A Collection of Prayers

Praise, Thanks, Confession of Faith

Glory be to you, almighty Father,
you have given to those who fear you
the heavenly bread of life,
that we may be mindful of the marvels
which you have done on the earth,
by sending us your only Son,
fully human,
born of a pure virgin.
We give you thanks, holy Father,
for you created us before we were,
and while we were still sinners you made us partakers of your heavenly grace;
through your Son, our Lord and God,
who with you and the Holy Spirit
makes, orders, and rules all things, now and forever. Amen.

Source: Dunstan of Canterbury

Source of this version: Freely modified from Prayers of the Middle Ages, edited by J. Manning Potts, 1954.

For Forgiveness

God and King,
by your mercy,
pardon the sins of your servant __________.
Deliver him from all the bonds of the enemy
that he may cling to your commandments with all his heart,
and always love you alone with all his strength,
and one day be counted with your blessed ones;
through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Source: Old Rheims Manuscript, 9th century

Source of this version: Freely modified from Prayers of the Middle Ages, edited by J. Manning Potts, 1954. (New Ancient Collects, #370)

An Acknowledgment of God’s Supremacy

O Father of that Son who has awakened us,
you still urge us out of the sleep of our sins,
and call us to become yours.
To you, Lord, we pray,
you, the supreme truth,
for all truth that is, is from you.
You we implore, O Lord,
the highest wisdom,
through you all who are wise derive their wisdom.
You are the supreme joy,
and from you all who are happy derive their pleasure.
You are the highest good,
and from you all beauty springs.
You are the intellectual light,
and from you we derive our understanding.
To you, O God, we call and speak.
Hear us, O Lord,
for you are our God and our Lord,
our Father and our creator,
our ruler and our hope,
our wealth and our honor,
our home, our country,
our salvation, and our life.
Hear, hear us, O Lord.
Few of your servants comprehend you,
but at least we love you,
yes, we love you above all other things.
We seek you, we follow you,
we are ready to serve you.
We desire to remain under your power,
for you are the Sovereign of all.
Command us as you will;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord. Amen.

Source: Alfred the Great, 9th century

Source of this version: Freely modified from Prayers of the Middle Ages, edited by J. Manning Potts, 1954.

For Strength and Guidance

Lord God Almighty,
shaper and ruler of all creatures,
we pray for your great mercy,
that you guide us towards you,
for we cannot find our way.
And guide us to your will, to the need of our soul,
for we cannot do it ourselves. [1]
And make our mind steadfast in your will
and aware of our soul’s need.
Strengthen us against the temptations of the devil,
and remove from us all lust and every unrighteousness,
and shield us against our foes, seen and unseen.
Teach us to do your will,
that we may inwardly love you before all things with a pure mind.
For you are our maker and our redeemer,
our help, our comfort, our trust, our hope;
praise and glory be to you now and forever.

Source: Alfred the Great, 9th century

Source of this version: Freely modified from Prayers of the Middle Ages, edited by J. Manning Potts, 1954. (New Ancient Collects, #264)

[1] Original translation: “that Thou guide us better than we have done, towards Thee, and guide us to Thy will, to the need of our soul, better than we can ourselves.”

Confession and Prayer for Forgiveness

O Lord, O King,
magnificent in the stronghold of heaven,
always worthy of praise.
In your grace for your people:
have mercy.

Lord,
to whom the hosts of cherubim sing in endless praise:
have mercy.

Lord,
the heavenly armies sing high praise to you,
and the seraphim reply to them:
have mercy.

O Christ,
enthroned as King above,
whom all orders of angels in their beauty praise without ceasing,
on us, your servants, always:
have mercy.

O Christ,
your Church throughout the world sings to you.
The sun, the moon, and stars, the land and sea, always serve you:
have mercy.

O Christ,
your saints, the heirs of the eternal country,
one and all with utter joy proclaim you in a most worthy strain:
have mercy.

O Lord,
O gentle Son of Mary,
O King of Kings,
blessed Redeemer,
on those you have ransomed from the power of death
by your own blood:
have mercy.

O noblest unbegotten, yet begotten Son,
having no beginning of age,
yet excelling all things,
on this your congregation in your pity:
have mercy.

