Anglican Patrimony: Preparatory Prayers at the Step

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I recently was told by a Roman Catholic liturgist that the following prayers have no place in Anglican Liturgy.  Oh, really?  It was impossible to convince the liturgist otherwise.  One can find these prayers at the step of the Altar in the Anglican Church in Melanesia, in the various Missals, and in many authorised Anglican Orders for Eucharist.  (Sometimes the name of S. Andrew finds its way into the Confession after SS. Peter and Paul). 

Here is the form once used widely throughout Guyana and the Carribbean:

THE PREPARATION (As authorised for use in the Diocese of Guiana). V. In the name + of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. V. I will go into the altar of God. R. Even unto the God of my joy and gladness. (The following psalm is omitted during Passiontide and at Requiems). Psalm 43. V. Give sentence with me, O God, and defend my cause against the ungodly people: O deliver me from the deceitful and wicked man. R. For thou art the God of my strength, why hast thou put me from thee: and why go I so heavily, while the enemy oppresseth me? V. O send out thy light and thy truth, that they may lead me: and bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy dwelling. R. And that I may go unto the altar of God, even unto the God of my joy and gladness: and upon the harp will I give thanks unto thee, O God, my God. V. Why art thou so heavy, O my soul: and why art thou so disquieted within me? R. O put thy trust in God: for I will yet give him thanks, which is the help of my countenance, and my God. V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost; R. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be: world without end. Amen. V. I will go unto the altar of God. R. Even unto the God of my joy and gladness. V. Our help is in the Name of the Lord. R. Who hath made heaven and earth. V. I confess to Almighty God, to blessed Mary ever Virgin, to blessed Michael the Archangel, to blessed John Baptist, to the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, to all the saints and to you Brethren, that I have sinned exceedingly in thought, word and deed, through my fault, my own fault, my own most grievous fault. Therefore I beg blessed Mary ever Virgin, blessed Michael the Archangel, blessed John Baptist, the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, all the Saints, and you, Brethren, to pray to the Lord our God for me. R. Almighty God have mercy upon you, forgive you your sins and bring you to everlasting life. V. Amen. . R. I confess to Almighty God, to blessed Mary ever Virgin, to blessed Michael the Archangel, to blessed John Baptist, to the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, to all the Saints and to you, Father, that I have sinned exceedingly in thought, word and deed, through my fault, my own fault, my own most grievous fault. Therefore I beg blessed Mary ever Virgin, blessed Michael the Archangel, blessed John Baptist, the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, all the Saints and you, Father, to pray to the Lord our God for me. V. Almighty God have mercy upon you, forgive you your sins and bring you to everlasting life. R. Amen. . V. May the almighty and merciful Lord grant unto us pardon, absolution and remission of all our sins. R. Amen. V. Wilt thou not turn again and quicken us, O Lord? R. That thy people may rejoice in thee. V. O Lord, show thy mercy upon us R. And grant us thy salvation. V. Lord, hear our prayer. R. And let our cry come unto thee. V. The Lord be with you. R. And with thy spirit. V. Let us pray. (Here follows the Collect for Purity).

THE INTRODUCTION At the entry of the Priest and his Assistants, or after the Collect for Purity, an Introit Psalm may be sung or said. THE COLLECT FOR PURITY Let us pray ALMIGHTY God, unto whom all hearts be open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of thy Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love thee, and worthily magnify thy Holy Name; through Christ our Lord. R. Amen. The Introit Psalm may be sung or said here.

+Lead us and guide us by Thy good Spirit.

Brother Lawrence Lew, OP on the Blackfriars Evensong

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I encourage my gentle readers to read in full  Brother Lawrence Lew's brief article at The New Liturgical Movement on the Evensong with Benediction which was the first public liturgy from the Anglican patrimony celebrated by the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham.  You will also be treated to some of the glorious photographs of Brother Lawrence Lew, OP, whose visual chronicle of events in the Catholic Church in England and Wales is a treasure unto itself.  Of special interest to me were the following two paragraphs:

The Anglican Use liturgy alluded to by Anglicanorum coetibus is still in a state of flux, it seems, and approval for a final redaction of the Use is still awaited from Rome. However, there is The Book of Divine Worship, authorized by the Holy See in 1983 for the Pastoral Use Parishes in North America. This book, it seems, is to be revised, but remains in force as a legitimate liturgical text, and until the Anglican Use liturgy is approved by Rome and published, the Ordinariate in England and Wales may have recourse to The Book of Divine Worship.

