Almighty God,
your dear Son did not ascend to joy
until he first suffered pain,
and did not enter into glory
before he was crucified.
Mercifully grant that we,
walking in the way of the cross,
may find it as the true way
of life and peace;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord.
Amen.
Source: Freely modified from Book of Common Prayer, Palm Sunday liturgy.
Source of this version: Freely modified from http://www.beliefnet.com/prayers/catholic/comfort/in-the-way-of-the-cross.aspx
O holy Jesus, most loving Savior,
you called out to Lazarus
and made him come out of his tomb.
May we hear you with our hearts, arise from our sins,
and serve you in newness of life;
through your mercy, O our God,
you are blessed,
and live and govern all things,
now and forever.
Amen.
Source: Freely modified from Mozarabic Collects, ed. Rev. Chas. R. Hale, New York, 1881, p. 24 #1 (Lent 5)
“you called out to Lazarus” is a reference to John 11
“May we hear you with our hearts, arise from our sins” may be a reference to Ephesians 5:14
O Lord, our Light and our Salvation,
remove the darkness of sorrow and ignorance.
Enlighten us with true wisdom,
and give us our sure hope in you;
with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
we worship and glorify you,
one God,
now and forever.
Amen.
Source: Freely modified from Mozarabic Collects, ed. Rev. Chas. R. Hale, New York, 1881, p. 23 #3 (Lent 4)
“O Lord, our Light and our Salvation” is a reference to Psalm 27:1
“remove the darkness of sorrow and ignorance” may be a reference to Isaiah 9:2
“Enlighten us with true wisdom” is a reference to Psalm 19:8, Ephesians 1:18,
“and give us our sure hope in you” is a reference to Psalm 33:22, Psalm 39:7
O Lord Jesus Christ,
by your almighty power
you opened the eyes of the blind,
and showed yourself to them.
Turn our eyes away from worthless things,
and lead us to love you sincerely;
through your mercy, O our God,
you are blessed,
and live and govern all things,
now and forever.
Amen.
Source: Freely modified from Mozarabic Collects, ed. Rev. Chas. R. Hale, New York, 1881, p. 22 #3 (Lent 3)
“you opened the eyes of the blind” is a reference to Mark 8:23, John 9:17ff,
“Turn our eyes away from worthless things” is a reference to Psalm 119:37
O Jesus, Son of God the Father,
Fount of Life everlasting,
give your living water to us who thirst,
give us eternal life.
Hear us in your mercy, O Christ Jesus.
With the Father and the Holy Spirit,
we worship and glorify you,
one God,
now and forever.
Amen.
Source: Freely modified from Mozarabic Collects, ed. Rev. Chas. R. Hale, New York, 1881, p. 23 #1 (Lent 2)
“Fount of Life everlasting, give your living water…” is a reference to John 4:10ff, John 7:37ff
Turn away, Lord, the fierceness of your anger, and in pity spare your people,
and have mercy.
Grant a favorable and speedy answer to the prayers of all,
and have mercy.
Christ, look on our hardships, loosen the bands of death, and grant us life,
and have mercy.
See our tears, hear our sighs, and in pity forgive our sins,
and have mercy.
Though none of us are worthy to be heard, Christ, for your own sake, help us,
and have mercy.
Source: Mozarabic Breviary
Source of this version: Prayers of the Middle Ages: Light from a Thousand Years, J. Manning Potts, Ed. Nashville, Tennessee: The Upper Room, © 1954 (Public domain in the U.S.)
O Lord Jesus Christ,
you sent your holy apostles
to preach among all nations
repentance and forgiveness of sins in your name.
Grant that through your ambassadors
the erring may be brought to repentance
and the penitent established in your true faith;
through your mercy, O our God,
you are blessed, and live, and govern all things,
now and forever.
Amen.
Source: Freely modified from Mozarabic Collects, ed. Rev. Chas. R. Hale, New York, 1881, p. 47 #2 (Ember Days in Lent)
“you sent your holy apostles” is a reference to John 20:21
“repentance and forgiveness of sins in your name” is a reference to Luke 24:47
O Christ, Son of God,
for our sake you fasted forty days and allowed yourself to be tempted.
Protect us so that we may not be led astray by any temptation.
Since man does not live by bread alone,
nourish our souls with the heavenly food of your Word;
through your mercy, O our God,
you are blessed,
and live and govern all things,
now and forever.
Amen.
Source: Freely modified from Mozarabic Collects, ed. Rev. Chas. R. Hale, New York, 1881, p. 22 #3 (Lent 1)
“for our sake you fasted forty days…” is a reference to Matthew 4:2ff, Mark 1:13ff, Luke 4:2ff
“we may not be led astray by any temptation” is a reference to Hebrews 2:18
“man does not live by bread alone” is a reference to Deuteronomy 8:3
“nourish our souls with the heavenly food of your Word” may be a reference to John 6:22-59
O God,
you do not desire the death of sinners,
but you want them to turn to you and live.
Look with pity on the weakness of our mortal nature.
We confess that we are but ashes,
and for our wickedness we deserve to return to the dust.
Forgive all our sins,
and give us the blessings that come with true repentance;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Source: Freely modified from Mozarabic Collects, ed. Rev. Chas. R. Hale, New York, 1881, p. 22 #1
“you do not desire the death of sinners” is a reference to Ezekiel 33:11
“We confess that we are but ashes” is a reference to Genesis 18:27
“for our wickedness we deserve to return to the dust” is a reference to Genesis 3:19, Job 10:9, Job 34:15, Psalm 90:3, Psalm 104:29, Ecclesiastes 3:20, Ecclesiastes 12:7
O Lord and Master of my life!
Take from me the spirit of laziness,
faint-heartedness, desire for power, and idle talk.
But give your servant
the spirit of chastity,
humility, patience, and love.
Yes, Lord and King!
Grant me to see my own errors
and not to unjustly or hastily judge my brother,
for you are blessed, now and forever. Amen.
Source: Lenten Prayer of St. Ephrem the Syrian
Source of this version: Freely modified from http://lent.goarch.org/prayers/
The words ‘unjustly or hastily’ were added for clarity.
This prayer has its own Wikipedia article, available here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prayer_of_Saint_Ephrem
Original in Greek:
Κύριε καὶ Δέσποτα τῆς ζωῆς μου,
πνεῦμα ἀργίας, περιεργίας, φιλαρχίας,
καὶ ἀργολογίας μή μοι δῷς.,
Πνεῦμα δὲ σωφροσύνης,
ταπεινοφροσύνης, ὑπομονῆς, καὶ ἀγάπης
χάρισαί μοι τῷ σῷ δούλῳ.
Ναί, Κύριε Βασιλεῦ,
δώρησαι μοι τοῦ ὁρᾶν τὰ ἐμὰ πταίσματα,
καὶ μὴ κατακρίνειν τὸν ἀδελφόν μου,
ὅτι εὐλογητὸς εἶ, εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.
A Collection of Prayers 