O Sun of Righteousness,
in all unclouded glory,
supreme dispenser of justice,
in that great day when you will come to be our judge,
on this your people, who here stand before your presence,
in your pity:
Lord, then have mercy on us. Amen.

Source: Dunstan of Canterbury
Source of this version: Freely modified from Prayers of the Middle Ages, edited by J. Manning Potts, 1954.

Adapted to be a Christmas Kyrie:

O Lord, O King,
magnificent in the stronghold of heaven,
always worthy of praise.
Be gracious to us, your people.
Lord, have mercy.

O Christ, enthroned as King above,
whom all orders of angels in their beauty praise without ceasing,
Be gracious to us, your servants.
Lord, have mercy.

O Christ, your Church throughout the world sings to you.
The sun, the moon, and stars, the land and sea, always serve you.
Be gracious to us, your creatures.
Lord, have mercy.

O Lord, gentle Son of Mary, King of Kings, blessed Redeemer,
be gracious to those you have ransomed from death by your own blood.
Lord, have mercy.

O noblest eternal, yet begotten Son,
having no beginning of age, yet excelling all things,
Be gracious to us, your congregation.
Lord, have mercy. Amen.

Service Builder element link: https://builder.christianworship.com/share/XFBI9d_b

For Christian Graces

O Lord,
give me
purity of lips,
a clean and innocent heart,
and rightness of action.

Give me
humility, patience, abstinence,
chastity, prudence, justice,
courage and self-control.

Give me
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and strength,
the Spirit of knowledge and godliness,
and of your fear.

Always lead me to seek your face
with all my heart, all my soul, all my mind.
Let me have a contrite and humble heart in your presence—
to prefer nothing to your love.

Most high, eternal, and ineffable Wisdom,
drive away from me the darkness of blindness and ignorance.
Most high and eternal Strength, rescue me.
Most high and eternal Courage, help me.
Most high and incomprehensible Light, illuminate me,
Most high and infinite Mercy, have mercy on me. Amen.

Source: Gallican Sacramentary

Source of this version: Freely modified from Prayers of the Middle Ages, edited by J. Manning Potts, 1954.

For a Friend Before a Journey

O God,
you always bestow your mercy on those who love you,
and are near those who serve you.
Direct the way of your servant in your will.
Protect and guide him,
that he may walk without stumbling
in the paths of righteousness,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Source: Gallican Sacramentary, 8th century

Source of this version: Freely modified from Prayers of the Middle Ages, edited by J. Manning Potts, 1954.

The Anaphora of Hippolytus

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The Anaphora of Hippolytus is from the Apostolic Constitutions, and is the basis for many eucharistic prayers, including Eucharistic Prayer II of the present Roman Rite, Eucharistic Prayer IV in Lutheran Book of Worship (Minister’s Desk Edition), and the Prayer of Thanksgiving in The Service: Setting One in Christian Worship: Hymnal (2021).

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.

Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord.
It is right and just.

We give thanks to you God,
through your beloved son Jesus Christ,
whom you sent to us in former times
as Savior, Redeemer, and Messenger of your will.
He is your inseparable Word,
through whom you made all,
and in whom you were well-pleased.
You sent him from heaven into the womb of a virgin,
who, being conceived within her, was made flesh,
and appeared as your Son,
born of the Holy Spirit and the virgin.
It is he who, fulfilling your will
and acquiring for you a holy people,
extended his hands in suffering,
in order to liberate from sufferings
those who believe in you.

Who, when he was delivered to voluntary suffering,
in order to dissolve death,
and break the chains of the devil,
and tread down hell,
and bring the just to the light,
and set the limit,
and manifest the resurrection,
taking the bread, and giving thanks to you, said,

“Take, eat, for this is my body which is broken for you.”

Likewise he took the cup, saying,

“This is my blood which is shed for you.
Whenever you do this, do this in memory of me.”

Therefore, remembering his death and resurrection,
we set before you the bread and the cup,[1]
giving thanks to you, for you have made us worthy
to stand before you and to serve you.

