HIC EST DIES VERUS DEI.
This is the very day of God,
Serene with holy light,
On which the pure atoning blood
Has cleansed the world aright.
Restoring hope to lost mankind,
Enlightening darkened eyes,
Relieving fear in us who find
The thief in Paradise.
Who, changing swiftly cross for crown,
By one brief glance of trust,
Beheld God’s Kingdom shining down,
And followed Christ the Just.
The very angels stand amazed,
Beholding such a sight,
And such a trusting sinner raised
To blessed life and light.
O mystery beyond our thought,
To take earth’s stain away,
And lift the burden sin hath brought,
And cleanse this coarser clay.
What deed can more sublime appear?
For sorrow seeks for grace,
And love releases mortal fear,
And death renews the race.
Death seizes on the bitter barb,
And binds herself thereto,
And life is clad in deathly garb,
And life shall rise anew.
When death through earth has made her path,
Then all the dead shall rise,
And death, consumed by heavenly wrath,
In groans, and lonely, dies.