Category: Prayers and liturgy

Prayers and liturgy

Easter Day

The collect for today, Easter-Day, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canadian, 1962) :

ALMIGHTY God, who through thine only begotten Son Jesus Christ hast overcome death, and opened unto us the gate of everlasting life: We humbly beseech thee, that as by thy special grace thou dost put into our minds good desires, so by thy continual help we may bring the same to good effect; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

The Epistle: Colossians 3:1-11
The Gospel: St John 20:1-10

Bergognone, Risen Christ with Angels

Artwork: Il Bergognone (Ambrogio da Fossano), Risen Christ with Angels, c. 1495. Fresco, Basilica of Saint Ambrose, Milan. Photograph taken by admin, 3 May 2010.

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Prayers and liturgy

Easter Even

The collect for today, Easter Even, or Holy Saturday, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canadian, 1962):

GRANT, O Lord, that as we are baptized into the death of thy blessed Son our Saviour Jesus Christ, so by continual mortifying our corrupt affections we may be buried with him; and that, through the grave, and gate of death, we may pass to our joyful resurrection; for his merits, who died, and was buried, and rose again for us, thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle: 1 St Peter 3:17-22
The Gospel: St Matthew 27:57-66

Pogliaghi, Pieta

Artwork: Ludovico Pogliaghi, Pieta, 1894-1908. Central Bronze door, Milan Cathedral. Photograph taken by admin, 2 May 2010.

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Prayers and liturgy

Good Friday

The collects for today, Good Friday, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canadian, 1962):

ALMIGHTY God, we beseech thee graciously to behold this thy family, for which our Lord Jesus Christ was contented to be betrayed, and given up into the hands of wicked men, and to suffer death upon the cross; who now liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of the Church is governed and sanctified: Receive our supplications and prayers, which we offer before thee for all estates of men in thy holy Church, that every member of the same, in his vocation and ministry, may truly and godly serve thee; through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

The Epistle: Hebrews 10:1-25
The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Saint John
The Gospel: St John 18:33-19:37

Altichiero da Zevio, Crucifixion

Artwork: Altichiero da Zevio, Crucifixion of Christ, 1380-84. Fresco, Oratory of St. George, Padua.

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Prayers and liturgy

Maundy Thursday

The collects for today, Thursday in Holy Week, commonly called Maundy Thursday, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canadian, 1962):

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who, of thy tender love towards mankind, hast sent thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ, to take upon him our flesh, and to suffer death upon the cross, that all mankind should follow the example of his great humility: Mercifully grant, that we may both follow the example of his patience, and also he made partakers of his resurrection; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

O GOD, who in a wonderful sacrament hast left unto us a memorial of thy passion: Grant us so to reverence the holy mysteries of thy Body and Blood, that we may ever know within ourselves the fruit of thy redemption; who livest and reignest with the Father in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.

The Epistle: 1 Corinthians 11:23-29
The Continuation of the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke
The Gospel: St Luke 23:1-49

Piazza, Last Supper

Artwork: Paolo Piazza, Last Supper, 1619-20. Oil on canvas, Il Tempio del Santissimo Redentore (Temple of the Most Holy Redeemer), Giudecca, Venice.

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Prayers and liturgy

Wednesday in Holy Week

The collect for today, Wednesday in Holy Week, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canadian, 1962):

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who, of thy tender love towards mankind, hast sent thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ, to take upon him our flesh, and to suffer death upon the cross, that all mankind should follow the example of his great humility: Mercifully grant, that we may both follow the example of his patience, and also be made partakers of his resurrection; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle: Hebrews 9:15-28
The Beginning of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to St Luke
The Gospel: St Luke 22:1-71

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, The Flagellation

Artwork: Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, The Flagellation, c. 1737-40. Chiesa di Sant’Alvise, Venice.

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Prayers and liturgy

Tuesday in Holy Week

The collect for today, Tuesday in Holy Week, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canadian, 1962):

Pilate condemns Christ to deathALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who, of thy tender love towards mankind, hast sent thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ, to take upon him our flesh, and to suffer death upon the cross, that all mankind should follow the example of his great humility: Mercifully grant, that we may both follow the example of his patience, and also be made partakers of his resurrection; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Lesson: Isaiah 50:5-9a
The Continuation of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to St Mark
The Gospel: St Mark 15:1-39

Artwork: Pilate condemns Christ to death, 12th-century mosaic, Passion Vault, St. Mark’s Basilica, Venice.

