Good Friday Response

O Lord, behold my affliction, for the enemy has triumphed! (Lamentations 1:9)

Have mercy, righteous Father, and forgive us all.

Sent from the Father, I came to seek the lost and to redeem with my blood those who were carried captive by the enemy. A cruel people rejected me.

Have mercy, righteous Father, and forgive us all.

Foretold by the prophets, I was born of a virgin, I took on myself the nature of a servant to gather those who were scattered. The hunters took me.

Have mercy, righteous Father, and forgive us all.

They rewarded me much evil for good. They devised wicked plans against me. They sold me for money.

Have mercy, righteous Father, and forgive us all.

They put a crown of thorns on my head. They spit on me. They mocked my affliction.

Have mercy, righteous Father, and forgive us all.

They hung me on the cross with evil thieves. They fed me with gall, and to punish me they gave me vinegar to drink.

Have mercy, righteous Father, and forgive us all.

Those I came to deliver accused me. They beat me with scourges and crucified me. They pierced me with a spear.

Have mercy, righteous Father, and forgive us all.

I was laid in the tomb. I broke the gates of hell. I brought out the captives and led them on high. I displayed them in triumph.

Have mercy, righteous Father, and forgive us all.

Most merciful Father, forgive all their evil deeds. Blot out their sins and absolve the crimes of those who did not know what they were doing.

Have mercy, righteous Father, and forgive us all.

You pardoned the crimes of the repentant thief. Loosen our chains and absolve our guilt. Save us by your cross.

Have mercy, righteous Father, and forgive us all.

Source: Mozarabic Manual, 354; cf. Gallican Sacramentary, 843. Freely modified from Devotions from Ancient and Medieval Sources (Western), ed. Rev. Charles Plummer, 1916.

…And Forgive Us

We cry to you, Lord, have mercy on us,
and forgive us.

King of Heaven and eternal Lord, receive the prayer we pour out before you,
and forgive us.

Visit the sick, release the captives, help the widow and the orphan,
and forgive us.

We have sinned and have turned from you. Redeemer of all, save us,
and forgive us.

Have mercy on the penitent, and wash away the stains of sin,
and forgive us.

Source: Mozarabic Breviary, 166. Freely modified from Devotions from Ancient and Medieval Sources (Western), ed. Rev. Charles Plummer, 1916.

Litany of Repentance

Christ, pitying Redeemer of souls, listen to the sighing of those who mourn,
and have mercy.

Lord, hear to your Church, and grant forgiveness to all we pray for,
and have mercy.

Remember that we are but dust and will return again to the earth. Refashion us for good,
and have mercy.

Forgive the sinner, restore captives to their country, and answer the prayers of all,
and have mercy.

Forgive our guilt, forgive our sins, forgive the debts of all, to all grant pardon,
and have mercy.

Source: Mozarabic Breviary, 418, Freely modified from Devotions from Ancient and Medieval Sources (Western), ed. Rev. Charles Plummer, 1916.

Ash Wednesday Collect

Lord Jesus Christ,
because of your love for humanity
you took on yourself the form of a servant,
although you are our Lord.
You walk like a wounded man,
although you are our Physician.
Raise us from our falls,
enlighten our blindness,
and loosen the chains of sins that have bound us;
you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.

Source: Leofric Missal, 182, shortened. Freely modified from Devotions from Ancient and Medieval Sources (Western), ed. Rev. Charles Plummer, 1916.

Litany Prayer for Ash Wednesday 2

Let us pray.

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

Our Father…

Together let us pray to the Most High, that he would mercifully grant peace in our days. Amen.

That he would add deeds of love to our faith and hope. Amen.

That we may be received into the company of those above. Amen.

Source: Roman Missal, i. 161. Freely modified from Devotions from Ancient and Medieval Sources (Western), ed. Rev. Charles Plummer, 1916.

Ash Wednesday Litany

Let us clothe ourselves in sackcloth and ashes, and let us fast and weep before the Lord, for our God is very merciful, and will forgive our sins:

Hear, Lord, and have mercy, for we have sinned against you.

