A Collection of Prayers

A Foretaste of the Heavenly Banquet

The following post-communion prayer combines elements of three prayers which seemed to have a common source.

Almighty God,
our heavenly Father,
gracious and merciful Lord,
we give you thanks and praise
for the foretaste of the heavenly banquet
that you have given us to eat and to drink
in the body and blood of your dear Son,
Jesus Christ.
With this, your sacrament,
strengthen and keep us in the true faith
all the days of our life.
Give us refreshment from our labors
with the peace of your forgiveness,
and comfort us in every trouble
until we eat and drink it anew
in your kingdom
at the marriage supper of the Lamb;
your Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.

Source: Written for A Collection of Prayers combining elements from: Common Worship, (Church of England) Funeral Eucharist, Lutheran Service Book (LCMS © 2006), Christian Worship Supplement (WELS © 2008)

Printed as a paragraph:

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, gracious and merciful Lord, we give you thanks and praise for the foretaste of the heavenly banquet that you have given us to eat and to drink in the body and blood of your dear Son, Jesus Christ. With this, your sacrament, strengthen and keep us in the true faith all the days of our life. Give us refreshment from our labors with the peace of your forgiveness, and comfort us in every trouble until we eat and drink it anew in your kingdom at the marriage supper of the Lamb; your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

I haven’t been able to identify a single source that contains all the content of this prayer. One older source that may be the source of this prayer is “O sacrum convivium” https://acollectionofprayers.wordpress.com/2018/06/10/o-sacred-banquet/

Pour on Us the Spirit of Your Love

O Lord,
in your mercy pour on us
the Spirit of your love,
that those you have fed
with one heavenly bread
may be united in heart and faith;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.

Source: Leonine Sacramentary, possibly fifth century. Translated for A Collection of Prayers.

As a block paragraph:

O Lord, in your mercy pour on us the Spirit of your love, that those you have fed with one heavenly bread may be united in heart and faith; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Original in Latin:

Spiritum nobis, Domine tuae caritatis infunde, ut, quos uno caelesti pane satiasti, una facias pietate concordes. Per Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum Filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate eiusdem Spiritus Sancti Deus per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

This Saving Gift

We give you thanks, almighty Lord God,
that you have refreshed us
with this saving gift
of your Son’s body and blood.
We pray, in your mercy,
that you would bless us with these
for the strengthening our faith in you
and for increasing the warmth of our love
toward one another;
through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord.
Amen.

Source: Martin Luther, Deutsches Messe (p. 14), also in Pommersche Agende (p. 380#1). [Die Gebete Luthers, #2]

Original German from the Pommersche Agende:

Wir danken dir, allmächtiger Herr Gott, daß du uns durch diese heilsame Gabe des Leibes und Blutes deines Sohns hast erquicket, und bitten deine Barmherzigkeit, daß du uns Solches gedeien lassest, zum starken Glauben gegen dir und zu feuriger Liebe unter uns allen, durch Jesum Christum deinen Sohn, unsern Herrn, Amen.

As it was in Luther’s Deutsches Messe:

Wir dancken dir almechtiger Herr Gott das du vns durch dise heylsame gabe hast erquicket vnd bitten deyne barmherzigkeyt das du vns solchs gedeyen lassest zu starckem glauben gegen dir vnd zu brunstiger liebe vnter uns allenn ümb Jesus Christus vnsers herrn willen. Amen.

Translation note:

Sometimes the word heilsam is rendered as “salutary,” a word meaning “producing a beneficial effect,” “remedial,” or “promoting health.” Theologically it can mean “beneficial for salvation.”

Fulfill Us with Your Mercy

Fulfill us, O Lord,
in this hour of the day,
with the abundance of your mercy
that we may go on our way rejoicing,
and may delight in your praises all the day long;
through Jesus Christ
your Son, our Lord,
who lives and reigns
with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.

Source: Slightly modified from Sarum Psalter, Prime

Variant:

O Lord,
in this hour of this day
fill us with your mercy,
that we may rejoice throughout the whole day
and delight in your praise;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Source of this version: Freely modified from Prayers of the Middle Ages, edited by J. Manning Potts, 1954. Also in Bright’s Ancient Collects. (New Ancient Collects, #36)

Confession of Faith and Prayer for Deliverance

Jesus Christ has crushed the devil’s head
and destroyed all his work.
He died for my sins,
descended into hell,
and has overcome hell and the devil,
and has risen from the dead for my justification.

Lord Jesus Christ,
my faithful God and Savior,
you have also redeemed me.
Because of you,
my dearest Lord Jesus Christ,
I also have the forgiveness of all my sins,
a gracious God and eternal life.
Death, devil and hell have no part with me.
I am yours, dear Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen.

Do not forsake me, O Lord.
O my God, do not be far from me.
O God of my salvation,
help me against the devil and all evil.
Come to me quickly.
O Lord, you are my help and comfort forever.
Amen.

Source: Die pommersche Kirchen-Ordnung und Agenda, p. 241. Translated for A Collection of Prayers.

