The Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Lokrantz describes this meter as iambic dimeter.
Peter Damian felt this office of the utmost importance. In a letter of 1066, addressed
to his hermits of Gamogna, he recounts the punishment that fell upon a monastery that had stopped the use of the daily recitation of the Office of the Madonna (cf. REINDEL, Briefe, nr. 143, pp. 318-520).
In the hermitage of Fonte Avellana, Saturday was dedicated to the Virgin; in her honor, fasting was practiced, a votive Mass was celebrated and the ufficium parvum was prayed (cf. REINDEL, Briefe, nr. 106, pp. 176-177).
Hymnus sanctae Mariae ad vesperum (116)
Hymn for the Holy Mary at vespers
1.
Sidus, Maria, splendidum,
Te laudat omne saeculum,
Ex qua sub mundi vespere
Sol ortus est iustitiae.
Mary, splendid star,
All people praise you,
From whom at the twilight of the world
The sun of justice has arisen.
2.
Da cor tenebris eripi,
Da vera luce perfrui,
Quae noctem vitae veteris
Novis illustret meritis.
Allow our heart to be ripped from the shadows,
Allow us to fully enjoy the true light,
You who illuminates the night
With new merits of old life.
3.
Per te purgemur vitiis,
Solvamur culpae vinculis,
Mens vulsis spinis eruta
Virtutum ferat germina.
May we be cleansed of our sins through you,
May we be released from the chains of our guilt,
May our soul having been freed from plucked thorns,
Produce the seeds of virtue.
4.
Sit tibi laus, altissime.
Let there be praise to you, in the most high.
Hymnus ad primam (120)
Hymn at Prime
1.
Beata Dei genetrix,
Nitor humani generis,
Per quam de servis liberi
Lucisque sumus filii,
Blessed mother of God,
Splendor of the human race,
Through whom we have become freed from slavery
And we are now children of the light.
2.
Fac tuum nobis filium
Pia prece propitium;
Quem graviter offendimus,
Tu mitem redde, quaesumus.
With pious prayer make your son
well-disposed to us ;
Render him whom we gravely
Offend mild we beg.
3.
Sit tibi laus, altissime.
Let there be praise to you, Oh most high.
Hymnus ad tertiam (121)
Hymn at terce
1.
Maria, decus hominum,
Regis aeterni solium,
Domus a sapientia.
Mary, most esteemed of mankind,
You rule the eternal realm,
The house equipped with seven pillars
Put forth by wisdom.
2.
Tu nos venturo iudici
Commenda prece supplici:
Tuis intentos laudibus
Mitis cernat ac placidus.
Entrust us with suppliant prayer to
The judge about to come:
May he, gentle and meek, look at
Those eager to praise you.
3.
Sit tibi laus, altissime.
Let there be praise to you, Oh most high.
