Featured Book: The New Ancient Collects

The New Ancient Collects: Completely Revised and Refreshed for Modern Usage.

by Paul Stratman(Author)
The New Ancient Collects : Completely Revised and Refreshed for Modern Usage. by [Stratman, Paul]For over 150 years, Bright’s Ancient Collects has been a standard resource for classic Christian prayers. The New Ancient Collects is a complete revision and refreshing of all the prayers in Bright’s Ancient Collects with updated language. Click here to purchase through Amazon. Available in paperback and for Kindle.

 

 

 

 

Some sample prayers. Each one has a reference to the original Ancient Collects (71.1 means page 71, the first prayer on the page, etc.) along with its original source.

Almighty and eternal God,
convert our minds
to do what is pleasing to you,
Do not let your rebuke be met with our neglect,
and become a greater reason for punishment,
but let your Fatherly admonition be a blessing
as we amend our lives;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. [227]

71.1, Leonine

O Lord,
convert all our hearts to yourself,
that we abstain from whatever offends you,
and experience your mercy and not your wrath;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. [228]

71.2, Leonine

Eternal Father,
convert our hearts to yourself,
for those you move
to your devotion and worship
will lack no good thing;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. [229]

71.3, Leonine

Almighty God, do not look on our many evils,
but draw us away from sin, for we are weak,
and guide our wills to what is right;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. [230]

71.4, Leonine

Rite for the Presentation of Bibles to Children

The Bibles may be stacked on a table in front of the altar. The children gather around the table.

Our Lord Jesus Christ said, “If you remain in my word, you are really my disciples. You will also know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32)  and St. Paul wrote to Timothy, “From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 3:15).

Our God has given us his holy Word, both to be our guide through life and to show us his good, gracious and saving will. It is in the Bible’s message of the gospel that we meet our Savior Jesus Christ, hear his Word, and come to know God as a compassionate and gracious Father.

Let us pray.

Blessed Lord, you have given us your Holy Scriptures for our learning. May we so hear them, read, learn, and take them to heart, that being strengthened and comforted by  your holy Word, we may cling to the blessed hope of everlasting life, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen.

The minister places his hand on the Bibles and addresses the children:

So that this Word of God may be a lamp for your feet and a light for your path, we present these Bibles to you. Here is where God teaches us what he wants us to believe and do. Read the Scriptures so that the Word that is written with ink on paper may also be written in your hearts and minds, and be your guide for life, your comfort and your hope, in good times and in bad.

The minister hands the Bibles to the children.

May the Word of the Lord give you wisdom.
May it bring joy to your heart and light to your eyes.
May it instruct you in the fear of the Lord,
and guide you in his truth. (from Psalm 19)
Amen.

Source: Prepared for A Collection of Prayers, 2019

Scripture passages are quoted from The Holy Bible: Evangelical Heritage Version. www.wartburgproject.org.

For more information on the Collect for the Word, “Blessed Lord, you have given us your holy Scriptures…” see https://acollectionofprayers.com/2016/06/20/collect-for-the-word/

Rite for the Disposition of an Old Bible

The grace of our Lord + Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you.
And also with you.

A reading from the prophet Isaiah.

A voice was saying, “Cry out!”
And I said, “What shall I cry out?”
All flesh is grass,
and all its beauty is like a wildflower in the countryside.
7 Grass withers, flowers fade
when the breath of the Lord blows on them.
Yes, the people are grass.
8 Grass withers, flowers fade,
but the Word of our God endures forever. (Isaiah 40:6-8 EHV)

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God. 

The old Bible is placed in a paper bag, and then carefully placed in a recycle bin.

Let us pray.

O Lord, your Word is eternal. Ink and paper are not. We send this Bible that is worn from use to be recycled, perhaps even to bear your Word again. Let your eternal Word remain in our hearts. Let it be the lamp for our feet, the light for our path, and the place where we find our Savior, your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Go in peace. Serve the Lord with gladness.
Amen.

Source: A Collection of Prayers, 2019

Crown the Faith of Those Who Cling to You

O God,
Father of your only Son,
you dwell in heaven
and you scoff at those
who rise against your Anointed One.
Grant us special grace
that we may not yield to adversities,
that the unbelief of those who do not know you
may be done away with,
and the faith of those who cling to you
may be crowned.

Source: Mozarabic Rite, 7th Century

Source of this version: Oremus, edited by Paul Zeller Strodach

An Anniversary of Ministry

lutherrose

O God,
by your command the order of all time runs its course.
Look graciously on me your servant,
whom you have called into your ministry.
Mercifully preserve your gifts in me
so that my service may be pleasing to you;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Source: Gelasian, in The New Ancient Collects, #576, Bright’s Ancient Collects, p. 194.1

 

The New Ancient Collects : Completely Revised and Refreshed for Modern Usage. by [Stratman, Paul]

 

The New Ancient Collects is available from Amazon.com in paperback and for Kindle.

 

“God Be in My Head…” Prayers from Old Sarum

"God Be in My Head..." Prayers from Old Sarum by [Stratman, Paul]The Sarum Rite, also called the Use of Salisbury, was a variation of the Roman Rite developed in the 1100s that was known to be high in ceremony. It also had a wealth of richly worded prayers that have influenced Christian worship ever since. Many prayers from the Sarum Rite were used in the Book of Common Prayer. This book gathers prayers from the original Sarum Missals, Breviaries and Psalters and presents them in a single collection in contemporary liturgical English, and may be useful in public or private devotions.

NOTE: This volume also contains all the psalm prayers from the book Psalm Prayers from Sarum.

Available in paperback and for Kindle from Amazon.com.