O gloriosa virginum

O glorious Lady

The Hymns of the Breviary and Missal

O gloriosa virginum,
Sublimis inter sidera,
Qui te creavit, parvulum
Lacetente nutris ubere.
Quod Heva tristis abstulit,
Tu reddis almo germine:
Intrent ut astra flebiles,
C&oalig;li recludis cardines.
Tu regis alti janua,
Et aula lucis fulgida:
Vitam datam per Virginem
Gentes redemptæ plaudit.
Jesu tibi sit gloria,
Qui natus es de Virgine,
Cum Patre, et almo Spiritu
In sempiterna sæcula.

O glorious Lady! Throned on high
Above the star-illumined sky;
Thereto ordained, thy bosom lent
To thy Creator nourishment.
Through thy sweet Offsping we receive
The bliss once lost through hapless Eve;
And heaven to mortals open lies
Now thou art Portal of the skies.
Thou art the Door of heaven’s high King,
Light’s Gateway fair and glistering;
Life through a Virgin is restored;
Ye ransomed nations, praise the Lord!
All honor, laud, and glory be,
O Jesu, Virgin-born to Thee;
All glory, as is ever meet,
To Father and to Paraclete.

This hymn is a continuation of the preceding hymn. Translation by J. W. Doran and M. J. Blacker. There are fourteen translations. Liturgical Use: Hymn for Lauds on Feasts of Our Lady. First line of Original Text: O gloriosa Femina (or Domina).

“O most glorious of Virgins, the most exalted among the Blessed, Him who created thee thou didst nourish as a Child at thy maternal breast.” Sidera, all created heavenly beings.
“What hapless Eve deprived us of, thou, by thy beloved Offspring, didst restore: that those who weep may enter heaven, open thou the door thereof.” Cardo, a hinge, by synec, a door, gate.
“Thou art the Door of the great King, the refulgent Hall of light: sing, O redeemed nations, the Life given us through a Virgin.” Vitam = Christum. Plaudite, applaud, here used transitively.