« O LUX BEATA CAELITUM ». — Hymn of Vespers for the feast of the Holy Family, composed by Leo XIII.
The poet invokes Jesus, upon whom the affection of his parents smiles: Mary, who clasps him to her breast; Joseph, whom he obeys, industrious and submissive. These three stanzas are followed by an invocation to the Family of Nazareth, so that every Christian family may shine with the same virtues that made it a model for all others.
BIBL.: V. Terreno, Gli inni dell'Ufficio divino, Mondovì 1932, pp. 122–23; A. Mirra, Gli inni del Breviario romano, Napoli 1947, pp. 98–99. Silverio Mattei