Agnus Dei
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.
Lamb of God,
you who chose the path,
step by painful step
from Gethsemani's dark shadows
up to Golgotha's stark hilltop,
the passover offering,
you who gave your blood
to mark the lintels of our lives,
and save us from the darkness,
have mercy on us.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.
Lamb of God,
you who bore upon your shoulders
the blood guilt of all of our sins,
the guilt, blacker than night,
each wrong word,
each blow,
each deceit,
from the fall to the end,
You, pure in your innocence,
freely bearing the darkness,
redeeming us
blood drop by blood drop
stripe by stripe,
nail by nail,
gasping breath by breath,
until carrying your burden
to the halls of death,
you gave birth to hope.
Thank you for having mercy on us.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona nobis pacem.
Lamb of God,
You who gave up all,
friends, mother,
dignity, honor,
anger,
hate,
and left us life, hope,
truth, love,
and salvation in return,
May we,
who cling to your cross,
grow to have a heart like yours,
a love like yours,
filled always with your truth,
light,
and peace,
this day and always,
Amen.
KAC
On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
The emblem of suffering and shame;
And I love that old cross where the dearest and best
For a world of lost sinners was slain.
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.
O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
Has a wondrous attraction for me;
For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above
To bear it to dark Calvary.
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.
In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
A wondrous beauty I see,
For ’twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
To pardon and sanctify me.
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.
To the old rugged cross I will ever be true;
Its shame and reproach gladly bear;
Then He’ll call me some day to my home far away,
Where His glory forever I’ll share.
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/o/r/oruggedc.htm