Jam sol recedit igneus

As fades the glowing orb of day

The Hymns of the Breviary and Missal

Jam sol recedit igneus:
Tu lux perennis Unitas,
Nostris, beata Trinitas,
Infunde lumen cordibus.
Te mane laudum carmine,
Te deprecamur vespere;
Digneria ut te supplices
Laudemus inter cœlites.
Patri, simulque Filio,
Tibique sancta Spiritus,
Sicut fuit, sit jugiter
Sæclum per omne Gloria.

As fades the glowing orb of day,
To Thee, great source of light, we pray;
Blest Three in One, to every heart
Thy beams of life and love impart.
At early down, at close of day,
To Thee our vows we humbly pay;
May we, mid joys that never end,
With Thy bright Saints in homage bend.
To God, the Father, and the Son,
And Holy Spirit, Three in One,
Be endless glory, as before
The world began, so evermore.

Author: St. Ambrose (340-397). Meter: Iambic dimeter. Translation by Father Potter, altered. First line of Original Text: O Lux beata Trinitas. There are thirty-two translations, twenty of which are from the Roman Breviary Text. There are thirteen translations of this hymn in the Annus Sanctus, two of which are from the Original Text. This hymn is also used at Vespers on the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity. The Original Text is there given. It is interesting to compare the two texts. See hymn 71.

“The fiery sun now sinks to rest: O Thou light eternal, O Unity and Blessed Trinity, infuse Thy light into our hearts.” As the daylight departs we ask that the eternal light shall not fail us.
“We glorify Thee in the morning with a hymn of praise, we supplicate Thee in the evening; deign that we, Thy suppliants, may praise Thee among the Blessed.”
Jugiter, adv., forever.