Music for Lent: Byrd's Emendemus in melius

Emendemus in melius
Quae ignoranter peccavimus,
Ne subito praeoccupati die mortis
Quaeramus spatium poenitentiae
Et invenire non possumus.
Attende, Domine, et miserere,
Quia peccavimus tibi.

Adjuva nos, Deus salutaris noster,
Et propter honorem nominis tui
Libera nos.

Let us amend what we have transgressed
Through ignorance,
Lest, should the day of death suddenly overtake us,
We seek time for repentance
And cannot find it.
Hearken, o Lord, and have mercy,
For we have sinned against thee.

Help us, O God of our salvation,
And, for the glory of thy name,
Deliver us.