Saint Nicolas, Op 42: Nicolas from Prison

NICOLAS

Persecution sprang upon our church

and stilled its voice

Eight barren years it stifled under Roman rule:

And I lay bound

condemned to celebrate my lonely sacrament with

prison bread

while wolves ran loose among my flock.

O man! The world is set for you as for a king!

Paradise is yours in loveliness

The stars shine down for you for you

the angels sing

yet you prefer your wilderness

You hug the rack of self

embrace the lash of sin

pour your treasures out to bribe distress

You build your temples fair without and foul within:

You cultivate your wilderness

Yet Christ is yours, yours!

For you he lived and died

God in mercy gave his Son

to bless you all, to bring you life

and Him you crucified

to desecrate your wilderness

Turn, turn away from sin! Ah!

Bow down your hard and stubborn hearts!

Confess, confess yourselves to Him in penitence

and humbly vow your lives to Him, to holiness.