Sanctorum meritis inclyta gaudia

Sing we the peerless deeds of martyr’d Saints,
Their glorious merits, and their portion blest;
Of all the conquerors the world has seen,
The greatest and the best.

Them in their day th’ insensate world abhorr’d,
Because they did forsake it, Lord, for Thee;
Finding it all a barren waste, devoid
Of fruit, or flower, or tree.

They trod beneath them every threat of man,
And came victorious all torments through;
The iron hooks, which piecemeal tore their flesh,
Could not their souls subdue.

Scourg’d, crucified, like sheep to slaughter led,
Unmurmuring they met their cruel fate;
For conscious innocence their souls upheld,
In patient virtue great.

What tongue those joys, O Jesu, can disclose,
Which for thy martyr’d Saints Thou dost prepare!
Happy who in thy pains, thrice happy those
Who in thy glory share!

Our faults, our sins, our miseries remove,
Great Deity supreme, immortal King!
Grant us thy peace, grant us thine endless love
Through endless years to sing.