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I was mulling over the loss of sacred language and the way this or that sacred phrase of prayer gets tossed aside for whatever reason. I think some may have forgotten that the first post-communion prayer in The Book of Common Prayer 1662 is this one so rich in the Anglican vocabulary of prayer:
O LORD and heavenly Father, we thy humble servants entirely desire thy fatherly goodness mercifully to accept this our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving; most humbly beseeching thee to grant, that by the merits and death of thy Son Jesus Christ, and through faith in his blood, we and all thy whole Church may obtain remission of our sins, and all other benefits of his passion. And here we offer and present unto thee, O Lord, ourselves, our souls and bodies, to be a reasonable, holy, and lively sacrifice unto thee; humbly beseeching thee, that all we, who are partakers of this holy Communion, may be fulfilled with thy grace and heavenly benediction. And although we be unworthy, through our manifold sins, to offer unto thee any sacrifice, yet we beseech thee to accept this our bounden duty and service; not weighing our merits, but pardoning our offences, through Jesus Christ our Lord; by whom, and with whom, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, all honour and glory be unto thee, O Father Almighty, world without end. Amen.
How beautiful after receiving the Body and Blood of Christ to then pray to the Lord God by saying, "And here we offer and present unto thee, O Lord, ourselves, our souls and bodies, to be a reasonable, holy and lively sacrifice unto thee..."
How else should we rightly present ourselves to the Lord save that we be united to Christ by Holy Communion in His Body and Blood and then join ourselves to His Sacrifice?
What a great shame to lose such language of the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving and the oblation of ourselves, our souls and bodies.
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