Scatter Our Darkness

old_sarum_cathedral_reconstruction

Almighty God,
you have put the sun in the heavens
to scatter the night
and restore morning to the world.
Fill us with your mercy,
enlighten us,
and scatter all the darkness of our sins;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Source: Sarum Breviary, from https://www.oursanctuary.net/sarum.html, slightly modified.

In traditional English:

Almighty God,
who has planted the Day-star in the heavens,
and, scattering the night,
dost restore morning to the world,
fill us, we beseech Thee, with Thy mercy,
so that, Thou being our Enlightener,
all the darkness of our sins may be dispersed,
through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Pardon and Peace

O God the Father,
fountain and source of all goodness,
in your loving-kindness you sent
your only Son into the flesh.
We thank you that for his sake
you have given us pardon and peace in this Sacrament.
We pray that you will not forsake your children,
but always rule our hearts and minds
by your Holy Spirit,
that we may constantly serve you;
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.

Source: Modified from Sarum Missal by The Lutheran Hymnal, 1941, freely modified into contemporary English

Original in Latin:

DEUS Pater, fons et origo totius bonitatis, qui ductus misericordia Unigenitum tuum pro nobis ad infima mundi descendere et carnem sumere voluisti, quam ego indignus hic in manibus meis teneo:

Hic inclinet se sacerdos ad hostiam, dicens:

Te adoro, te glorifico, te tota mentis ac cordis intentione laudo: Et precor ut nos famulos tuos non deseras, sed peccata nostra dimittas, quatenus tibi soli vivo ac vero Deo, puro corde et casto corpore servire valeamus; Per eundem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

Translation of the unmodified Latin prayer in traditional English:

O God the Father, Fountain and Source of all goodness, Whose mercy willed that Thy only begotten Son should descend to this lower world for us, and should take upon Him flesh, which I unworthy hold here in my hands, saying, I adore Thee, I glorify Thee with every power of my heart, I praise Thee, and I pray that Thou wilt not leave us, Thy servants, but forgive us our sins, so far as we deserve to serve Thee, the only living and true God, with pure heart and chaste body, through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

Keep Us Steadfast and Pure in This Faith

download We believe in God the Father,
God the Son,
and God the Holy Spirit.
God help us all
that we may be found
steadfast and pure
in this teaching and faith
until our life’s end.
Amen.

Source: Martin Luther, translated for A Collection of Prayers from Gebetbuch, enthaltend die sämtlichen Gebete und Seufzer Martin Luther’s, ….Evangelischer Bücher-Verein, 1866, #631. [Die Gebete Luthers, #676]

Original in German:

Wir glauben an Gott Vater, Gott Sohn und Gott den heiligen Geist. Gott helfe uns allen, daß wir in solcher Lehre und Glauben bis an unser Ende beständig und rein erfunden werden. Amen.

Uphold Us in This Faith

download Almighty and eternal God,
you have taught us
to know and confess the true faith,
that in three persons,
in the same power and glory,
you are one eternal God.
Uphold us in this faith
against everything that may afflict us;
you live and reign
forever and ever.
Amen.

Allmächtiger, ewiger Gott, der du uns gelehret hast, im rechten Glauben zu wissen und zu bekennen, daß du in drei Personen, gleicher Macht und Ehren, ein einiger, ewiger Gott, und dafür anzubeten bist: wir bitten dich, du wollest uns bei solchem Glauben allezeit fest erhalten wider alles, was dagegen uns mag anfechten, der du lebest und regierest von Ewigkeit zu Ewigkeit. Amen.

This is Luther’s German translation of a late Gregorian Latin collect:

Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, qui dedisti famulis tuis in confessione verae fidei aeternae trinitatis gloriam agnoscere, et in potentia majestatis adorare unitatem quaesumus, ut eiusdem fidei firmitate ab omnibus semper muniamur adversis. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus sancti Deus. Per omnia secula seculorum, Amen.

Almighty and eternal God, you have given your servants who confess of the true faith the duty to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and to worship the true Unity in the power of the divine majesty. Keep us steadfast in this faith, and always defend us from all adversities; for you, O Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, live and reign, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Bless Us with Your Spirit of Grace

cathedra-holyspirit1 O eternal God, gracious Father,
through your Son Jesus Christ
you promised us your Holy Spirit,
and gave us a new commandment of love.
Bless us, your poor children,
with your Spirit of grace,
and comfort and uphold our hearts
that we may persevere in your Word with joy,
call on you with sincere prayer,
and always serve you with patience;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Source: Joachim Mynsinger von Frundeck (1514-1588), translated from from Gebetbuch, enthaltend die sämtlichen Gebete und Seufzer Martin Luther’s, ….Evangelischer Bücher-Verein, 1866, #625 for A Collection of Prayers.

Original in German:

O ewiger Gott, gnädiger Vater, der du uns durch deinen Sohn Jesum Christum deinen heiligen Geist und ein neu Gesetz zu geben verheißen: wir bitten deine milde Güte, du wollest uns, deine armen Kinder mit deinem Gnadengeist beseligen, und unsre Herzen trösten und erhalten, damit wir in deinem Wort in Freudigkeit beharren, und dir in Geduld mit wahrer Anrufung allezeit dienen, durch Jesum Christum, unsern Herrn. Amen.