Ales diei nuntius

Now, while the herald bird of day
Proclaims the morning bright;
Christ also, speaking in the soul,
Wakes her to life and light.

“Take up your beds,” we hear Him say,
“No more in slumber lie;
In justice, truth, and temperance,
Keep watch;—your Lord is nigh.”

O Christ! and art Thou nigh indeed?—
Then let us watch and weep;
This truth but once in earnest felt
Forbids the heart to sleep.

Break, Lord, the spell that wraps us round
In deadly bonds of night;
Shatter the chains of former guilt;
Renew in us thy light.

To God the Father glory be,
And to his only Son;
The same, O Holy Ghost! to Thee,
While ceaseless ages run.