The Itinerarium

The Itinerarium is a short service similiar to the Suffrages, which included special prayers for travel.

Into the way of peace.

THE BENEDICTUS (Luke 1:68-79)

Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has visited us and prepared redemption for his people.
He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David,
just as he said long ago through the mouth of his holy prophets.
He raised up salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us,
in order to show mercy to our fathers by remembering his holy covenant,
the oath which he swore to Abraham our father,
to grant deliverance to us from the hand of our enemies,
that we are able to serve him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High,
because you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
to give his people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins,
because of God’s tender mercies,
by which the Rising Sun from on high will visit us,
to shine on those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

May the almighty and merciful Lord lead us into the way of peace, and may his holy angels be with us on our way that that we may come to our home again in peace, health, and gladness.

LORD, HAVE MERCY

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

LORD’S PRAYER

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever. Amen.

PRECES (Responsive Verses)

O God, save your servants who trust in you. (Psalm 86:2)
O Lord, send us help from the holy place. Support us from Zion. (Psalm 20:2)

You have been a refuge for us, a tower of strength in the face of the enemy.  (Psalm 61:3)
Do not let the enemy overcome us. Do not let our foes rejoice when we fall. (from Psalm 13:4)

Blessed be the Lord.
Day by day he bears our burdens. He is the God who saves us. (Psalm 68:19)

Make known to us your ways, O Lord.
Teach us your paths. (Psalm 25:4)

If only our ways were unwavering in keeping your statutes! (Psalm 119:5)
The uneven shall be made level, and the rough places a plain. (Isaiah 40:4)

He will give a command to his angels concerning you,
to guard you in all your ways. (Psalm 91:11)

O Lord, hear my prayer,
and let my cry for help come to you. (Psalm 102:1)

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.

Let us pray.

(One or more of the following prayers may be read.)

O God, you made the children of Israel walk with dry feet through the midst of the sea, and by the guiding of a star you showed the wise men from the east the way that led to you. Grant us a safe and quiet journey. Let your holy angel accompany us during our pilgrimage, that in the end we may attain the haven of eternal salvation.

O God, you called your servant Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldees, and you kept him from evil on all the paths of his pilgrimage. O Lord, keep us. Be our help when we go forward, our comfort by the way, our shadow from the heat, our covering from the rain and the cold, our chariot when we are weary, our refuge in trouble, our staff on uncertain paths, our safety in disaster. Lead us that we may happily reach our destination and return home safely.

O Lord, direct our journeys in the safe path that leads to salvation in you, that with the many changes of this life’s pilgrimage your protection may always shield us.

O almighty God, guide your family on the path of salvation, and by listening to the preaching of the blessed forerunner John the Baptist, we may behold the Lamb whom John pointed to, Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.

Let us go forth in peace.
In the name of the Lord. Amen.

Source: Freely modified from http://preces-latinae.org/thesaurus/Varia/Itinerarium.html. See the article on the Itinerarium in the New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia.

The same rite is also found in the Breviary Offices of Sarum.

Scripture is from the Evangelical Heritage Version (www.wartburgproject.org).

The couplet, “Blessed be the Lord. Day by day …” in the original is “V. Blessed be the Lord daily. R. The God of our salvation maketh our way prosperous.”

The end of the prayer “O God, you called your servant Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldees…” “our safety in disaster” in the original reads “our refuge in shipwreck.”

See also…
General Suffrages
Morning Suffrages
Evening Suffrages