And we pray that you would send your Holy Spirit
on the offering of your Holy Church.
In their gathering together,
give to all those who partake of your holy mysteries the fullness of the Holy Spirit,
toward the strengthening of the faith in truth,
that we may praise you and glorify you,
through your son Jesus Christ,
through whom to you be glory and honor,
Father and Son,
with the Holy Spirit,
in your Holy Church,
now and always.
Amen.

Source: The Anaphora of Hippolytus, third century

Note:

In the early church, it was the custom for members of the church to present bread and wine as gifts to be used for the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, which is the “offering” or “setting before” (offerimus) mentioned here. Later (especially in the Council of Trent), the Lord’s Supper was wrongly viewed as a re-sacrificing of Christ’s body and blood. (See Hebrews 7:27 and 9:26).

Original in Latin:

Dominus vobiscum.
Et cum spiritu tuo.

Sursum corda.
Habemus ad Dominum.

Gratias agamus Domino.
Dignum et iustum est.

Et sic iam prosequatur. Gratias tibi referimus, Deus per dilectum puerum tuum Jesum Christum, quem in ultimis temporibus misisti nobis salvatorem et redemptorem et angelum voluntatis tuae. Qui est Verbum tuum inseparabile, per quem omnia fecisti et bene placitum tibi fuit. Misisti de calo in matricem Virginis, quique in utero habitus incarnatus est et Filius tibi ostensus est ex Spiritu Sancto et Virgine natus. Qui voluntatem tuam complens et populum sanctum tibi adquirens extendit manus cum pateretur, ut a passione liberaret eos qui in te crediderunt. Qui cumque traderetur voluntariae passioni ut mortem solvat et vincula diaboli dirumpat et infernum calcet et iustos inluminet et terninum figat et resurrectionem manifestet, accipiens panem gratias tibi agens dixit: Accipite, manducate: hoc est corpus meum, quod pro vobis confringetur. Similiter et calicem dicens: Hic est sanguis mcus qui pro vobis effunditur. Quando hoc facitis, meam commemorationem facitis. Memores igitur mortis et resurrectionis eius offerimus tibi panem et calicem gratias tibi agentes quia nos dignos habuisti adstare coram te et tibi ministrare. Et petimus ut mittas Spiritum tecum Sanctum in oblationem sancta Ecclesiae. In unum congregans des omnibus qui percipiunt sanctis in repletionem Spiritus Sancti ad confirmationem fidei in veritate, ut te landemus et glorificemus per puerum tuum Jesum Christum, per quem tibi gloria et honor Patri et Filio cum Sancto Spiritu in sancta Ecclesia tua et nunc et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

Confession of Sins from the Book of Cerne

I come before your sight, O Lord,
as one accused with my conscience as witness.
I pray, not daring to ask what I am not worthy to receive.
But Lord, you know everything
that drives us to confess to you;
what we are ashamed of,
and the sins we were not afraid to commit.
With these words we yield to you our hearts and minds,
and commend to you what we say,
but not what we have done.
Spare us, O Lord, and forgive the sins we confess.
Have mercy on those who call to you.
And because my senses are weak
in comprehending your mysteries,
grant, Lord, the things we do not ask
because of the hardness of our hearts,
and grant us pardon;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Source: Book of Cerne,

Ante oculos tuos domine reus conscientiae testis adsisto rogare non audeo quod impetrare non merear . Tu enim scis domine omnia quae aguntur in nobis erubescimus confitere quod per nos non timemus conmittere . Uerbis tibi tantum obsequimur corde autem mentimus . et quod uelle nos dicimus nolle nostris actibus adprobamus . parce domine confitentibus ignosce peccantibus . miserere te rogantibus . et quia in sacramentis tuis meus sensus infirmus est . praesta domine ut qui ex nobis duri cordis uerba non suscipis . per te nobis ueniam largiaris iesus christus dominus noster . Amen.

For Illumination

O most merciful God,
incline your loving ears to my prayers
and enlighten my heart with the grace of the Holy Spirit,
that I may worthily administer your sacraments,
love you with an everlasting love,
and be received to everlasting joys;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Source: Gallican Collect/York Missal, Eighth Century

Source of this version: Freely modified from Prayers of the Middle Ages, edited by J. Manning Potts, 1954. (The New Ancient Collects, #557)