Tag: 4th Century

Morning Prayer of St. Patrick

saint_patrick_28window29Lord, be with us this day,
within us to purify us;
above us to draw us up;
beneath us to sustain us;
before us to lead us;
behind us to restrain us;
around us to protect us.

Source: attributed to St. Patrick

Source of this version: https://eph5v2.wordpress.com/2014/03/17/lord-be-with-us-this-day/

Also found here: http://timeforprayer.blogspot.com/2010/09/ancient-prayers.html

Note: Although this prayer is attributed to St. Patrick, a Google Books search did not find it in any resource printed before 1996. Some lines are reminiscent of St. Patrick’s Breastplate.

Graphic: Saint Patrick stained glass window from Cathedral of Christ the Light, Oakland, CA, from Wikimedia Commons

You Gave Your Only Son

geertgen_tot_sint_jans2c_the_nativity_at_night2c_c_1490O 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

Source of this version: Freely modified from  Prayers of the Early Church,  ed.  J. Manning Potts,  The Upper Room, Nashville, Tennessee, © 1953 (Public domain in the U.S.)

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

 

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For Trust and Fuller Knowledge

Merciful Lord,
you comfort and teach your faithful people.
Increase in your Church the holy desires which you have given.
Strengthen the hearts of those who hope in you.
Empower us to understand the depth of your promises,
that all your adopted children may see with the eyes of faith,
and patiently wait for the good things
you have not yet revealed;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Source: Ambrose

Source of this version: Freely modified from  Prayers of the Early Church,  ed.  J. Manning Potts,  The Upper Room, Nashville, Tennessee, © 1953 (Public domain in the U.S.)

 

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Guard Us from the Deceits of the Devil

Be gracious to our prayers,
O merciful God,
and guard your people with loving protection.
May we who confess your only Son as God,
born in our human flesh,
never be corrupted by the deceits of the devil;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Source: Ambrose

Source of this version: Freely modified from  Prayers of the Early Church,  ed.  J. Manning Potts,  The Upper Room, Nashville, Tennessee, © 1953 (Public domain in the U.S.)

 

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Feed My Soul, Quicken My Spirit

brooklyn_museum_-_the_communion_of_the_apostles_la_communion_des_apc3b4tres_-_james_tissotO blessed Lord Jesus Christ,
I thank you for your boundless love
for redeeming the human race
by your precious death.
You shed your blood also for me,
a poor sinner.
Feed my soul with your body,
and quicken my spirit with your blood,
that I may always grow in the knowledge of you,
in your fear and love, and in Christian conduct,
and may abide a true member of your body,
your holy Church.
Amen.

Source: Augustine

Source of this version: Modified from Prayers from the collection of the late baron Bunsen, selected [from Versuch eines allgemeinen evangelischen Gesang – und Gebetbuchs] and tr. by C. Winkworth, 1871, p.181-182

Picture by James Tissot, public domain

 

 

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Holy Spirit, Come to Us

hortus_deliciarum_pfingsten_und_die_aussendung_des_heiligen_geistes_auf_die_apostelGod the Holy Spirit,
you are of one essence with the Father and the Son,
and you proceed from them.
You descended on the Lord Christ in the form of a dove,
and on his disciples as tongues of flame.
We thank you, we praise you,
and pray that you would chase from our souls
all the darkness of evil
and kindle in us the light of your grace
and the fire of your love;
you live and reign,
true God forever and ever.
Amen.

Source: Augustine

Source of this version: Modified from Prayers from the collection of the late baron Bunsen, selected [from Versuch eines allgemeinen evangelischen Gesang – und Gebetbuchs] and tr. by C. Winkworth, 1871, p.123-124

Graphic:  Hortus deliciarum of Herrad of Landsberg from Wikipedia.com

 

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Jesus, Bread of Life

brooklyn_museum_-_the_communion_of_the_apostles_la_communion_des_apc3b4tres_-_james_tissotSon of the Living God,
you are the true Bread of Life.
You feed and satisfy with your body and blood
all sorrowful souls and aching consciences
and hungering and thirsting hearts,
and you have invited us to this heavenly feast.
Receive us in your grace,
feed and quicken our poor souls
with your body and blood
for eternal life.
Amen.

Source: Augustine

Source of this version: Modified from Prayers from the collection of the late baron Bunsen, selected [from Versuch eines allgemeinen evangelischen Gesang – und Gebetbuchs] and tr. by C. Winkworth, 1871, p.118

Picture by James Tissot, public domain

 

 

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An Early Easter Hymn

Let us glorify him singing,
“Glory to you, O Lord!”
Let us worship him and say,
“Glory to you, O Lord!”

The Lord is risen for us,
the Word of truth,
made flesh from the virgin.
Let us praise him and say
“Glory to you, O Lord!”

Source: Fourth to Sixth Century hymn (Catalogue of Greek Papyri in the John Rylands Library, Vol. I, 7)

Source of this version: The New Archaeological Discoveries and their Bearing upon the New Testament by Camdem McCormick Cobern, Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1918, p. 304

Meaning and Faith

Almighty God,
bestow on us the meaning of words,
the light of understanding,
the nobility of diction,
and faith in what is true.
And grant that what we believe we may also speak.

Source: Hilary of Poitiers

Source of this version: Modified from  http://christchurchwindsor.ca/2010/01/13/saint-hilary-of-poitiers/

Also found here: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wendymurray/2014/02/remembering-mister-rogers/

Be the Goal of My Pilgrimage

220px-sandro_botticelli_050Father,
you are full of compassion,
I commit and commend myself to you,
in whom I am and live and know.
Be the Goal of my pilgrimage,
and my Rest by the way.
Let my soul take refuge
from the crowding turmoil of worldly thoughts
beneath the shadow of your wings;
let my heart,
this sea of restless waves,
find peace in you O God.
Amen.

Source: Augustine of Hippo

Source of this version: https://www.theologyofwork.org/the-high-calling/blog/holy-interruptions

Theology of Work Project Online Materials by Theology of Work Project, Inc. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Based on a work atwww.theologyofwork.org

Graphic by Sandro Botticeli from Wikipedia.com.

 

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