Ash Wednesday
During the season of Lent, FaithND will provide meditations on this season of preparation through musical offerings from the many Notre Dame choirs and sacred music ensembles. Songs will be featured on Ash Wednesday, each Monday and Friday of Lent, and every day of Holy Week through the Octave of Easter.
Notre Dame Women’s Liturgical Choir – The 40 dedicated members of the Women’s Liturgical Choir offer music for the 5 P.M. Saturday Vigil Mass in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, including the Masses following Notre Dame home football games.
A passage from Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians is always read on Ash Wednesday. In this reading, Paul tells the Corinthians, “Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” The title of today’s song comes from these words, which mark the start of Lent as the beginning of our journey of repentance through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. As we enter this season, we pray–in the words of this song–that: “Christ’s healing light, the gift divine, shines forth to save the penitent, to wake the world by means of Lent.”
(Lyrics)
Latin
Nunc tempus acceptabile
Fulget datum divinitus,
Ut sanet orbem languidum
Medela parsimoniae.
Christi decoro lumine
Dies salutis emicat,
Dum corda culpis saucia
Reformat abstinentia.
Hanc mente nos et corpore,
Deus, tenere perfice,
Ut appetamus prospero
Perenne pascha transitu.
Te rerum universitas,
Clemens, adoret, Trinitas,
Et nos novi per veniam
Novum canamus canticum.
Amen.
English
Today is the accepted time.
Christ’s healing light, the gift divine
shines forth to save the penitent
to wake the world by means of Lent.
The light of Christ will show the way
that leads to God’s salvation day.
The rigor of this fasting mends
the hearts that hateful sinning rends.
Keep all our minds and bodies true
in sacrifice, O God, to You,
that we may join, when Lents have ceased,
the everlasting Paschal Feast.
Let all creation join to raise
most gracious Trinity, Your praise.
And when your love has made us new,
may we sing new songs, Lord, to you.
Amen.
“Nunc Tempus Accetabile” by Paul M. French.
Copyright, MorningStar Music Publishers. All rights reserved.
For more songs, please visit Songs of Notre Dame: A Lenten Offering