In Chronological Order:
O Light That Knew No Dawn by Gregory Nazianzus. (c.325-389). Translated by John Brownlie (1857-1925).
Gregory was one of the three Cappadocian fathers and was known for his theological defense of the doctrine of the Trinity. He is also known as Gregory the theologian. He was an important 4th century church leader and a powerful speaker and defender of the faith, spending time in Constantinople as well as other places in Asia Minor. This is just one of his many poems. You can find more at hymnary.org
O Light that knew no dawn,
That shines to endless day,
All things in earth and heaven
Are lustred by Thy ray;
No eye can to Thy throne ascend,
Nor mind Thy brightness comprehend.
Thy grace, O Father, give,
That I may serve in fear;
Above all boons, I pray,
Grant me Thy voice to hear;
From sin Thy child in mercy free,
And let me dwell in light with Thee.
That, cleansed from filthy stain,
I may meet homage give,
And, pure in heart, behold
And serve Thee while I live;
Clean hands in holy worship raise,
And Thee, O Christ my Saviour, praise.
In supplication meek
To Thee I bend the knee;
O Christ, when Thou shalt come,
In love remember me,
And in Thy kingdom, by Thy grace,
Grant me a humble servant’s place.
Thy grace, O Father, give,
I humbly Thee implore;
And let Thy mercy bless
Thy servant more and more.
All grace and glory be to Thee
From age to age eternally.
On the delight that the Spirit sometimes brings in prayer. Pseudo-Macarius (5th century; identity unknown.)
From The Fifty Spiritual Homilies, Homily 8. This apparently was not originally written as a poem and has no title. It was arranged into stanzas by the site host. Pseudo-Macarius has been influential for many over the centuries. The preface to the Classics of Western Spirituality volume on Pseudo-Macarius states: “”I read Macarius and sang,” wrote John Wesley in his diary for July 30, 1736. There are countless others, alike in Eastern and Western Christianity, who have experienced a similar joy through reading Macarius. The Homilies are written with a warmth of feeling, an affectivity and enthusiasm, that are instantly attractive. Their message is one of hope, light and glory…”
A man goes in to bend the knee,
and his heart is filled with the divine influence,
and his soul rejoices with the Lord,
like bride with bridegroom,
according to that word of the prophet Isaiah
which says,
As the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride,
so shall the Lord rejoice over thee; *
and it comes to pass
that being all day engaged
he gives himself to prayer
for an hour,
and the inward man is rapt in prayer
into the unfathomable deep
of that other world
in great sweetness,
so that his whole mind
is up aloft,
rapt away thither,
and estranged from things below.
For the time being
forgetfulness comes into him
with regard to the interests
of the earthly mind,
because his thoughts
are filled
and taken captive
to divine and heavenly things,
to things infinite
and past comprehension,
to wonderful things
which no human lips can express,
so that for that hour
he prays and says,
“Would God that my soul
might pass along with my prayer!”
Dark Night of the Soul by John of the Cross (1542-1591)
Originally written in Spanish. Author of this translation is unknown. It can be found in many places online including here. You can find an explanation of the poem (as well as a different translation) by John of the Cross scholar E. Allison Peers here. This is a poem about the journey to full communion with God in Christ, so it would span many years. It was inspired by the Songs of Songs in the Old Testament. It begins with the believer (the “lover”) letting go of everything that interferes with communion with God (“my house being all stilled”). It is a walk of faith (“dark night”) when it seems there is no guiding light (stanza 3) but there is a longing in the heart that compels the believer to their Bridegroom. The lover rejoices in the night (stanzas 4 and 5) because they find that walking in deep faith brings them to the beloved (stanza 6 to 8). Finally, the lover enjoys the full presence of the beloved and forgets all else while losing themself in the love of God in Christ.
1. One dark night,
fired with love’s urgent longings
— ah, the sheer grace! —
I went out unseen,
my house being now all stilled.
2. In darkness, and secure,
by the secret ladder, disguised,
— ah, the sheer grace! —
in darkness and concealment,
my house being now all stilled.
3. On that glad night,
in secret, for no one saw me,
nor did I look at anything,
with no other light or guide
than the one that burned in my heart.
4. This guided me
more surely than the light of noon
to where he was awaiting me
— him I knew so well —
there in a place where no one appeared.
5. O guiding night!
O night more lovely than the dawn!
O night that has united
the Lover with his beloved,
transforming the beloved in her Lover.
6. Upon my flowering breast
which I kept wholly for him alone,
there he lay sleeping,
and I caressing him
there in a breeze from the fanning cedars.
7. When the breeze blew from the turret,
as I parted his hair,
it wounded my neck
with its gentle hand,
suspending all my senses.
8. I abandoned and forgot myself,
laying my face on my Beloved;
all things ceased; I went out from myself,
leaving my cares
forgotten among the lilies.