AETERNE REX ALTISSIME. - Hymn of the Roman Breviary for Matins of the feast of the Ascension. By an unknown but ancient author, though not earlier than the 5th century. The hymn greets first of all the eternal King, the Redeemer of souls, who today, after having triumphed over death, ascends to the stars to take possession of all things, exalted by heaven, by earth, by hell, welcomed in festivity by the angels, amazed at the sublime change undergone by mortal flesh: for one flesh, that of Adam and of men, sins; one flesh, that of Jesus, purifies (strophes 1-4). Before so much glory, which is for man, a pilgrim on earth, the call to the eternal homeland, toward which he tends with a sense of longing, the hymn bursts forth in a humble but heartfelt invocation: may Jesus Christ forgive us our faults, lift up our hearts on high, so that, at his final appearing as judge of the world, he may avert the punishments that we have deserved by our faults and restore to us the crown that we have lost because of them (strophes 5-8).
Enciclopedia Cattolica Vol. I, 1948 Liturgy Hymns and sequences
Aeterne Rex Altissime
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Translated from the Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. I (1948), coll. 360–361.
More by Celestino Testore: Aeterne Rerum Conditor · Aeterne Rector Siderum · Aeterna Imago Altissimi · Aeterna Coeli Gloria · Aeterna Christi Munera
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Chicago
Testore, Celestino. “Aeterne Rex Altissime.” In Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. I, coll. 360–361. Città del Vaticano: Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1948. https://azioneromana.com/article/aeterne-rex-altissime.
MLA
Testore, Celestino. “Aeterne Rex Altissime.” Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. I, Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1948, coll. 360–361. Azione Romana, https://azioneromana.com/article/aeterne-rex-altissime.
BibTeX
@incollection{ec1_aeterne_rex_altissime,
author = {Testore, Celestino},
title = {Aeterne Rex Altissime},
booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica},
volume = {I},
pages = {360--361},
note = {Cited by column},
publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico},
address = {Città del Vaticano},
year = {1948},
url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/aeterne-rex-altissime}
}
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