A Collection of Prayers

For the Dying

800px-caravaggio-emmaus-750pix O God,
our heavenly Father,
have pity on your children in great bodily weakness
who are drawing near the gates of death.
Send your dear Son to meet with them on the way,
and to stay with them,
for the day is now far spent,
that he may comfort them with the Word of your goodness,
and break with them the bread of eternal life;
through your Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Source: Freely modified from A Book of Collects in Two Parts, John Wallace Suter and John Wallace Suter, Jr., Milwaukee: Morehouse Publishing, 1919.

This prayer references Luke 24:13-35

“that he may comfort them with the Word of your goodness” in the original is “that he may comfort them with a sense of thy goodness”

Graphic: Caravaggio, Supper at Emmaus, from Wikimedia Commons

prayer for the dead in middle ages

prayers for the dead

For Those Who Teach and Learn

Almighty God,
our heavenly Father,
you have committed to your holy Church
the care and nurture of your children.
Enlighten with your wisdom
those who teach and those who learn,
that rejoicing in the knowledge of your truth,
they may worship you
and serve you
from generation to generation;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Source: Freely modified from A Book of Collects in Two Parts, John Wallace Suter and John Wallace Suter, Jr., Milwaukee: Morehouse Publishing, 1919.

For Faith

O heavenly Father,
you understand all your children.
Give us your gift of faith,
that we may see our perplexities in the light of your wisdom,
and receive the blessed encouragement of your sympathy,
and have a clearer knowledge of your will;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Source: Freely modified from A Book of Collects in Two Parts, John Wallace Suter and John Wallace Suter, Jr., Milwaukee: Morehouse Publishing, 1919.

I Am the Good Shepherd

stjohnsashfield_stainedglass_goodshepherd-frame_crop O Lord Jesus Christ,
you are the Good Shepherd,
and you call your own by name.
Let people everywhere hear your voice
and follow you on the path of life,
that so there may be one flock,
and one Shepherd;
to the honor and glory of your name.
Amen.

Source: Freely modified from A Book of Collects in Two Parts, John Wallace Suter and John Wallace Suter, Jr., Milwaukee: Morehouse Publishing, 1919.

This prayer references John 10

“and follow you on the path of life” in A Book of Collects the line is given as “and follow thee into the abundant life.”

Picture: St John the Baptist’s Anglican Church, Ashfield, New South Wales. Wikimedia Commons

I Am the Bread of Life

christ_feeding_the_multitude Almighty God,
you sent your Son from heaven
to be the Bread of Life.
Grant that when we come to him
we never hunger,
and believing in him
we never thirst,
and by remaining in him and he in us,
we may have eternal life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Source: Freely modified from A Book of Collects in Two Parts, John Wallace Suter and John Wallace Suter, Jr., Milwaukee: Morehouse Publishing, 1919.

This prayer references John 6

Graphic: Jesus Feeding the Multitude from Wikimedia Commons

I Am the Light of the World

cefalc3b9_pantocrator_retouched O Lord Jesus Christ,
you are the Light of the world.
Enlighten our hearts with the brightness of your glory,
and guide our feet into the way of peace,
to the honor of your holy name.

Source: Freely modified from A Book of Collects in Two Parts, John Wallace Suter and John Wallace Suter, Jr., Milwaukee: Morehouse Publishing, 1919.

This prayer references John 8, Hebrews 1, Luke 1

Graphic: Christus Pantocrator in the apsis of the cathedral of Cefalù, Wikipedia

You Gave Your Only Son

geertgen_tot_sint_jans2c_the_nativity_at_night2c_c_1490 O God,
you looked on man when he had fallen to death,
and resolved to redeem him
by giving your only Son.
Grant that all who confess his glorious incarnation
may also be admitted to the fellowship of him, their Redeemer;
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Source: Ambrose

“by giving your only Son” is a reference to John 3:16

For Growth in Grace

Father,
give completeness to beginners,
understanding to the little ones,
and help to those who are running their course.
Give sorrow to the negligent,
fervor to the lukewarm,
and to the mature a true humility,
for the sake of Christ Jesus our Lord.
Amen.

Source: Iranaeus of Lyon

Source of this version: Composite, mostly from Prayers of the Early Church, ed. J. Manning Potts, The Upper Room, Nashville, Tennessee, © 1953 (Public domain in the U.S.) and Glimpses of the Divine: A Spiritual Anthology for Use on Every Day of the Year, Cyril Bulley, Sussex Academic Press, 1994

“and to the mature, a true humility,” most translations render this line “and a good consummation to the perfect” Glimpses of the Divine has “and to the perfect a true humility.”

A Clementine Blessing

May God,
who sees all things,
and who is the Ruler of all spirits
and the Lord of all the living—
who chose our Lord Jesus Christ,
and through him chose us to be a people for his own possession—
grant to every soul that calls on his glorious and holy name,
faith, peace, patience, long-suffering,
self-control, purity, and sobriety,
to the glory of his name,
through our High Priest and Protector,
+ Jesus Christ, to whom be glory,
and majesty, and power, and honor,
both now and forever.
Amen.

Source: Clement of Rome (c. 96)

From a longer prayer in Clement’s epistle to the Corinthians.

“chose us to be a people for his own possession” is a reference to 1 Peter 2:9

For Cleansing

O Lord,
cleanse us from our secret faults,
and mercifully forgive us from our willful sins,
that we may receive your holy things with a pure mind;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Source: Leonine Sacramentary.

“cleanse us from our secret faults” is a reference to Psalm 19:12-13