et cibo,
Jejuna
rite membra non coerceant:
Sequitur,
frequenti marcida oblectamine,
Scintilla
mentis ut tepescat nobilis,
Animusque
pigris stertat ut praecordiis.
Amen. Honor, potestas, etc.
O man of Nazareth. Light of Bethlehem, the Word of the Father, whom the birth from a virginal womb brought forth, assist us, O Christ, in this season of chaste abstinence and as a peaceful king watch over our observance, while we offer up the sacrifice of fasting. Nothing is more cleansing than carrying out this mystery, by which the very fiber of the living heart is cleansed, through which the intemperance within us is conquered, lest unbridled fat and sordid drunkenness be not restrained and the natural capacity of the strangled mind be strangled and oppressed. In this way luxury and base gluttony are brought low, degenerate sloth of wine and sleep, filthy lust and foolish wit and the various plagues of sick feelings are subjected and made to feel the discipline of restraint. For if drink and food flow freely, the body is not coerced with proper fasting, it follows that, exhausted by continual amusement, the noble spark of the mind grows tepid and the soul sleeps from the laziness of the inmost heart.
Feria secunda: Ad sextam in Quadragesima
Referre
prisci stemma nunc jejunii
Libet,
fideli proditum volumine,
Ut
diruendae Civitatis incolis
Fulmen
benigni mansuefactum Patris
Pie
repressis ignibus pepercerit.
Gens insolenti praepotens jactantia
Pollebat
olim, quam fluentem nequiter
Corrupta
vulgo solverat lascivia:
Et
inde bruto contumax fastidio,
Cultum
superni negligebat Numinis.
Offensa tandem jugis indulgentiae
Censura,
justis excitatur motibus,
Dextram
perarmat rhomphaeali incendio;
Nimbos
crepantes et fragosos turbines
Vibrans,
tonantum nube flammarum quatit.
Sed poenitendi dum datur diecula,
Si
forte vellent improbam libidinem,
Veteresque
nugas, condomare ac frangere,
Suspendit
ictum terror exorabilis,
Paulumque
dicta substitit sententia.
Honor, potestas, etc
I would now tell the ancient origin of the fast, passed down in that trustworthy book, how the good of the Father softening his thunderbolt, repressing his fire by love, did not attack the inhabitants of a city that deserved to be destroyed. Once a powerful people flourished with insolent pride, in which, opulent and dissolute, their corrupted lasciviousness had caused general dissipation, and so, obstinate in foolish disdain, they disregarded the worship of the heavenly God. After a long indulgence, the divine justice so offended is indignant and armed his hand with a sword of fire. Dark clouds burst out with a crash; Livid and thunderous fires shake the vault of heaven on the head of the guilty. But, they are given time to repent; He is still free to censure the course of their shameful debaucheries; They may, if they will, arrest the disorders in which they have grown old; The merciful vengeance deigns to suspend its blows; and for a brief space the sentence already issued was suspended.
Feria secunda: Ad nonam in Quadragesima
Sed
cur vetustae gentis exemplum loquor?
Pridem
caducis cum gravatus artubus
Jesus,
dicato corde jejunaverit;
Praenuncupatus
ore qui prophetico.
Emmanuel
est, sive nobiscum Deus?
Qui corpus istud molle naturaliter,
Captumque
laxo sub voluptatum jugo,
Virtutis
arcta lege fecit liberum,
Emancipator
servientis plasmatis,
Regnantis
ante victor et cupidinis.
Inhospitali namque secretus loco,
Quinis
diebus octies labentibus,
Nullam
ciborum vendicavit gratiam,
Firmans
salubri, scilicet, jejunio
Vas
appetendis imbecillum gaudiis.
Honor, potestas. Etc.
But what does the example of an ancient people tell us? When Jesus himself, long since weighted down with a perishable body, fasted with a dedicated heart; he who was long before named by the mouth of prophecy ‘Emmanuel’, or, ‘God with us’. He, who had a weak body according to nature and yet loosened from the captivity of the yoke of pleasure, made free by the strong law of virtue, deliverer of created slaves, victor over the concupiscence which previously ruled them.For hidden in an inhospitable place, in the course of five times eight days, he did not demand the grace of any food, strengthening with a healthy fast the weak vessel for the joys sought.
Hymnus ad Sextam in Quadragesima
In
tota Quadragesima feriabilis diebus canatur
. . . ad sextam, ‘meridie orandum est’
Ælfric's Letter to the Monks of Eynsham Wincester
Hymnal: ferias in Lent; Canterbury and Durham Hymnal: daily in Lent.
YMNUS AD SEXTAM
MERIDIE ORANDUM EST
Christusque
deprecandus est,
ut
iubeat nos edere
de
suo sancto corpore,
ut ille sit laudabilis
in
universis populis,
ipse
celorum dominus,
qui
sedet in altissimis,
detque nobis auxilium
per
angelos mirabiles,
qui
semper nos custodiant
in
omni vita seculi,
Gloria
tibi, trinitas
Prayer must be made at noonday and we must ask Christ that he command us to eat of his holy body, that he be praised among all peoples, He, the Lord of heaven, who is enthroned in the highest, and that he give us help through his wondrous angels, who for ever guard us in whole life of the world.
