El Alabado de Margil by Carlos Colón

The Texas Voices, Alan Dyer, Director
Recorded live at the Mesquite Arts Center, Texas.

"El Alabado de Margil" is extracted from a work commissioned by the First Lady of El Salvador, Dra. Vanda Pignato, for the 30th anniversary of the martyrdom of Mon. Oscar Romero. This piece celebrates Romero's connection to the intellectual tradition of the Church. The piece also has ties to Texas: it uses a melody composed in the 18th century by Fray Antonio Margil de Jesús, founder of the first missions in San Antonio.

Lyrics:

Alabado y ensalzado sea el Divino Sacramento
en quien Dios oculto asiste de las almas el sustento.

Y la limpia Concepción de la Reina de los Cielos,
Que quedando Virgen Pura, es Madre del Verbo Eterno.

In Nomine Patris, et Fillii, et Spiritus Sancti.

Translation:

Blessed be the Sacrament through which
an Invisible God gives sustenance to souls.

And the Immaculate Conception of the Queen of Heaven,
Who, while remaining a Pure Virgin, is Mother of the Eternal Word(Logos).

In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.