gesimas – A Collection of Prayers

Enlighten Our Darkened Hearts

Lord God, heavenly Father,
you have graciously opened the eyes of the blind
through your Son Christ Jesus,
and have let us poor sinners see your light.
Enlighten our darkened hearts
so that we may rightly learn and know Christ your Son,
who died on the cross for us,
and was counted guilty of our sins.
May we see your gracious help and mercy
in all our needs and afflictions,
and may we seek that help
through faithful prayer
and find our comfort and defense against the devil,
and finally be delivered in death.

Source: Veit Dietrich, d. 1549, Quinqagesima

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.

Quinqagesima

God of all mercies,
Lord of all might,
give us an abundance of your goodness,
remove our feet from evil,
and lead us on the path which leads to you;
through Jesus Christ, your Son our Lord.

Source: Freely modified from Mozarabic Collects, ed. Rev. Chas. R. Hale, New York, 1881, (Quinqagesima)

Septuagesima

God, good and gracious,
you have great mercy to all who call on you.
Listen to our cry,
and in your mercy, take away our offences
that we may serve you faithfully here,
and stand in your presence in glory hereafter;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Source: Freely modified from Mozarabic Collects, ed. Rev. Chas. R. Hale, New York, 1881, (Septuagesima)

Prayer for Sexagesima

O God,
you so loved the world
that you gave your only Son
to reconcile the earthly with the heavenly;
Move us to love you above all things,
that we love our friends in you,
and our enemies for you;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Source: Freely modified from Mozarabic Collects, ed. Rev. Chas. R. Hale, New York, 1881, p. 21 #2 (Sexagesima)

“O God, you so loved the world…” is a reference to John 3:16

“to reconcile the earthly with the heavenly” is a reference to 2 Corinthians 5:19, Colossians 1:20

“Move us to love you above all things” is a reference to Deuteronomy 6:5, Matthew 22:37, Mark 12:30, Luke 10:27

Lead Us to Eternal Life and Salvation

veit-dietrich Lord God, heavenly Father,
you showed yourself with the Holy Spirit,
in the fullness of grace
at the baptism of your dear Son
and with your voice
you directed us to him
who would bear our sins,
that we might receive grace
and the forgiveness of sins.
Keep us in the true faith
and just as we have been baptized
according to your command
and the example of your dear Son,
strengthen our faith by your Holy Spirit
and lead us to eternal life and salvation;
through your beloved Son, Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one true God, now and forever. Amen.

Source: Veit Dietrich

Source of this version: Freely modified from The Lutheran Hymnary, 1913,http://olcc.us/liturgical-resources/collects-veit-dietrich/ (Quinquagesima)

Defend Us from All Evil

O Lord,
mercifully hear our prayers.
Set us free from the bonds of sin.
Defend us from all evil;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.

Source: Gregorian Sacramentary, 8th Century, Historic Collect for Quinquagesima

This translation 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.

Defend Us against All Adversity

O God,
you see that we do not put our trust in anything we do.
By your power defend us against all adversity;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.

Source: Gregorian Sacramentary, 8th Century, Historic Collect for Sexagesima

This translation 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.

Deliver Us by Your Gracious Goodness

O Lord,
hear the prayers of your people
and show us your favor,
that we who are justly afflicted for our sins
may be mercifully delivered by your gracious goodness
for the glory of your name;
through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Savior,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.

Source: Gregorian Sacramentary, 8th Century, Historic Collect for Septuagesima

This translation 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.