From the incomparable Brotherhood Prayer Book published by Our Savior Lutheran Church of Grand Rapids, Michigan:
Audi benigne Conditor - a hymn of St. Gregory the Great - for Lauds during the first weeks of Great Lent
O Kind Creator, bow thine ear / to mark the cry, to know the tear / before thy throne of mercy spent / in this thy holy fast of Lent.
Our hearts are open, Lord, to thee: / thou knowest our infirmity; / pour out on all who seek thy face / abundance of thy pardoning grace.
Our sins are many, this we know; / spare us, good Lord, thy mercy show; / and for the honor of thy name / our fainting souls to life reclaim.
Give us the self-control that springs / from discipline of outward things, / that fasting inward secretly / the soul may purely dwell with thee.
We pray thee, Holy Trinity / one God, unchanging Unity / that we from this our abstinence / may reap the fruits of penitence. Amen.
2 comments:
Fr Weedon,
Yes, a most marvelous hymn indeed. As you know, it is the traditional Vespers hymn during Lent. You can find the original Latin with the traditional translation here:
http://breviary.net/ordinary/ordinvesp3.htm
The other Office hymns for Lent (again, both in original Latin and traditional English translation) are here:
http://breviary.net/propseason/lent/propseasonlent.htm
(In other words, I hope you didn't type all that in!)
We have had the pleasure to chant this hymn the last the last few years at University Lutheran Chapel here in Minneapolis.
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