Category: Christian Rite

The Litany of the Most Holy Trinity

Blessed be the holy Trinity and undivided Unity;
we will give glory to him, because he has shown his mercy to us.

O Lord our Lord, how wonderful is your name in all the earth!
O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God!

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

Blessed Trinity, hear us.
Adorable Unity, graciously hear us.

God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us. 

Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us. 

Father, from whom are all things,
Son, through whom are all things,
Holy Spirit, in whom are all things, have mercy on us. 

Holy and undivided Trinity, have mercy on us. 

Eternal Father,
only Son of the Father,
Spirit who proceeds from the Father and the Son, have mercy on us. 

Co-eternal majesty of three divine persons, have mercy on us. 

Father, the Creator,
Son, the Redeemer,
Holy Spirit, the Comforter, have mercy on us. 

Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts,
who is, who was, and who is to come,
God most high, who inhabits eternity,
to whom alone are due all honor and glory,
who alone does great wonders,
power infinite,
wisdom incomprehensible,
love unspeakable, have mercy on us. 

Be  merciful, spare us, O Holy Trinity.
Be  merciful, graciously hear us, O Holy Trinity.

From all evil, deliver us, O Holy Trinity.
From all sin, deliver us, O Holy Trinity. 

From all pride,
from all love of riches,
from all uncleanness,
from all laziness,
from all misdirected love,
from all envy and malice,
from all anger and impatience,
from every thought, word, and deed contrary to your holy law,
from your everlasting condemnation, deliver us, O Holy Trinity. 

Through your almighty power,
through your abundant loving kindness,
through the exceeding treasure of your goodness and love,
through the depths of your wisdom and knowledge,
through all your unspeakable perfections, deliver us, O Holy Trinity. 

We sinners pray, hear us.

That we may always serve you alone,
that we may worship you in spirit and in truth,
that we may love you with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our strength,
we pray, hear us.

That, for your sake, we may love our neighbors as ourselves,
that we may faithfully keep your holy commandments,
that we may never defile our bodies and souls with sin,
that we may go from grace to grace, and from virtue to virtue,
that we may finally enjoy the sight of you in glory,
that you would hear us,
we pray, hear us.

O blessed Trinity, deliver us.
O blessed Trinity, save us.
O blessed Trinity, have mercy on us.

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

Blessed are you, O Lord, in the firmament of heaven,
And worthy to be praised, and glorious, and highly exalted forever.

Let us pray.
Almighty and everlasting God, you have granted your servants in the confession of the true faith, to acknowledge the glory of an eternal Trinity, and in the power of your majesty to adore a Unity. Strengthen our faith and defend us from all adversity; through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Source: Modified from http://catholictradition.org/Litanies/litanies1a.htm

Hymnal and Order of Service, Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod, 1925

Hymnal_Augustana.pngThe Hymnal and Order of Service was published by the Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod in 1925. It contained a liturgical section that was not typical of Lutheran hymnals of the time, probably due to Augustana’s Swedish heritage. Along with Swedish service music, there is also some by English composer Sir John Stainer. It contains a version of the Common Service, along with the introits, collects and graduals. It also contains The Holy Communion with Full Service, and The Holy Communion without Full Service, Matins on Christmas Day, Matins on Easter Sunday, Vespers, the Litany, and Occasional Prayers, along with orders for Baptism, Confirmation and Burial. The Communion services, Matins and Vespers are notably different from the Common Service and traditional Matins and Vespers. 

Unfortunately, The Hymnal and Order of Service is not available through Google Books or Archive.org. Hymns, along with page scans, are available at Hymnary.org.

It contained a set of “General Morning and Evening Prayers” that included prayers by Augustine, Anselm, Aquinas, Luther, Loehe and others.

We make electronic versions of some of the services and other materials available here: 

  1. The Service (text only, traditional English) [pdf] [docx] 
  2. The Holy Communion with the Full Service (text only, traditional English) [pdf][docx] 
  3. Vespers (text only, traditional English) [pdf] [docx]
  4. The Litany (text identical to that in Common Service Book) [pdf] [docx]
  5. General Morning and Evening Prayers (revised, in contemporary language) [pdf]  [docx] 

The Hymnal and Order of Service also contained services from the Common Service project. Here are links to the resources from our Common Service Book page:

  1. Morning and Holy Communion [pdf] [docx]
  2. Introits, Collects, Epistles, Graduals and Gospels  [pdf] [docx]
  3. Vespers [pdf] [docx]
  4. Order for Public Confession (not in all editions of The Hymnal and Order of Service) [pdf] [docx]

The Paschal Greeting

Greeting:  Christ is risen!
Response: He is risen indeed!

