Plainchant hymn to the Virgin
3:36
Ave maris stella greets Mary as the star of the sea. The hymn is more than a thousand years old, sung at vespers as the light goes down, and long loved by those who waited for sailors to come home.
Loose the chains of the guilty, bring light to the blind, drive away our ills, ask every good for us.
The verses ask for small, human things: peace in the house, light for the eyes, a safe way through. A song for finding your way in the dark by one fixed point of light.
Ave maris stella, Dei mater alma,
Hail, star of the sea, loving mother of God,
atque semper virgo, felix caeli porta.
ever virgin, happy gate of heaven.
Sumens illud Ave Gabrielis ore,
Taking that Ave from Gabriel's lips,
funda nos in pace, mutans Evae nomen.
settle us in peace, turning Eva's name around.
Solve vincla reis, profer lumen caecis,
Loose the chains of the guilty, bring light to the blind,
mala nostra pelle, bona cuncta posce.
drive away our ills, ask every good for us.
Monstra te esse matrem, sumat per te preces
Show yourself a mother: through you may he take our prayers
qui pro nobis natus tulit esse tuus.
who, born for us, chose to be your son.
Virgo singularis, inter omnes mitis,
Virgin beyond compare, gentlest of all,
nos culpis solutos mites fac et castos.
free us from our faults, make us gentle and chaste.
Vitam praesta puram, iter para tutum,
Grant us a pure life, make our way safe,
ut videntes Iesum semper collaetemur.
so that, seeing Jesus, we may rejoice together for ever.
Sit laus Deo Patri, summo Christo decus,
Praise to God the Father, glory to Christ most high,
Spiritui Sancto, tribus honor unus. Amen.
and to the Holy Spirit: to the three, one honour. Amen.