Deus Mundi Conditor: Paschal Candle Blessing from the Gelasian Sacramentary
Introduction The prayers of the Latin Rite Paschal Vigil are ancient, but they were not the only options. The 8th-century Gelasian Sacramentary from Paris is another source of--often quite different--ancient liturgical prayers. Among them is the prayer Deus Mundi Conditor , the prayer for the blessing of the Paschal Candle during the Paschal Vigil, somewhat equivalent to the Exultet . Indeed, the Deus Mundi Conditor may have influenced the Exultet with its "praise of the bee" section, reflected in the Exultet 's description of the candle as "the work of bees" and the wax as "drawn out by the mother bees." Below is a translation of the Deus Mundi Conditor , as well as the original Latin text. Deus Mundi Conditor Prayer for the Blessing of the Paschal Candle from the Gelasian Sacramentary God, the world’s creator, author of light, the stars’ maker, God Who perspicuously rewove with light the world fallen into...