easter (season) – Page 5 – A Collection of Prayers

Prayer for Protection

As you are the Shepherd over the flock CelticCapital9
tend us to the shelter and the fold,
bless us beneath your own glorious mantle,
be our Shield of protection, and guard us forever.

Be a hard triumphant sword
to shield us securely from wicked hell,
from the fiends and from the cold, sharp daggers,
and from the lurid smoke of the abyss.

My soul is in the trust of the High King,
the Good Shepherd is in charge of my soul.

Source: Kenneth the Carpenter, written down by Dr. Donald Munro Morrison, (1889) Carmina Gadelica, Hymns and Incantations…, Vol. I, p. 37. English translation modified.

Graphic is from Carmina Gadelica, Hymns and Incantations…, Vol. I, p. 36

“from the fiends and from the cold, sharp daggers,” in Carmina’s translation is “From the fiends and from the steive snell gullies.” In Scots Gaelic “fheadaine frinne fuara.” Google translate gives “cold” for “fuara.” Other Scots English dictionaries gave “piercing” for “snell,” and “knife” for “gullie.”

“The Good Shepherd is in charge of my soul,” this line was altered to keep the prayer Christ-centered.

Be Our Shepherd

stjohnsashfield_stainedglass_goodshepherd-frame_crop

O Lord,
be our Shepherd,
so we may receive all good things from your kindness.
Fill us with your overflowing cup,
and bring us to dwell in your house forever;
through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Source: Sarum Breviary

Source of this version: Freely modified from Prayers Ancient and Modern
by Mary Wilder Tileston, Boston, Little Brown, 1914, p. 153 #2

Give Us Your Righteousness

6069369723_ee697728eb_z_d O God,
source of perfect blessedness,
you teach your faithful people to walk in your laws,
to search your testimonies,
to keep your commands;
Give us your righteousness,
that we may seek you with our whole hearts;
that we, who often have wandered like lost sheep,
may be restored by your kind arms,
and rejoice in the glories of Paradise,
through Jesus Christ your Son.
Amen.

Source: Sarum Breviary

Source of this version: Freely modified from Prayers Ancient and Modern
by Mary Wilder Tileston, Boston, Little Brown, 1914, p. 63 #2

Graphic: Page from an English Psalter, from Flickr, Walters Art Museum, Public Domain.

Walk with Us

antifonariodelec3b3n1 Jesus, our Master,
meet us while we walk in the way,
yearning to reach the heavenly country;
so that, following your light
we may keep the way of righteousness,
and never wander away into the darkness of this world’s night,
while you, who are the Way, the Truth, and the Life,
are shining within us;
for your own name’s sake.
Amen.

Source: Mozarabic Rite

Source of this version: Modified freely from http://1stholistic.com/Spl_prayers/prayer_mozarabic-prayer.htm

Also found here: https://yorkminster.org/worship-and-choir/worship/sermons/sermon-lent-3-evensong.html

The prayer seems to be recalling the Easter evening gospel from Luke 24:13-35.

Graphic: Mozarabic manuscript from the Cathedral of Leon, from Wikimedia Commons.

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

Restore Us to Your Right Path

veit-dietrich Lord God, heavenly Father,
we all like sheep have gone astray.
We let ourselves be led away from the right path
by Satan and our own sinful flesh:
Graciously forgive us all our sins
for the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ;
and quicken our hearts by your Holy Spirit,
that we may remain in your Word,
and in true repentance and a steadfast faith
continue in your Church to the end,
and obtain eternal salvation;
through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.

Source: Veit Dietrich, d. 1549, Trinity 3

This revision/translation of The Collects of Veit Dietrich is licensed by Paul C. Stratman under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Please contact for permission for any commercial use.

You Have Healed Our Wounds

antifonariodelec3b3n1 You have healed our wounds, O Lord,
by the wounds of your only Son.
What then should we do
since we have been bought at so great a price?
How shall we serve such a Lord,
who has promised such liberty
and has offered such an inheritance to us?
Work in us, O Lord, what pleases you.
Possess us so that we may possess you.
We will not perish,
you will let us live,
and we will call upon your name.

Source: Mozarabic Rite

Source of this version: Freely modified from Ancient Collects, and Other Prayers, ed. William Bright, 1902, p. 72 #3

“You have healed our wounds” is a reference to Isaiah 53:5

“What then should we do… How shall we serve” may be a reference to Psalm 116:12

“bought at so great a price” is a reference to 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

“We will not perish” is a reference to Psalm 118:17

“We will not perish” in the original is “We will not go back from you.” Changed to “We will not perish” to broaden the reference to psalm 118.

Graphic: Mozarabic manuscript from the Cathedral of Leon, from Wikimedia Commons.

A New Testament Blessing (Hebrews)

Now may the God of peace
who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus,
the great shepherd of the sheep,
by the blood of the eternal covenant,
equip you with everything good that you may do his will,
working in us that which is pleasing in his sight,
through + Jesus Christ,
to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Source: Hebrews 13:20-21 (English Standard Version)

Now may the God of peace,
who through the blood of the eternal covenant
brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus,
that great Shepherd of the sheep,
equip you with everything good for doing his will,
and may he work in us what is pleasing to him,
through + Jesus Christ,
to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Source: Hebrews 13:20-21 (New International Version)

Now may the God of peace–
who brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus,
that great Shepherd of the sheep,
in connection with his blood,
which established the eternal testament–
may he equip you with everything good thing to do his will,
as he works in us what is pleasing in his sight
through + Jesus Christ.
To him be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Source: Hebrews 13:20-21 (Evangelical Heritage Version)

Good Shepherd, Protect Your Flock

stjohnsashfield_stainedglass_goodshepherd-frame_crop

O good Shepherd,
look mercifully on your flock,
and do not let the sheep
which you redeemed with your precious blood
to be torn to pieces
by the assaults of the devil.

Source: Leonine Sacramentary

Source of this version: Modified from Ancient Collects and Other Prayers, Ed. by W. Bright: J.H. & Jas. Parker, London, 1902 p. 97 #3

Help Us Recognize Your Voice

File:Praying Hands - Albrecht Durer.png - Wikimedia Commons

O God in heaven, have mercy on us!
Lord Jesus Christ, intercede for your people,
deliver us at the opportune time,
preserve in us the true genuine Christian faith,
collect your scattered sheep with your voice,
your divine Word as Holy Writ calls it.
Help us to recognize your voice,
help us not to be allured by the madness of the world,
so that we may never fall away from you,
O Lord Jesus Christ.

Source: Albrecht Dürer. The classic etching “Praying Hands” is also by Albrecht Dürer.

Source of this version: http://www.historyofpainters.com/durer.htm