«EX MORE DOCTI MYSTICO». – Hymn of Matins during Lent, probably composed by St. Gregorio Magno.
Lent is the time of fasting, already practised by Moses, by Elijah, and by Christ.
The first part is a moving exhortation to a better life and to making good use of the acceptable time (tempus acceptabile), while the second is a humble prayer to God for the forgiveness of sins.
BIST.: G. Belli, Gli inni del Breviario tradotti, Rome 1856, pp. 134–35; G. Venturi, Gli inni della Chiesa, 3rd ed., Florence 1880, p. 197; C. Blume, Die Hymenen des Thesaurus bymonde653 II. A. Daniel, Leipzig 1908, p. 55; V. Terreno, Gli inni dell’Ufficio divino, Mondovì 1932, p. 10; A. Mirra, Gli inni del Breviario romano, Naples 1947, pp. 104–107. Silverio Mattei