Variant:

Greeting:  The Lord is risen!
Response: He is risen indeed!

Source: Ancient Christian greeting. 

Original in Greek:

Χριστὸς ἀνέστη! Ἀληθῶς ἀνέστη!

Latin:

Christus resurrexit! Resurrexit vere!

German:

Christus ist auferstanden! Er ist wahrhaft auferstanden!   or

Der Herr ist auferstanden! Er ist wahrhaftig auferstanden!

Litany of the Passion (4)

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

God the Father in heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.

Jesus, Son of the living God, have mercy on us.

From all evil, O Jesus, deliver us.

From sudden, unprepared, or evil death,
from the snares of the devil,
from anger, hatred, or ill will,
from everlasting death, O Jesus, deliver us.

By the mystery of your holy incarnation,
by your most holy life and work,
by your most bitter passion and death,
by your agony and bloody sweat,
by your thrice repeated prayer,
by the resignation of your human will,
by your bonds and stripes,
by your sacred body buffeted and smitten,
by your cruel mocking and scourging,
by the spitting upon your adorable face,
by the false judgment pronounced on you by Caiaphas,
by being disregarded by Herod,
by the shameful stripping off of your garments,
by your painful crown of thorns,
by your purple robe of mockery,
by your most unjust condemnation,
by your bearing your own cross,
by your footprints traced in blood,
by the tearing off of your garments,
by the cruel straining of your sacred limbs,
by your dread crucifixion,
by the upraising of your cross,
by the anguish you suffered,
by the insults you endured,
by your prayers and tears,
by the shedding of your most precious blood,
by your patience and humility,
by the love wherewith you loved us to the end, O Jesus, deliver us.

We sinners pray, hear us, Lord Jesus.

That being dead to sin, we may live for righteousness,
that we may not glory except in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that we may take up our cross daily and follow you,
that your blood may cleanse us from dead works, to serve the living God, that looking to your example, we may follow your steps,
that being partakers of your sufferings, we may also partake of your glory, O Jesus, hear us.

Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world, have mercy on us.

We adore you, O Jesus, we bless you.
Because by your cross and passion you have redeemed the world.

Remember your mercy, O Lord,
and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.

Consider my affliction and my trouble,
and forgive all my sins.

Lord, hear my prayer,
and let my cries come before you.

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

Our Father…

Let us pray.
O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, you were lifted up on the cross for the redemption of the world, and you shed your blood for the forgiveness of our sins. By virtue of the merits of your most holy life, passion and death, let us enter the gates of paradise with joy; for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.

Source: Slightly modified from Litany of the Passion in The Priest’s Prayerbook, 1906.

About the Eucharist, from the Didache

Now about the Eucharist, this is how to give thanks: First in connection with the cup:

We thank you, our Father, for the holy vine of David, your servant, which you have revealed through Jesus, your Son. To you be glory forever.

Then in connection with the piece broken off the loaf:

We thank you, our Father, for the life and knowledge which you have revealed through Jesus, your Son. To you be glory forever.

As this piece of bread was scattered over the hills  and then was brought together and made one, so let your Church be brought together from the ends of the earth into your Kingdom. For yours is the glory and the power through Jesus Christ forever.

You must not let anyone eat or drink of your Eucharist except those baptized in the Lord’s name. For in reference to this the Lord said, “Do not give what is sacred to dogs.”

After you have finished your meal, say grace in this way:

We thank you, holy Father, for your sacred name which you have lodged in our hearts, and for the knowledge and faith and immortality which you have revealed through Jesus, your Son. To you be glory forever.

Almighty Master, you have created everything for the sake of your name, and have given people food and drink to enjoy that they may thank you. But to us you have given spiritual food and drink and eternal life through Jesus, your Son.

Above all, we thank you that you are mighty. To you be glory forever.

Remember, Lord, your Church, to save it from all evil and to make it perfect by your love. Make it holy, and gather it together from the four winds into your Kingdom which you have made ready for it. For yours is the power and the glory forever.

