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Saturday, September 17, 2016

O vox nunc in caelo: A Chronogram for the Feast of St. Hildegard of Bingen

St. Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179).
Detail from painting by Cynthia Large.
o VoX nVnC In CaeLo
CantICa sonans sVperna,
sVper qVae anIMae nostrae
VeLVt pennae VoLant:
ora In obtVtV tVo pro nobIs,
Vt VIrtVs ChrIstI
qVasI CantICI noVI
In VIrga fLorentIs
nos VIrentes roboret.

O voice that echoes now
celestial songs in heaven,
on which our souls
as feathers fly,
in your beholding pray for us,
that the power of Christ
as of the New Song
that blooms upon the branch
might strengthen us as we flourish.