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.