DIVINUM OFFICIUM Hymn

Hymnus

Common of One Martyr - Matins Hymn

'Deus, tuorum militum' dates to at least the 6th century, perhaps earlier. The military imagery - 'militum' (soldiers), 'sors' (lot/portion), 'corona' (crown) - reflects 2 Timothy 2:3-5's athletic and military metaphors for Christian life. The petition 'Absolve nexu criminis' (loose from the bond of sin) acknowledges that those praising martyrs need purification themselves. The stanza 'Hic nempe mundi gaudia' contrasts earthly and heavenly joys - the martyr rejected the former for the latter. At Matins, this hymn establishes the theological framework: martyrdom as spiritual warfare, resulting in victory.

LATINE
Deus, tuorum militum
Sors et corona, praemium,
Laudes canentes Martyris
Absolve nexu criminis.
Hic nempe mundi gaudia,
Et blanda fraudum pabula,
Imbuta felle deputans,
Pervenit ad caelestia.
Poenas cucurrit fortiter,
Et sustulit viriliter:
Fundensque pro te sanguinem,
Aeterna dona possidet.
ENGLISH
O God, thy soldiers' crown and guard,
And their exceeding great reward,
From all transgressions set us free,
Who sing thy Martyr's victory.
The pleasures of the world he spurned,
From sin's pernicious lures he turned;
He knew their joys imbued with gall,
And thus he reached thy heavenly hall.
For thee through many a woe he ran,
In many a fight he played the man;
For thee his blood he dared to pour,
And thence hath joy for evermore.
NOTA
FONS
Breviarium Romanum (1962)
USUS
Common of One Martyr - Matins Hymn
HORA
Matins
GENVS
Hymn