Hildegard of Bingen

The pride of the higher realms is the clear vault of the sky,
as glorious to behold as the sight of the heavens.

The sun, when it appears, proclaims as it rises
what a marvelous instrument it is, the work of the Most High.

At noon it parches the land,
and who can withstand its burning heat?

A man tending a furnace works in burning heat,
but three times as hot is the sun scorching the mountains;

it breathes out fiery vapours,
and its bright rays blind the eyes.

Great is the Lord who made it;
at his orders it hurries on its course.

It is the moon that marks the changing seasons,
governing the times, their everlasting sign.

From the moon comes the sign for festal days,
a light that wanes when it completes its course.

The new moon, as its name suggests, renews itself;
how marvellous it is in this change,

a beacon to the hosts on high,
shining in the vault of the heavens!

The glory of the stars is the beauty of heaven,
a glittering array in the heights of the Lord.

On the orders of the Holy One they stand in their appointed places;
they never relax in their watches.

Look at the rainbow, and praise him who made it;
it is exceedingly beautiful in its brightness.

It encircles the sky with its glorious arc;
the hands of the Most High have stretched it out.

1 O Lord our Governor, *
how exalted is your Name in all the world!

2 Out of the mouths of infants and children *
your majesty is praised above the heavens.

3 You have set up a stronghold against your adversaries, *
to quell the enemy and the avenger.

4 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, *
the moon and the stars you have set in their courses,

5 What is man that you should be mindful of him? *
the son of man that you should seek him out?

6 You have made him but little lower than the angels; *
you adorn him with glory and honor;

7 You give him mastery over the works of your hands; *
you put all things under his feet:

8 All sheep and oxen, *
even the wild beasts of the field,

9 The birds of the air, the fish of the sea, *
and whatsoever walks in the paths of the sea.

10 O Lord our Governor, *
how exalted is your Name in all the world!

Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Jesus said, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.”