English translation of:
Creator Alme Siderum
Creator of the Starry Skies
1. Creator of the starry skies!
Eternal Light of all who live!
Jesus, Redeemer of mankind!
An ear to Thy poor suppliants give.
2. When man was sunk in sin and death,
Lost in the depth of Satan's snare,
Love brought Thee down to cure our ills,
By taking of those ills a share.
3. Thou, for the sake of guilty men,
Causing Thine own pure blood to flow,
Didst issue from Thy virgin shrine
And to the cross a Victim go.
4. So great the glory of Thy might,
If we but chance Thy name to sound
At once all heaven and hell unite
In bending low with awe profound.
5. Great Judge of all! in that last day
When friends shall fail and foes combine,
Be present then with us, we pray,
To guard us with Thine arm divine.
6. Power, honor, praise, and glory,
to God the Father and the Son,
and also to the holy Paraclete,
while eternal ages run.
Click here for the Latin lyrics.
The hymn Conditor alme siderum was an anonymous text from the 7th century (trans- "Creator of the stars of night") Under Pope Urban VIII, the Roman Breviary was revised in 1632, and this hymn was greatly altered, becoming Creator alme siderum. The hymn in the Liber usualis is Creator alme siderum, which maintains classic Latin poetry meters. The text translates, "Bright builder of the heavenly poles."
This is an Advent hymn -- make sure you add it to your collection, up there with Rorate Caeli Desuper and O Come, O Come Emmanuel. You and all those in your family should know these hymns well.
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