Let grace come and let this world pass away.
Hosanna to the God of David!
If anyone is holy, let him come.
If not, let him repent.
Our Lord, come!
Amen.

Source: Freely modified from The Didache, ed. Cyril Richardson, 1953. CCEL. The Didache also known as The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, is a brief anonymous early Christian treatise, dated by most modern scholars to the first century. Some elements of The Didache are similar to the Gospel of Matthew, some seem to be apocryphal additions.

“As this piece of bread…” is similar in thought to 1 Corinthians 10:17.

“Do not give what is sacred to dogs” is from Matthew 7:6.

“But you have given spiritual food… is similar to 1 Corinthians 10:3.

“Remember, Lord, your Church, to save it from all evil…” is similar to
Matthew 6:13.

“Make it holy, and gather it together from the four winds…” is similar to
Matthew 24:31

“To you be glory forever” and “For yours is the power and the glory forever” is similar to Romans 11:36, Revelation 1:6, and many doxological phrases in the New Testament.

Meditations for the Days of Holy Week

These short meditations may be used as personal devotions, school devotions, or devotions at the beginnings of church meetings.

Monday of Holy Week

Verses and Prayer

All of us like sheep have gone astray. Each of us has turned to his own way,
but the LORD has laid on him the guilt of us all. (Isaiah 53:6)

Almighty God, we fail in so many adversities because of our weakness. Restore us by the Passion and intercession of your only Son; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.

Reading: Matthew 22:41-46

On Monday of Holy Week, Jesus taught in the Temple courts and was challenged by his enemies.

While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question: “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The Son of David.” He said to them, “Then how can David in the Spirit call him Lord, saying, The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet’?” “So if David calls him Lord, how is he his son?” No one was able to answer him a word, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions. (EHV)

Prayer

O God, Son of God, you took on yourself our nature and suffered death on the cross for us. By your Passion you have set us free from eternal death. Preserve us in your grace; through your mercy, O our God, you are blessed, and live and govern all things, now and forever.
Amen.

Blessing

The LORD is good to all. His compassion extends over all he has made. (Psalm 145:9)
Amen.

Tuesday of Holy Week

Verses and Prayer

He was pierced because of our rebellious deeds. He was crushed because of our guilt.
The punishment to bring us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)

Almighty and eternal God, grant that we may celebrate the mysteries of our Lord’s Passion and find there the pardon of our sin; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.

Reading: Matthew 24:36-51

On Tuesday of Holy Week, Jesus taught in the Temple courts and instructed his disciples about faithfulness.

“No one knows when that day and hour will be, not the angels of heaven, not even the Son, but only the Father. Just as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be when the Son of Man returns. In fact, in the days before the flood people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the very day that Noah entered the ark. And they did not realize what was coming until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be when the Son of Man returns. “At that time two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left. So be alert, because you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: If the master of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. You also need to be ready for this reason: The Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not expect him. “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has put in charge of his household, to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master finds doing this when he returns. Amen I tell you: He will put him in charge of all that he has. But if that servant is wicked and says in his heart, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ and he begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, the master of that servant will return on a day when he does not expect it and at an hour he does not know. The master will cut him in two and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (EHV)

Prayer

O God, Son of God, you took on yourself our nature and suffered death on the cross for us. By your Passion you have set us free from eternal death. Preserve us in your grace; through your mercy, O our God, you are blessed, and live and govern all things, now and forever.
Amen.

Blessing

May your mercy, O Lord, be on us, even as we wait confidently for you. (Psalm 33:22)
Amen.

Wednesday of Holy Week

Verses and Prayer

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth.
Like a lamb he was led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent in the presence of her shearers, so he did not open his mouth.  (Isaiah 53:7)

Almighty God, we are continually afflicted by our evil deeds. Free us by the Passion of your only Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.

Reading: Matthew 26:1-16

On Wednesday of Holy Week, Jesus may have rested. Matthew gives us a flashback to Jesus being anointed at Bethany and Judas beginning his plot.

