Tag: 4th Century

Joy and Gladness

Praise to you, O Lord,
for you have nourished us from youth
and you give food to all living things.
Fill our hearts with joy and gladness
and provide for all our needs,
that we may abound in every good work;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
To him, with you and the Holy Spirit
be glory, honor, might, majesty and dominion,
forever and ever.
Amen.

Source: Apostolic Constitutions

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.)

“nourished us from youth” is a reference to Ecclesiasticus 50:22  (Apocrypha)

“give food to all living things.” is a reference to Psalm 145:16

When Two or Three Gather

Almighty God,
you have given us grace at this time
to make our common prayers to you,
and you promise that when two or three
are gathered together in your name
you will grant their requests.
O Lord, fulfill the desires and prayers of your servants,
as you know what is best for us,
granting us in this world knowledge of your truth,
and in the world to come, life everlasting.
Amen.

Source: St. John Chrysostom

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

“two or three calling your name” is a reference to Matthew 18:20

 

AncientCollectsAd

 

Confession of Sin

You see all things.
We have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed.
Blot out our transgressions,
be merciful to us sinners,
and grant that our names may be found
written in the book of life,
for the sake of Christ Jesus our Savior.
Amen.

Source: Nerses of Clajes (St. Nerses I)

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

“Blot out our transgressions” is a reference to Psalm 51:1

“Written in the book of life” is a reference to Revelation 13:8

 

AncientCollectsAd

 

For Purity

O Holy Spirit of God,
very God,
you descended on Christ at the river Jordan,
on the apostles in the upper room;
we have sinned against heaven and before you;
purify us again with your divine fire,
and have mercy on us;
for Christ’s sake.
Amen.

Source: Nerses of Clajes (St. Nerses I)

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

 

AncientCollectsAd

 

Let Your Right Hand Guard uUs

Lord Jesus Christ,
keeper and preserver of all things,
let your right hand guard us by day and by night,
when we sit at home,
and when we walk abroad,
when we lie down
and when we rise up,
that we may be kept from all evil,
and have mercy upon us sinners.
Amen.

Source: Nerses of Clajes (St. Nerses I)

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

 

AncientCollectsAd

Christian Prayer, Banner

 

No Vain Strife, but Profession of Truth!

Father, keep us from vain strife of words.
Grant to us constant profession of your truth!
Preserve us in a true and undefiled faith
so that we may hold fast
to what we professed when we were baptized
in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
that we may have you for our Father,
that we may abide in your Son
and in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit;
through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen.

Source: Hilary of Poitiers

Source of this version: St. Andrew’s Cross, October 1921

My Heart Rests in You

220px-sandro_botticelli_050Almighty God,
you care for me as if you thought of me alone,
and you care for all as if all were one.
I see the things of this earth pass away,
and I see other things take their place,
but you remain forever.
Therefore, my God and Father,
to you I entrust all I have received from you,
for then, I can lose nothing.
You, O Lord,
have made me for yourself,
and my heart can find no rest
until it rests in you.
Amen.

Source: Augustine

Source of this version: Freely modified The Hymnal and Order of Service, The Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod, 1925, p. 680 #3

See also “Prayer and Motto of St. Augustine”

Note: Many published prayers attributed to Augustine contain some form of the words “our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”

Graphic by Sandro Botticeli from Wikipedia.com.

 

AncientCollectsAd

 

Radiance of the Father’s Splendor

The radiance of the Father’s splendor,
the Father’s visible image,
Jesus Christ our God,
peerless among counselors,
Prince of Peace,
for our sake became like a slave:
in the womb of Mary the virgin,
without assistance from any man,
he took flesh.…

Enable us, Lord,
to reach the end of this luminous feast in peace,
forsaking all idle words,
acting virtuously,
shunning our passions,
and raising ourselves above the things of this world.

Bless your church,
which you brought into being long ago
and attached to yourself
through your own life-giving blood.
Help all orthodox pastors, heads of churches, and teachers.

Bless your servants, whose trust is all in you;
bless all Christian souls,
the sick, those tormented by evil spirits,
and those who have asked us to pray for them.

Show yourself as merciful as you are rich in grace;
save and preserve us;
enable us to obtain those good things to come which will never know an end.

May we celebrate your glorious birth,
and the Father who sent you to redeem us,
and your Spirit, the Giver of life,
now and forever, age after age.
Amen.

Source: A Syriac Christmas liturgy

Source of this version: http://www.faithandworship.com/early_Christian_prayers.htm#ixzz4DB92AvUk
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution

After “Prince of Peace” the original has the lines: “Father of the world to come, /
the model after which Adam was formed,”

Show Me Your Mercy

Show me, O Lord,
your mercy
and delight my heart with it.
Let me find you
whom I so longingly seek.
See!
Here is the man
whom the robbers siezed,
mishandled,
and left half dead
on the road to Jericho.
O kind hearted Samaritan,
come to my aid!
I am the sheep
who wandered into the wilderness –
seek after me
and bring me home again
to your fold.
Do with me what you will
that I may stay by you
all the days of my life,
and praise you with all those
who are with you
in heaven for all eternity.

Source: St. Jerome

Source of this version: http://www.spirituality.org/is/110/saint.asp

Also found here: http://www.ccel.org/node/4505

Also found here:  Prayers Ancient and Modern by Mary Wilder Tileston, Boston, Little Brown, 1914, p. 224 #2

Give Me the Strength to Seek You

220px-sandro_botticelli_050Lord,
my God,
my one hope,
hear me,
that I be not unwilling, through weariness,
to seek you,
but that I may always ardently seek your face.

Give me the strength to seek,
since you have made me in order to find you,
and have given me the hope of finding you more and more.

My strength and my weakness are known to you:
preserve the one
and heal the other.

My knowledge and my ignorance are known to you:
where you have opened to me,
receive me as I enter;
where you have closed to me,
open to me as I knock.

May I remember you,
understand you,
love you.

Increase these things in me
until you have wholly renewed me.

Source: St. Augustine

Source of this version: http://www.marypages.com/SaintAugustinus.htm

Also found here: http://www.vatican.va/spirit/documents/spirit_20021011_agostino-trinity_en.html

Graphic by Sandro Botticeli from Wikipedia.com.

 

AncientCollectsAd