Earlier in the week I quoted the
beautiful Easter hymn of the Exsultet sung by the Deacon in the darkened church
tonight. Here are a few more lines. I have taken the liberty of restoring some
of the lost verses removed in the liturgical reforms of the 1960s. R. C.
Zaehner, the great (and somewhat eccentric!) Oxford philosopher of religion,
loved these passages that compare Christ to the ‘great mother bee’ and in his
wonderful ‘Our Savage God’ quotes it as a part of his chapter on the ‘divinity
of bees’ (which I don't think should be taken too seriously!). With our recent ecological concern
for the loss of bees I find it touching that the hymn writers went to such
lengths to give the humble bee such a starring role in the central liturgy of
the Church’s calendar. So here they are again... the great mother bee greeting
the morning star – Happy Easter!
The
power of this holy night dispels all evil,
Washes
guilt away, restores lost innocence, brings mourners joy;
It
casts out hatred, brings us peace, and humbles earthly pride.
Night
truly blessed when heaven is wedded to earth and man is reconciled with
God!
On
this, your night of grace, O holy Father, accept this candle, a solemn
offering, the work of bees and of your servants’ hands, an evening
sacrifice of praise - a gift from your most holy Church.
But
now we know the praises of this pillar, whose glowing fire ignites for
God’s honour.
A
fire into many flames divided, yet never dimmed by the sharing of its
light. Fed by the melting wax which Mother Bee drew out to build so
precious a torch.
Huius
ígitur sanctificátio noctis fugat scélera, culpas lavat:
et
reddit innocéntiam lapsis
et
mæstis lætítiam.
Fugat
ódia, concórdiam parat
et
curvat impéria.
O
vere beáta nox,
in
qua terrénis cæléstia, humánis divína iungúntur!
In
huius ígitur noctis grátia, súscipe, sancte Pater, laudis huius
sacrifícium vespertínum, quod tibi in hac cérei oblatióne solémni,
per
ministrórum manus de opéribus apum, sacrosáncta reddit Ecclésia.
Sed
iam colúmnæ huius præcónia nóvimus, quam in honórem Dei rútilans ignis
accéndit.
Qui,
lícet sit divísus in partes, mutuáti tamen lúminis detrimenta non novit.
Alitur
enim liquántibus ceris, quas in substántiam pretiósæ huius lámpadis
apis
mater edúxit.
May
the Morning Star which never sets
find
this flame still burning:
Christ,
that Morning Star, who came back from the dead,
and
shed his peaceful light on all humanity,
your
Son, who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
Amen
Flammas
eius lúcifer matutínus invéniat:
ille,
inquam, Lúcifer, qui nescit occásum.
Christus
Fílius tuus,
qui,
regréssus ab ínferis,
humáno
géneri serénus illúxit,
et
vivit et regnat in sæcula sæculórum.
Amen.
May the graces of the
Risen Christ reach you today and through the rest of the year.
love
Peter
love
Peter
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