Scripture Verse

Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call His name Jesus. Luke 1:31

Introduction

Words: Un­known au­thor, 9th Cen­tu­ry (Ave, Mar­is Stel­la). Trans­lat­ed from La­tin to Eng­lish by J. Ath­el­stan Ri­ley in The Eng­lish Hym­nal (Lon­don: Ox­ford Uni­ver­si­ty Press, 1906), num­ber 213.

Music: Ave Mar­is Stel­la 18th Cen­tu­ry tune (🔊 pdf nwc).

Alternate Tune:

portrait
J. Athelstan Riley (1858–1945)

Lyrics

Hail, O star that point­est
Towards the port of Hea­ven,
Thou to whom as maid­en
God for Son was giv­en.

When the sa­lu­ta­tion
Gabriel had spok­en,
Peace was shed up­on us,
Eva’s bonds were brok­en.

Bound by Sa­tan’s fet­ters,
Health and vi­sion need­ing,
God will aid and light us
At thy gen­tle plead­ing.

Jesu’s ten­der mo­ther,
Make thy sup­pli­ca­tion
Unto Him who chose thee
At His in­car­na­tion;

That, O match­less maid­en,
Passing meek and low­ly,
Thy dear Son may make us
Blameless, chaste and ho­ly.

So, as now we jour­ney
Aid our weak en­dea­vor,
Till we gaze on Je­sus,
And re­joice for­ev­er.

Father, Son and Spir­it,
Three in One con­fess­ing,
Give we eq­ual glo­ry,
Equal praise and bless­ing.

illustration
The Annunciation
Francesco Albani (1578–1660)