A solis ortus cardine adusque terrae limitem Christum canamus principem, natum Maria virgine. Beatus auctor saeculi servile corpus induit ut carne carnem liberans non perderet, quod condidit. Clausae parentis viscera caelestis intrat gratia, venter puellae baiulat secra, quae non noverat. Domus pudici pectoris templum repente fit Dei, intacta nesciens virum verbo creavit filium. Enixa est puerpera quem Gabriel praedixerat, quem matris alvo gestiens clausus Iohannes senserat. Feno iacere pertulit, praesaepe non abhorruit parvoque lacte pastus est, perquem nec ales esurit. Gaudet chorus caelestium, et angeli canunt Deum, palamque fit pastoribus pastor creator omnium.
Translation
From where the sun rises to the very end of earth, let us sing of Christ our prince born of the virgin Mary. The blessed creator of eternity put on the body of a slave, that by the flesh freeing the flesh he might not lose what he had made. Into the virgin body of a girl the grace of heaven entered; the womb of the virgin carried mysteries she did not understand. The home of this modest breast suddenly became the temple of God; untouched and not knowing man, by a word alone she bore a son. The woman brought forth a child as Gabriel had foretold; and leaping in his mother’s womb John the Baptist knew his lord. Brought to lie in the hay, he did not shrink from the manger, and with a little milk he was fed, he who would not let birds go hungry. The heavenly chorus rejoices and angels proclaim God’s birth, and to the shepherds is shown the shepherd and creator of all.