Exsultet

Exultet iam angelica turba caelorum:
exultent divina mysteria:
et pro tanti Regis victoria
tuba insonet salutaris.

Exult now O ye angelic throngs of the heavens:
Exult O ye divine mysteries:
and let the saving trumpet resound
for the victory of so great a King.

Gaudeat et tellus tantis irradiata fulgoribus:
et, aeterni Regis splendore illustrata,
totius orbis se sentiat amisisse caliginem.

Let the earthly realm also be joyful,
made radiant by such flashings like lightning:
and, made bright with the splendor of the eternal King,
let it perceive
that it has dismissed the entire world’s gloom.

Laetetur et mater Ecclesia,
tanti luminis adornata fulgoribus:
et magnis populorum vocibus haec aula resultet.

Let Mother Church rejoice as well,
adorned with the blazes of so great a light:
and let this royal hall ring
with the great voices of the peoples.

Quapropter astantes vos, fratres carissimi,
ad tam miram huius sancti luminis claritatem,
una mecum, quaeso,
Dei omnipotentis misericordiam invocate.

Wherefore, most beloved brothers and sisters,
you here present to such a wondrous brightness
of this holy light,
I beseech you, together with me
invoke the mercy of Almighty God.

Ut, qui me non meis meritis
intra Levitarum numerum dignatus est aggregare,
luminis sui claritatem infundens,
cerei huius laudem implere perficiat.

Let Him who deigned to gather me
in among the number of the Levites,
by no merits of mine,
while pouring forth the glory of His own light
enable me to bring to fullness
the praise of this waxen candle.

Vers. Dominus vobiscum.
Resp. Et cum spiritu tuo.
Vers. Sursum corda.
Resp. Habemus ad Dominum.
Vers. Gratias agamus Domino Deo nostro.
Resp. Dignum et iustum est.

V: The Lord be with you!
R: And with your spirit!
V: Raise your hearts on high!
R: We now have them present to the Lord!
V: Let us then give thanks to the Lord our God!
R: This is worthy and just!

Vere dignum et iustum est,
invisibilem Deum Patrem omnipotentem
Filiumque eius unigenitum,
Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum,
toto cordis ac mentis affectu
et vocis ministerio personare.
Qui pro nobis aeterno Patri Adae debitum solvit,
et veteris piaculi cautionem pio cruore detersit.

Truly it is worthy and just
to resound forth with the whole of the heart,
disposition of mind,
and by the ministry of the voice,
the invisible God the Father Almighty,
and His Only-begotten Son
our Lord Jesus Christ,
Who, on our behalf,
resolved Adam’s debt to the Eternal Father
and cleansed with dutiful bloodshed
the bond of the ancient crime.

Haec sunt enim festa paschalia,
in quibus verus ille Agnus occiditur,
cuius sanguine postes fidelium consecrantur.

For these are the Paschal holy days,
in which that true Lamb is slain,
by Whose Blood the doorposts of the faithful are consecrated.

Haec nox est,
in qua primum patres nostros, filios Israel
eductos de Aegypto,
Mare Rubrum sicco vestigio transire fecisti.

This is the night
in which first of all You caused our forefathers,
the children of Israel brought forth from Egypt,
to pass dry shod through the Red Sea.

Haec igitur nox est,
quae peccatorum tenebras columnae illuminatione purgavit.

This is the night
which purged the darkness of sins by the illumination of the pillar.

Haec nox est,
quae hodie per universum mundum in Christo credentes,
a vitiis saeculi et caligine peccatorum segregatos,
reddit gratiae, sociat sanctitati.

This is the night
which today restores to grace
and unites in sanctity throughout the world
Christ’s believers,
separated from the vices of the world
and the darkness of sins.

Haec nox est,
in qua, destructis vinculis mortis,
Christus ab inferis victor ascendit.
Nihil enim nobis nasci profuit,
nisi redimi profuisset.

This is the night
in which, once the chains of death were undone,
Christ the victor arose from the nether realm.
For it would have profited us nothing to have been born,
unless it had been fitting for us to be redeemed.

O mira circa nos tuae pietatis dignatio!
O inaestimabilis dilectio caritatis:
ut servum redimeres, Filium tradidisti!
O certe necessarium Adae peccatum,
quod Christi morte deletum est!
O felix culpa,
quae talem ac tantum meruit habere Redemptorem!

O wondrous condescension of Your dutiful concern for us!
O inestimable affection of sacrificial love:
You delivered up Your Son that You might redeem the slave!
O truly needful sin of Adam,
that was blotted out by the death of Christ!
O happy fault,
that merited to have such and so great a Redeemer!

O vere beata nox,
quae sola meruit scire tempus et horam,
in qua Christus ab inferis resurrexit!
Haec nox est, de qua scriptum est:
Et nox sicut dies illuminabitur:
et nox illuminatio mea in deliciis meis.

O truly blessed night,
that alone deserved to know the time and hour
in which Christ rose again from the nether world!
This is the night about which it was written:
And night shall be made as bright as day:
and night is as my brightness for me.

Huius igitur sanctificatio noctis fugat scelera,
culpas lavat:
et reddit innocentiam lapsis
et maestis laetitiam.
Fugat odia, concordiam parat
et curvat imperia.

Therefore the sanctification of this night
puts to flight all wickedness,
cleanses sins,
and restores innocence to the fallen
and gladness to the sorrowful.
It drives away hatreds,
procures concord,
and makes dominions bend.

O vere beata nox,
in qua terrenis caelestia,
humanis divina iunguntur!

O truly blessed night,
in which heavenly things
are joined to those of earth,
the divine to the human!

In huius igitur noctis gratia, suscipe, sancte Pater,
laudis huius sacrificium vespertinum,
quod tibi in hac cerei oblatione sollemni,
per ministrorum manus
de operibus apum, sacrosancta reddit Ecclesia.

Therefore, in this night of grace,
accept, O Holy Father,
the evening sacrifice of this praise,
which Holy Church renders to You
in the solemn offering of this waxen candle
by the hands of Your ministers from the work of bees.

Sed iam columnae huius praeconia novimus,
quam in honorem Dei rutilans ignis accendit.
Qui, licet sit divisus in partes,
mutuati tamen luminis detrimenta non novit.
Alitur enim liquantibus ceris,
quas in substantiam pretiosae huius lampadis
apis mater eduxit.

We are knowing now the proclamations of this column,
which glowing fire kindles in honor of God.
Which fire, although it is divided into parts,
is knowing no loss from its light being lent out.
For it is nourished by the melting streams of wax,
which the mother bee produced
for the substance of this precious torch.

Oramus ergo te, Domine,
ut cereus iste in honorem tui nominis consecratus,
ad noctis huius caliginem destruendam,
indeficiens perseveret.

Therefore, we beseech You, O Lord,
that this waxen candle, consecrated in honor of Your name,
may continue unfailing to dispel the darkness of this night.

Et in odorem suavitatis acceptus,
supernis luminaribus misceatur.

And once it is accepted as a placating sacrifice,
may it be mingled with the heavenly lights.

Flammas eius lucifer matutinus inveniat:
Ille, inquam, lucifer, qui nescit occasum:
Christus Filius tuus,
qui, regressus ab inferis, humano generi serenus illuxit,
et vivit et regnat in saecula saeculorum.

Let the morning star meet with its flame:
that very star, I say, which knows no setting:
Christ your Son
Who, having returned from the nether realm,
broke serene like the dawn upon the human race,
and now lives and reigns forever and ever.

AMEN.



The great hymn of the Easter Vigil

(translation by Fr.Z)

(from a previous post)