AETERNE RECTOR SIDERUM

«AETERNE RECTOR SIDERUM». - Hymn of the Roman Breviary for Lauds on the feast of the Guardian Angels (2 Oct.). Its author is St. Roberto Bellarmino, who displays in it his simple, candid, and measured manner of speaking and writing. The prayer that rises to God, creator and provident preserver of all things (st. 1), asks, from the first breaking of dawn, that the Guardian Angels, to whom we are entrusted, may preserve us from every danger to soul and body (st. 2-3); that they may protect us against the snares of the devil, the passions, and the world, and keep peace for us by keeping wars and famines far from our borders. This latter reference recalls the times of the author, troubled by the threats of the Turks, the wars of religion, and pestilences.