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Prayers and liturgy

Monday in Holy Week

The collect for today, Monday in Holy Week, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canadian, 1962):

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who, of thy tender love towards mankind, hast sent thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ, to take upon him our flesh, and to suffer death upon the cross, that all mankind should follow the example of his great humility: Mercifully grant, that we may both follow the example of his patience, and also be made partakers of his resurrection; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Lesson: Isaiah 63:7-9
The Beginning of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark
The Gospel: St Mark 14:1-72

Etimasia

Artwork: Etimasia, c. 1220, detail from Apse Mosaic, Basilica Papale di San Paolo fuori le Mura (Papal Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls), Rome.  The Etimasia shows two angels flanking an empty throne with the Cross and the instruments of Christ’s passion. A closed Gospel book sits on the cushion of the throne. Behind the cushion are the crown of thorns resting on a pole, the lance, the vinegar-soaked sponge, and the nails of crucifixion in a chalice of blood.

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Prayers and liturgy

Palm Sunday

The collect for today, the Sunday Next before Easter, commonly called Palm Sunday, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canadian, 1962):

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who, of thy tender love towards mankind, hast sent thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ, to take upon him our flesh, and to suffer death upon the cross, that all mankind should follow the example of his great humility: Mercifully grant, that we may both follow the example of his patience, and also be made partakers of his resurrection; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle: Philippians 2:5-11
The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ According to St. Matthew
The Gospel: St Matthew 27:1-54

Ugolino di Vieri, Entry of Christ into Jerusalem

Artwork: Ugolino di Vieri, Entry of Christ into Jerusalem, c. 1338. Enamel and gilded silver on silver plaque, Reliquary of the Corporal, Orvieto Cathedral.

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Prayers and liturgy

Saint Leo the Great

The collect for today, the Feast of St. Leo the Great (c. 400-461), Bishop of Rome, Teacher of the Faith (source):

O God our Father,
who madest thy servant Leo strong in the defence of the faith:
we humbly beseech thee
so to fill thy Church with the spirit of truth
that, being guided by humility and governed by love,
she may prevail against the powers of evil;
through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord,
who liveth and reigneth with thee,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

The Epistle: 2 Timothy 1:6-14
The Gospel: St Matthew 5:13-19

Solimena, St. Leo the Great going to meet Atilla

Artwork: Francesco Solimena (1657-1747), Saint Leo the Great Going to Meet Attila. Oil on canvas, Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan.

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Prayers and liturgy

Passiontide

The fifth Sunday in Lent is commonly called Passion Sunday. It marks the beginning of what we might call ‘deep Lent,’ where our thoughts and hearts are more intensely concentrated upon one of the most significant features of the Christian faith, the Passion of Christ.

All is decked in purple hue, the cross is veiled. There is an unmistakable seriousness about Passiontide, even a somber mood. This is, perhaps, difficult and challenging for our culture and age. There are so many fearful things that we confront in the culture and the community, in the global world and in our souls. Why add to that? Well, we aren’t.

Passiontide provides us with strong ways of thinking about the hardest things. Suffering and death, sin and evil, are the deeper concepts that lurk in the corridors of our hearts of fear. Passiontide recognizes how much is hidden from the understanding of ourselves and the hardships or trials or struggles that we all endure, whether self-inflicted or put upon us by the thoughts and actions of others. One of the more poignant aspects of that form of unknowing is captured in the Gospel for Passion Sunday. Jesus says that we do not know for what we are asking. It is a powerful statement about the nature of sinfulness, about our ignorance and our arrogance.

We go into the Passion of Christ so that we may suffer with the one whom we will see suffer on the Cross. Passion is about suffering. Passiontide is about the sufferings of Christ for us and our desire to suffer with him. The suffering and the death are about our sinfulness and evil. It is what Passiontide will ultimately unveil and what Christ will overcome.

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