TEXT & TRANSLATIONS

Libera me (antiphone)

Libera me domine et pone me juxta te et cujusvis manus pugnet contra me

Deliver me, O Lord, and place me at thy side, and let anyone’s hand contend against me.

Aer enim (Hildegard)

Aer enim volat

et cum omnibus creaturis

officia sua exercet et firmamentus eum sustinet

aer in viribus istius pascitur

As air flies

attending to all creatures

the structure of heaven sustains it

and the air is nourished through this enfolding

At the Round Earth’s Imagined Corners

At the round earth's imagined corners, blow

Your trumpets, angels, and arise, arise

From death, you numberless infinities

Of souls, and to your scattered bodies go,

All whom the flood did, and fire shall, o'erthrow,

All whom war, dearth, age, agues, tyrannies,

Despair, law, chance, hath slain, and you whose eyes,

Shall behold God, and never taste death's woe.

But let them sleep, Lord, and me mourn a space;

For, if above all these, my sins abound,

'Tis late to ask abundance of thy grace,

When we are there. Here on this lowly ground,

Teach me how to repent; for that's as good

As if thou' hadst seal'd my pardon with thy blood.

–John Donne

Her beacon-hand beckons

Her beacon-hand beckons: give

give to me

those yearning to breathe free 

tempest-tossed they cannot see 

what lies beyond the olive tree 

whose branch was lost amid the pleas 

for mercy, mercy

give

give to me

your tired fighters fleeing fighting from the

from the

from

let them

i will be your refuge

i will be your refuge

i will be

i will be

we will be

we will

[text by Caroline Shaw, responding to the 1883 sonnet “!e New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus, which was mounted on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty in 1903]

Idumea

And am I born to die

To lay this body down

𝄆 And as my trembling spirit fly

Into a world unknown 𝄇

A land of deepest shade

Unpierced by human thought

𝄆 The dreary regions of the dead

Where all things are forgot 𝄇

Soon as from Earth I go

What will become of me

𝄆 Eternal happiness or woe

Must then my fortune be 𝄇

Waked by the trumpet's sound

I from my grave shall rise

𝄆 To see the judge with glory crowned

And see the flaming skies 𝄇

–Text by Charles Wesley

Sing to the Moon

Hey there you, shattered in a thousand pieces

Weeping in the darkest nights

Hey there you, tryna stand up on your own two feet

And stumbling through the sky

When the lights go out and you're on your own

How you're gonna make it through till the morning sun?

[Chorus]

Sing to the moon and the stars will shine

Over you, lead you to the other side

Sing to the moon and the stars will shine

Over you, heaven's gonna turn the time

Hey there you, looking for a brighter season

Need to lay your burden down

Hey there you, drowning in a hopeless feeling

Buried under deeper ground

When the lights go out it's a waiting game

Never gonna see a day when your world will change

Sing to the moon and the stars will shine

Over you, lead you to the other side

Sing to the moon and the stars will shine

Over you, heaven's gonna turn the time

Sing to the moon and the stars will shine

Over you, lead you to the other side

Sing to the moon and the stars will shine

Over you, heaven's gonna turn the time

–Text by Steven James Brown & Laura Mvula

We shall walk throught the valley peace

Lord, we shall walk in peace.

We shall walk through the valley in peace

If Jesus himself shall be our leader

We shall walk through the valley in peace.

​

There will be no more trials there

f Jesus himself shall be our leader

We shall walk through the valley in peace.

​

We shall walk through the valley in peace.

Lord, we shall walk in peace.

Jerusalem Luminosa

Alleluia.

Jerusalem, city of light,

Vision of true peace.

Alleluia.

All holy, all elegant,

Is that which shows itself in thee.

–Text by Thomas a Kempis

Peace on Earth 

And snow falls down on me.

Peace on earth.

The night is dark and soft.

Peace on earth.

The lights that sparkle in the square,

The smoke the lingers in the air.

Peace on earth.

And grace falls down on me.

Peace on earth.

The dark will turn aside.

Peace on earth.

The fires that burn in ev'ry hearth

Do sing out praise of Christmas past.

Peace on earth.

Hear them singing.

Peace on earth.

Bring us, O Lord

Bring us, o Lord God, at our last awakening into the house and gate of Heaven, to enter into that gate and dwell in that house, where there shall be no darkness nor dazzling, but one equal light; no noise nor silence, but one equal music; no fears or hopes, but one equal possession; no ends or beginnings, but one equal eternity, in the habitations of thy glory and dominion, world without end.

–Text by John Donne

With a lily in your hand

With a lily in your hand

I leave you, o my night love!

Little widow of my single star

I find you.

Tamer of dark

butterflies!

I keep along my way.

After a thousand years are gone

you’ll see me,

o my night love!

By the blue footpath,

tamer of dark

stars,

I’ll make my way.

Until the universe

can fit inside

my heart.

–Text by Federico Garcia Lorca (translated by Jerome Rothenberg)

O salutaris Hostia 

O saving Victim,

Who expands the door of heaven,

Hostile wars press.

Give strength; bear aid.

To the Lord One and Three,

May there be everlasting glory;

that he may give life without end to

us in our homeland.

Amen.

Hor che la vaga

Now that lovely Dawn riding a fiery chariot 

appears everywhere with Latona's son 

and shows her flaxon hair to the Alps 

and to the countryside near us 

With sweet tones he plays his tuned lyre 

so that wandering spirits 

listen intently to the harmonies 

that lift and send our souls heavenward

Call of Wisdom

Lord of wisdom, Lord of truth, Lord of justice, Lord of mercy;

Walk beside us down the years till we see you in your glory.

Striving to attain the heights, turning in a new direction,

Entering a lonely place, welcoming a friend or stranger.

I am here, I am with you. I have called: do you hear me?

Silver is of passing worth, gold is not of constant value,

Jewels sparkle for a while; what you long for is not lasting.

Rulers govern under me with my insight and my wisdom.

Those who know me know my love, those who seek me find their answer.

God the Father and the Son, Holy Spirit coeternal.

Glory be ascribed to you, now and to the end of ages.

This is my song (Finlandia)

This is my song, Oh God of all the nations,

A song of peace for lands afar and mine.

This is my home, the country where my heart is;

Here are my hopes, my dreams, my sacred shrine.

But other hearts in other lands are beating.

With hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.

My country’s skies are bluer than the ocean,

And sunlight beams on cloverleaf and pine.

But other lands have sunlight too and clover,

And skies are everywhere as blue as mine.

O hear my song, Oh God of all the nations,

A song of peace for their land and for mine.

May truth and freedom come to every nation

May peace abound where strife as raged so long

That each may seek to love and build together

A world united, righting every wrong.

A world united in its love for freedom,

Proclaiming peace together in one song

–Text by Lloyd Stone 1934 (v. 1 & 2); Georgia Harkness (v. 3)

The Steady Light 

Let my footfall on this blessed earth tread lightly as a falling leaf.

Let my shadow from this blessed sun shut no one from the light.

Let my dance beneath these holy stars grow stronger with the years.

Let my heart expand with sky-wide love.

Those who go before

hold high the steady light

that shows me

where I am.

–Text by Sheila Dunlop