SUMME LARGITOR PREMII: yet another hymn for Compline during Lent
The Durham Hymnal appoints
this hymn for Lent, as does the Cistercian Hymnal. In the Sarum usage it was
sung at Matins.
SUMME LARGITOR PREMII,
spes
qui es unica mundi,
preces
intende servorum
ad
te devota clamantum.
Nostra te conscientia
grave
offendisse monstrat
quam
emundes, supplicamus,
ab
omnibus piaculis.
Si rennuis, quis tribuet?
Indulge,
quia potens es.
Si
corde rogamus mundo,
certe
debes ex promissio.
Ergo acceptare nostrum,
qui
sacrasti, ieiunium,
quo
mystice paschalia
caplamus
sacramenta.
Summa nobis hoc conferat
in
deitate trinitas,
in qua gloriatur unus
per
cuncta secula deus.
Amen.
Most high giver of reward, you who are the one hope of the world, attend to the prayers of your servants, calling to you with devotion. Our conscience shows that we have gravely offended you, which we pray you will cleanse from all sin. If you refuse, who will grant it? Forgive us, for you are powerful. If we ask with a clean heart, certainly you must grant it as you promised. Therefore, receive our fast, which you consecrated we may take spiritually the Paschal sacrament. May the most high Trinity in godliness confer this, by which the one God is glorified through all ages. Amen.
In
one manuscript this hymn appears in the section for Lent, while in another it
is among the ferial hymns. It is taken from Prudentius’s Cathemerinon
VI, verses 125-153.
Although
not written as a Lenten hymn, nor as Compline hymn either, this hymn does cover
many of the themes of the Lenten season: baptism, te fontis et lavacri, the passion, Crux pellit omne crimen, the temptation, O tortuose serpens.
Cultor Dei memento
te
fontis et lavacri
rorem
subisse sanctum,
te
chrismate innotatum.
Fac, cum vocante somno
castum
petis cubile,
frontem
locumque cordis
crucis
figura signet.
Crux pellit omne crimen,
fugiunt
crucem tenebrae:
tali
dicata signo
mens
fluctuare nescit.
Procul, o procul vagantum
portenta
somniorum,
procul
esto pervicaci
praestigiator
astu!
O tortuose serpens,
qui
mille per maeandros
fraudesque
flexuosas
agitas
quieta corda,
Discede, Christus hic est,
hic
Christus est, liquesce:
signum
quod ipse nosti
damnat
tuam catervam.
Corpus licet fatiscens
iaceat
recline paullum,
Christum
tamen sub ipso
meditabimur
sopore.
Gloria eterno patri
et
Christo vero regi,
paraclitoque
sancto,
et
nunc et in perpetuum.
Amen.
O you who worship God, remember that you were washed in the fount, submitted to the holy dew, were marked by the chrism. When sleep calls you, be sure to seek your chaste bed, your forehead and the place of your heart be signed with the figure of the cross. The cross repels all sin, darkness flees the cross, when such a sign is made, the mind will know no wavering. Far away, far way be the omens of wandering dreams, be far away, you deceiver, with your stubborn tricks. O writhing serpent, who through your thousand-fold wanderings and slippery deceits, agitate quiet hearts. Depart! Christ is here! Christ is here! Melt away! The sign you yourself recognize damns your band. The body, grown weary, may lie back and relax a bit, yet even in sleep it meditates on Christ. Glory to the eternal Father and to Christ the true King, and to the Holy Comforter, now and forever. Amen.
The Canterbury Hymnal: Hymn for Vespers in Lent
Vespers, first and second Sundays in Lent: Gernot B. Wieland, The Canterbury Hymnal
YMNUS AD VESPERAM
SIC
TER QUATERNIS TRAHITUR
horis
dies ad vesperum,
occasum
sol pronuntians
noctis
redire tempora.
nos ergo signo domini
tutemus
claustra pectorum,
ne
serpens ille callidus
intrandi
temptet aditum
sed armis pudicitie
mens
fulta vigil libere
sobrietare
comite
hostem
repellat inprobum.
sed nec ciborum crapula
tandem
distentet corpora,
ne
vi per sompnum animam
glorificatam
pulluat.
Gloria tibi, trinitas
Gloria tibi, trinitas
Thus in three times four hours day is dragged into evening, the sun announces its setting, the time of night returns. Therefore, let us guard the enclosure of the hearts with the sign of the Lord lest that crafty serpent should try to enter. But let the vigilant mind freely depend on the weapons of modesty and with its companion, sobriety, repel the wicked enemy. But may the drunkenness of food not bloat our bodies lest by force it should pollute the glory-filled soul.
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