When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, “You know that after two days it will be the Passover, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.” Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas. They plotted together how to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. But they said, “Not during the Festival, or else there might be a riot among the people.” When Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, a woman approached him holding an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume. She poured it on his head as he was reclining at the table. But when his disciples saw this, they were upset and said, “Why this waste? This perfume could have been sold for a lot of money and given to the poor.” Jesus was aware of this and said to them, “Why are you causing trouble for this woman? She has done a beautiful thing for me. You are always going to have the poor with you, but you are not always going to have me. When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. Amen I tell you: Wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told in memory of her.” Then one of the Twelve, the one named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” They paid him thirty pieces of silver. From that time on Judas was looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus. (EHV)

Prayer

O God, Son of God, you took on yourself our nature and suffered death on the cross for us. By your Passion you have set us free from eternal death. Preserve us in your grace; through your mercy, O our God, you are blessed, and live and govern all things, now and forever.
Amen.

Blessing

Blessed be God, who has not turned aside our prayer or turned aside his mercy from us! (Psalm 66:20)
Amen.

_____________

These meditations are downloadable as a pdf here.

All Scripture is taken or modified from The Holy Bible: Evangelical Heritage Version.

The opening prayers are the Historic Collects for the days of Holy Week, freely modified from The Lutheran Hymnal.

The closing prayer is a Mozarabic Collect for Holy Week.

Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book

The Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book was the English hymnal of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, published in 1912. It was published in text only and text and music editions. In its liturgical texts, Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book was very similar to The Common Service Book of the Lutheran Church. Since Common Service Book was published in 1917 and 1918, five or six years later, ELHB displays an older version of the Common Service and other texts. CSB seems to have undergone a revision and expansion of personal prayers, propers, and other rites. In 1941, The Lutheran Hymnal mostly retained the older forms in ELHB rather than use the updated texts in CSB.

The services in Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book included “The Order of Morning Service, or the Communion,” and “The Order of Evening Service, or Vespers.” The text only edition also contained “The Order of Early Service, or Matins.”

The Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book used Scripture texts from the King James Version of the Bible, used the British spelling of Saviour, and capitalized pronouns referring to the Deity, including Who/Whom.

For this electronic edition, different editions were consulted, so the files below may not be exactly the same as any one print edition. These files were made by modifying and correcting the texts that were generated by the pdf files of the original books and putting them into a usable format. Headings and rubrics were put in red, even though they were printed black in the original books.

The updated liturgical material combined elements from Common Service Book, Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book, and other resources. Rubrics are simplified. More updated liturgical material can be seen and downloaded at our Common Service Book page.  

To properly display the docx files, you will need the fonts Old English Text MT and Liturgy. Updated contemporary versions also use the Liturgikon symbol font (embedded in the docx documents).   

Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book, Electronic Resourceselhb

  1. Morning and Evening Prayers [pdf] [docx] 
  2. The Order of Morning Service, or The Communion (text only) [pdf] [docx] [Graphic pdf with music*]
    • Updated version in contemporary English [pdf] [docx]
  3. The Order of Evening Service, or Vespers (text only) [pdf] [docx] [Graphic pdf with music*]
    • Updated version in contemporary English [pdf] [docx]
  4. The Order of Early Service, or Matins (text only) [pdf] [docx]
    • Updated version in contemporary English [pdf] [docx]
  5. Introits, Collects, Epistles, Graduals and Gospels (From Common Service Book. Material identical to ELHB)  [pdf] [docx]
    • Updated versions of the introits, collects and graduals and lessons (ESV), prepared for the LCMS Lutheran Service Book areavailable at www.sanctus.org.
  6. Invitatories, Antiphons and Responsories (From Common Service Book. Material identical to ELHB) [pdf] [docx]
  7. Collects and Prayers [pdf] [docx]
    • Updated version (from Common Service Book) in contemporary English [pdf] [docx]
  8. General Prayers (Litany, Suffrages and General Prayers) [pdf] [docx]
    • Updated version of The Litany in contemporary English [pdf] [docx]
    • Updated version of The Suffrages in contemporary English [pdf] [docx]
    • Updated version of The Bidding Prayer in contemporary English [pdf] [docx]
Liturgy and Agenda, 1916 was an accompanying book to Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book, and contained The Order of Morning Service and The Order of Evening Service, along with an alternative form for Morning Service with chant tunes for the minister [Available at Google Books]
 
Lutheran Service Book, Evangelical Lutheran Worship, Christian Worship: A Lutheran Hymnal

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* With cooperation of the Lutheran Public Domain Liturgy Project, we present scanned pdfs of the noted liturgies from Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book.