Let the servants of the Lord weep before the altar and say, “Spare, Lord, spare your people, and do not put to shame the lips that praise you.”

Hear, Lord, and have mercy, for we have sinned against you.

Let us amend the sins which we have ignorantly committed, that we do not receive God’s grace in vain, but know this as the time of God’s favor and the day of salvation.

Hear, Lord, and have mercy, for we have sinned against you.

Help us, God of our salvation, and for the glory of your name deliver us, Lord.

Hear, Lord, and have mercy, for we have sinned against you.

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.

Remember, mortal, that you are dust, and to dust you will return:

Hear, Lord, and have mercy, for we have sinned against you.

Source: Roman Missal, i. 48; cf. Sarum Manual, 134. Freely modified from Devotions from Ancient and Medieval Sources (Western), ed. Rev. Charles Plummer, 1916.

Reference to 2 Corinthians 6:1-2 added.

Litany Prayer for Ash Wednesday 1

Pleasant is this present life, and it passes;
Christ, your Judgment is awesome, and it prevails.
Therefore let us forsake uncertain love, and think of your infinite holiness, crying:
Lord, have mercy on us.

“Come, and return to me,” says the Lord.
Come, let us explore and examine our ways. Let us return to the Lord and say:
You take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.

Source: Ambrosian Manual, ii. 119, 120, shortened. Freely modified from Devotions from Ancient and Medieval Sources (Western), ed. Rev. Charles Plummer, 1916.

Reference to Lamentations 3:40 added.

Oremus-Let Us Pray!

Oremus–Let Us Pray! is an updating of the classic resource by Paul Zeller Strodach, which is now in the public domain. The original can be viewed here: https://archive.org/details/oremuscollectsde00unse/page/n5/mode/2up

This revision puts all the prayers of Oremus into contemporary English, making the book a useful resource for personal devotion and public worship.

Available in paperback or for Kindle through Amazon.com.

Merry and Blessed Christmas from A Collection of Prayers

Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad, Feliz Natal, Joyeux Noël, Fröhliche Weihnachten, 圣诞节快乐！(Shèngdàn Jié kuàilè!), счастливого Рождества (Schastlivogo Rozhdestva), щасливого Різдва (Shchaslyvoho Rizdva) to all our readers around the world from A Collection of Prayers.

May the glory of the Christchild give you strength, healing, pardon and peace!

+ In Christ +

Paul C. Stratman
Editor/curator of A Collection of Prayers

Commemoration of the Faithful Departed (4)

Reading the names of the departed on All Saints’ Day has the purpose of remembering God’s grace in Christ to those who have fallen asleep in him. Other customs have been connected with the reading of the names:

  • Some churches have the custom of lighting candles or ringing bells as the names are read.
  • Some churches have the custom of reading the individuals’ confirmation verses along with the names.
  • In larger congregations, a simple reading of the names may suffice.

This rite may follow the Prayer of the Church / Prayers of the Faithful, or may be used at another appropriate place in the service.

I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.”
“Yes,” says the Spirit, “because they will rest from their labors, for their works follow them.” (Revelation 14:13)

We remember with thanksgiving those who have gone before us in faith,
who have shared with us in God’s gifts of life,
of peace and forgiveness through the hearing of the gospel,
of new life and the promise of resurrection through his Son in baptism,
who with us have been fed the body and blood of his Son at this holy table,
and who now have been called to the heavenly feast that will never end.

The names of those who have died in the last year are read.

Let us pray.

Lord, look upon your holy Christian Church, the communion of saints here on earth. Strengthen and keep us in the one true faith, and make us grow in fervent love for you and for one another. Bring us with your saints to glory everlasting, that with them we may sing your praise forever; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Source: Prepared for http://www.acollectionofprayers.com. Scripture is from The Holy Bible: Evangelical Heritage Version.

Link to access this rite in Christian Worship: Service Builder.