Hymn to Christ the light and life
Christ come among men
as source of light,
your ineffable birth
is before the beginning of time. You are the radiant light shining with the Father. You irradiate lustreless matter
and illumine the souls of the faithful.
You have created the world
and fixed the orbit of the stars;
you sustain the axis of the earth, you save all mankind.
You guide the sun in its course
to light up all our days
and the crescent moon
which dispels the darkness of night. You make the seed to sprout preparing food for the flocks.
From your inexhaustible fount
you pour out the splendour of life making fruitful the whole universe. . .
Synesius of Cyrene
A festive chirruping announces the day, singing in the light of dawn.
Christ spurs on the soul,
inviting us to a rebirth, this day.
Arise from your beds, he urges,
where a feeble languor makes you inert. Be watchful, chaste, good, and sober;
for I am close to you. .
Let us invoke Jesus, aloud, sorrowing, praying, repentant; an ardent invocation
keeps a pure heart on the alert.
O Christ, drive away sleep, break the chains of night, make good the ancient fault, bring to us new light.
Glory be to God the Father,
and to his only Son,
together with the Spirit, the consoler,
now and for ever.
Prudentius
of the immortal glory of the Father of heaven! As the sun sinks to its setting
we are face to face with the twilight of evening: we honour God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
You are worthy ever to be hymned by voices that are pure, Son of God who gives us life.
The universe proclaims your glory.
Athenegoras, Christian martyr, at the lighting of the lamps
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