Thanksgiving Prayer

Let us give thanks to God our Father for all his gifts so
freely bestowed upon us.

For the beauty and wonder of your creation, in earth and
sky and sea.

We thank you, Lord.

For all that is gracious in the lives of men and women,
revealing the image of Christ,

We thank you, Lord.

For our daily food and drink, our homes and families, and
our friends,

We thank you, Lord.

For minds to think, and hearts to love, and hands to serve,

We thank you, Lord.

For health and strength to work, and leisure to rest and play,

We thank you, Lord.

For the brave and courageous, who are patient in suffering
and faithful in adversity,

We thank you, Lord.

For all valiant seekers after truth, liberty, and justice,

We thank you, Lord.

For the communion of saints, in all times and places,

We thank you, Lord.

Above all, we give you thanks for the great mercies and
promises given to us in Christ Jesus our Lord;

To him be praise and glory, with you, O Father, and the
Holy Spirit, now and for ever. Amen.

from The Book of Common Prayer

Christmas Blessing

Christ, who by his incarnation gathered into one things earthly and things heavenly, grant you the fullness of inward peace and goodwill, and make you partakers of the divine nature; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be upon you and remain with you always.

From The Book of Common Prayer

Prayer

Almighty God, you know that we have no power in ourselves
to help ourselves; Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and
inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all
adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil
thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus
Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy
Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.

From The Book of Common Prayer

A Prayer for the New Year

Blessing and laughter and loving be yours,
the love of a great God who holds you
while the earth turns and the flowers grow
this day, this moment, and forever.

Book of Common Prayer


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It's an old prayer--and a good one.

The First Sunday After Christmas

Almighty God, you have poured upon us the new light of your incarnate Word: Grant that this light, enkindled in our hearts, may shine forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

from The Book of Common Prayer

From the Book of Common Prayer

Visit this place, O Lord
And drive far from it all snares of the enemy.
Let your holy angels dwell with us to preserve us in peace.
And let your blessing be upon us always
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

Holy Week & Easter

I mentioned earlier how much I like Easter, or more specifically Holy Week, and during that week I posted some of the prayers and poems I most like. I've been meaning to write more about it for a while, but, well, I didn't--till now ;) Partly, it's thanks to labingi's post on the 25th that I finally am sitting down and pulling my thoughts together. I'm going to quote liberally from the poems and prayers in the previous posts, so beware!

I'm relatively new to the liturgical tradition (Ok, um, going on 8? 9? years here, but I didn't grow up with it), and one thing that impresses me is how much and how well both the pain and the joy are recognized.

We go through the long, solemn time of Lent, when not even Alleluias are allowed, because it is not a time of rejoicing but a time of reflection, a time to recognize the fallen, flawed nature of the world we live in. This is a place where everything is not all right. Where, as Gerard Manly Hopkins wrote in a poem I posted earlier, "All is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil."

And as we approach Easter, we recognize the sacrifice that was made to, ultimately, redeem the world, and, in some ways, how far away we still are from that ultimate shining out. There is a descent into the depths with the formal stripping of the altar and the silent, thoughtful exit at the end of the service--an exit made in near darkness as a remembrance. There is the thoughtful remembrance in the Stations of the Cross, a time when we do recall that Christ first "suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified." The dark paradox of Good Friday.

And then. And then the Great Vigil, the holding of the breath and waiting for the final moment of glory.

And Easter.

Sunrise services and the great cry of

He is Risen!

The joy and light and laughter and the realization of hope and, ultimately, victory.

Despite the darkness, despite the pain, because of His pain, there is joy.

****

And that is why I try to get to every service held during Holy Week. I don't want to miss a moment.

The Stations of the Cross

Almighty 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 the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

Book of Common Prayer

From the Liturgy of the Palms

Assist us mercifully with your help, O Lord God of our salvation, that we may enter with joy upon the contemplation of those mighty acts, whereby you have given us life and immortality; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

For the evening:

O gracious Light, pure brightness of the everliving Father in heaven,

O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed!

Now as we come to the setting of the sun,
and our eyes behold the vesper light,
we sing your praises, O God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

You are worthy at all times to be praised by happy voices,
O Son of God, O Giver of life,
and to be glorified through all the worlds.

From the 1979 American Book of Common Prayer