Lord our Saviour, who hast warned us that thou wilt require much of those to whom much is given; Grant that we whose lot thou hast cast in so goodly a heritage may strive together the more abundantly by prayer, by almsgiving and by every other appointed means, to extend to others what we so richly enjoy ; and as we have entered into the labours of other men, so to labour that in their turn other men may enter into ours, to the fulfilling of thy holy will and our own everlasting salvation. Amen. ALMIGHTY Saviour, who art ascended to the right hand of the Father, and hast poured forth the manifold gifts of the Spirit upon thy Church; Dispose thy people faithfully to use all that thou givest them in the furtherance of thy kingdom; for the glory of thy Name, who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, one God, forever and ever. Amen. A For Blessing on all Helpers. LMIGHTY God, who hearest the prayers of thy servants for one another; Be graciously pleased to hear us as we plead in behalf of those, who by prayers, labours and gifts are helpers of our joy in the missionary work of thy holy Church. Remember them for good, O Lord God; supply all their wants, temporal and spiritual; and grant to them a plentiful recompense. And, forasmuch as good-will and love are needful to the prosperity of the work, we beseech thee to inspire all thy people with such devotion that they may cheerfully aid in setting forward thy kingdom among men; for his sake who laid down his life for us, thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. A Confession. MOST Merciful Father, we confess before thee, that we have done little to forward thy kingdom in the world, and to advance thy glory. We would humble ourselves before thee for our past neglects, and seek for mercy and forgiveness. Pardon our shortcomings. Give us greater .zeal for thy glory. Make us more ready and more diligent, by our prayers, by our alms, and by our examples, to spread abroad the knowledge of thy truth, and to enlarge the boundaries of thy kingdom. May the love of Christ constrain us, and may we do all to thy glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. Amen. A Thanksgiving. ALMIGHTY God, whose compassions fail not, and whose loving kindness reacheth unto the world's end; We give thee humble thanks for all the great things thou hast done and art doing for the children of men; for the opening of heathen lands to the light of thy truth; for making paths in the deep waters and highways in the desert; for knitting nation to nation in the bonds of fellowship; and for the planting of thy Church in all the earth. O merciful Father, in whom the whole family is named, fill full our hearts with grateful love for this thy goodness, granting us grace henceforth to serve thee better and more perfectly to know thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. PRAYERS FOR THE SICK AND DYING O For a Sick Person. FATHER of mercies and God of all comfort, our only help in time of need; Look down from heaven, we humbly beseech thee, behold, visit, and relieve thy sick servant, for whom our prayers are desired. Look upon him with the eyes of thy mercy; comfort him with a sense of thy goodness; preserve him from the temptations of the enemy; give him patience under his affliction; and, in thy good time, restore him to health, and enable him to lead the residue of his life in thy fear, and to thy glory. Or else give him grace so to take thy visitation, that, after this painful life ended, he may dwell with thee in life everlasting; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. A Prayer for Persons troubled in mind or in conscience. BLESSED Lord, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; We beseech thee, look down in pity and compassion upon this thy afflicted servant. Thou writest bitter things against him, and makest him to possess his former iniquities; thy wrath lieth hard upon him, and his soul is full of trouble. But, O merciful God, who hast written thy holy Word for our learning, that we, through patience and comfort of thy holy Scriptures, might have hope; give him a right understanding of himself, and of thy threats and promises; that he may neither cast away his confidence in thee, nor place it any where but in thee. Give him strength against all his temptations, and heal all his distempers. Break not the bruised reed, nor quench the smoking flax. Shut not up thy tender mercies in displeasure; but make him to hear of joy and gladness, that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Deliver him from fear of the enemy, and lift up the light of thy countenance upon him, and give him peace, through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. A Prayer which may be said by the Minister in behalf of all present at the Visitation. GOD, whose days are without end, and whose mercies cannot be numbered; Make us, we beseech thee, deeply sensible of the shortness and uncertainty of human life; and let thy Holy Spirit lead us through this vale of misery, in holiness and righteousness, all the days of our lives: that, when we shall have served thee in our generation, we may be gathered unto our fathers, having the testimony of a good conscience; in the communion of the catholic Church; in the confidence of a certain faith; in the comfort of a reasonable, religious, and holy hope; in favour with thee our God, and in perfect charity with the world. All which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. A Prayer which may be said in case of sudden surprise and immediate danger. MOST gracious Father, we fly unto thee for mercy in behalf of this thy servant, here lying under the sudden visitation of thine hand. If it be thy will, preserve his life, that there may be place for repentance; but if thou hast otherwise appointed, let thy mercy supply to him the want of the usual opportunity for the trimming of his lamp. Stir up in him such sorrow for sin, and such fervent love to thee, as may in a short time do the work of many days that among the praises which thy saints and holy angels shall sing to the honour of thy mercy through eternal ages, it may be to thy unspeakable glory, that thou hast redeemed the soul of this thy servant from eternal death, and made him partaker of the everlasting life, which is through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. A For Patience under Suffering. LMIGHTY God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy, but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified; Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the Cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. In time of great bodily danger or distress. GOD, our refuge and strength, who art a very present help in trouble, look graciously, we most humbly beseech thee, upon this thy servant, and send him patience and comfort in this time of his great distress. Strengthen him, O blessed Lord, with the consolations of thy Holy Spirit, and lay not more upon him than thou wilt enable him to bear, through Jesus Christ, our only Mediator and Advocate. Amen. |