Contents Memento, salutis Auctor
Remember, O Creator Lord
BVM


This is the traditional hymn for the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary for the Little Hours (Terce, Sext, and None) and for Compline. The first verse is taken from Christe, Redemptor Omnium, the Vespers hymn for the Christmas season. The second verse has been claimed to be a part of a continuation to Quem, terra, pontus, aethera, which is very unlikely.

MEMENTO, salutis Auctor,
quod nostri quondam corporis,
ex illibata Virgine
nascendo, formam sumpseris.
REMEMBER, O Creator Lord,
that in the Virgin's sacred womb
Thou wast conceived, and of her flesh
didst our mortality assume.
Maria, mater gratiae,
mater misericordiae,
tu nos ab hoste protege,
et hora mortis suscipe.
Mother of grace, O Mary blest,
to thee, sweet fount of love, we fly;
shield us through life, and take us hence
to thy dear bosom when we die.
Gloria tibi, Domine,
qui natus es de Virgine,
cum Patre et Sancto Spiritu
in sempiterna saecula. Amen.
O Jesu! born of Mary bright!
Immortal glory be to Thee;
praise to the Father infinite,
and Holy Ghost eternally. Amen.

Latin from the Dominican Breviary. Translation by Fr. Edward Caswall (1814-1878).
Changes made by Pope Urban VIII in 1632 to the Roman Breviary:
1 Memento, rerum Conditor,/ nostri quod olim corporis,/ sacrata ab alvo Virginis/ ...
2 Maria, Mater gratiae,/ dulcis parens clementiae,/ tu nos ab hoste protege/ et mortis hora suscipe.
3 Jesu, tibi sit gloria,/ qui natus es de Virgine,/ cum Patre et almo Spiritu,/ in sempiterna saecula. Amen.


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