Alma Redemptoris Mater
"Alma Redemptoris Mater" is a Marian hymn, written in Latin hexameter, and one of four seasonal liturgical Marian antiphons sung at the end of the office of Compline.
History
is said to have authored the hymn based on the writings of Saints Fulgentius, Epiphanius, and Irenaeus of Lyon. It is mentioned in The Prioress's Tale, one of Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.At one time Alma Redemptoris Mater was briefly used as an antiphon for the hour of Sext for the feast of the Assumption, but since the 13th century it has been a part of Compline. Formerly it was recited at the end of the canonical hours only from the first Sunday in Advent until the Feast of the Purification. It was translated into English by, amongst others, John Henry Newman in "Tracts for the Times", No. 75.
Text
Latin
Depending on the period, the following combinations of a versicle, response, and collect are added. From the first Sunday of Advent until Christmas Eve, the collect from the Fourth Sunday of Advent is used, and thereafter until the Feast of the Presentation, the collect from Solemnity of Mary, [Mother of God], is used.The first collect is notably also used in Masses during Advent, and is exactly the same prayer that concludes the Angelus.