Behold, night's shadows fade

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Behold, night's shadows fade

Author: Gregory the Great
Published in 6 hymnals

Representative Text

Behold, night’s shadows fade,
And morn is in the skies!
To Him by whom all things were made
Our aspirations rise.

To break this deathly trance
Help us, our God, our stay!
Give the freed spirit utterance,
Its languors charm away!

So sin shall cease to reign,
So safety shall be nigh;
Rend, spirit blest, the heavy chains
Of death, in victory!

Source: A Book of Hymns for Public and Private Devotion (15th ed.) #550

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Author: Gregory the Great

Gregory I., St., Pope. Surnamed The Great. Was born at Rome about A.D. 540. His family was distinguished not only for its rank and social consideration, but for its piety and good works. His father, Gordianus, said to have been the grandson of Pope Felix II. or III., was a man of senatorial rank and great wealth; whilst his mother, Silvia, and her sisters-in-law, Tarsilla and Aemiliana, attained the distinction of canonization. Gregory made the best use of his advantages in circumstances and surroundings, so far as his education went. "A saint among saints," he was considered second to none in Rome in grammar, rhetoric, and logic. In early life, before his father's death, he became a member of the Senate; and soon after he was thirty and ac… Go to person page >

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