As such, what we experienced in Oxford yesterday included elements from this book while respecting the shape and rubrical demands of the General Instruction of the Roman Rite Divine Office, published in 1974. As Mgr Burnham observed in his Foreword to the service booklet: "We have come as close as we can, we feel, to what is encouraged and permitted by the Roman Rite." The resulting liturgy was what Mgr Burnham called "a votive Office of the Holy Spirit in Week 11 of Ordinary time", which was appropriate given the dedication of the priory church. This votive Office, he wrote, "has distinct affinity with what the office on the Wednesday of the Pentecost Octave might feel like - and that particular configuration is one which might yet be made possible by an Anglican Use Calendar". Mgr Burnham also mentioned the "liturgical genius of Thomas Cranmer" in combining the Offices of Vespers and Compline, and so, Evensong, which he said "is a celebration of the Office which has long been envied by Catholics... is now, we think, thanks to the Ordinariate, available within the Catholic Church".

Our Lady of the Atonement, San Antonio

This tells a great deal about the thinking and methodology going into the drafting of the new Ordinariate liturgies.  One hopes that representatives from the Anglican Use parishes in the States -- who truly know The Book of Divine Worship (and its need for reform) after twenty-seven or twenty-eight years of use -- have been invited to be a part of the committee drafting these new liturgies and resources.  Sadly, to date, I have heard that no one from the Anglican Use parishes has been included in this work of liturgical reform.

So... if any of my readers are involved with the international liturgical committee and are interested in who those representatives from the Anglican Use parishes ought to be, I am happy to provide a short list:  C. David Burt from St. Athanasius, Boston; Clint Allen Brand, PhD from Our Lady of Walsingham, Houston; and the well respected deacon from Our Lady of the Atonement, San Antonio, Deacon James Orr.  Of course, resisting the temptation to false humility, I would volunteer myself -- Vincent Uher -- for such a committee.  

Once all of the Ordinariates are up and running, I pray and hope that our future will lead to a broad provision of liturgical resources that all of the Ordinariates would share in common.  One of our gifts is our wide and varied Anglican contribution to liturgy and liturgical theology.  And we can bring that knowledge and wisdom to bear on such things as the Kalendar and the Saints whose feasts would  be celebrated.  Also, there remains the question of how we will honour the Anglican worthies of our Patrimony and Heritage such as the Martyred Archbishop Janani Luwum of Uganda and the company of Anglican martyrs throughout the world.  Surely Archbishop Ramsey of blessed memory deserves to be remembered by us.  What then shall we do?  I have an excellent idea... but that will appear on another posting.

For all the wonders that the Lord has done in making a way for us former Anglicans to return to Holy Church, may Jesus Christ be praised!  And for those matters still to be worked out, may Our Lady of Walsingham pray for us.

+Laus Deo!

Of future Ordinariates and Liturgical Texts

Over at Shawn Tribe's magnificent The New Liturgical Movement blog, I made the following comment in response to a post on the future Ordinariates for former Anglicans entering the Catholic Church as well as the liturgical texts that will be authorised, and I post it here so that others may read my thoughts upon this important subject if they should happen upon it:

I offer a word of caution in this area. Each nation in the Anglican Communion is very different from England. Roman Catholics (and English Anglicans) often make the mistake that opinions in England are the authentic opinions of the Anglican Communion, and nothing could be further from the truth.

The good Father is largely correct in his general estimation of Anglican English preferences. However, what the Ordinariates require is a great generosity in the provisional authorisation of liturgical texts in order to meet the needs of Anglicans entering the Church in nations outside of England. The specific meaning is that Anglican texts like the English Missal, the Anglican Missal, and the Cowley American Missal will have a provisional place in the Ordinariates. Likewise, the Book of Divine Worship used by the Roman Catholic Anglican Use parishes in the States provides a wide and generous plan of all texts and rites in both hieratic English as well as the common current idiom.

There should be a period of long reflexion upon the Sarum Missal and the texts and rites of the Caroline Divines and the Non-Jurors, and it is without question that some or all of these texts are part of that rich Anglican patrimony of which Pope Benedict has so eloquently spoken. Generosity of provision simply means that more Anglicans will be able to find their way home to Holy Mother Church, and it is the reconciliation of Anglicans with the Church that is the point of any of these provisions. Generosity of provision is essential with an accent upon 'generosity' as the watchword of these endeavours.

+Laus Deo!

Prayer of Humble Access

This is the version I believe should be employed at Mass

We do not presume to come to this thy Table,
O merciful Lord,
trusting in our own righteousness,
but in thy manifold and great mercies.
We are not worthy so much
as to gather up the crumbs under thy Table.
But thou art the same Lord,
whose property is always to have mercy:
Grant us therefore, gracious Lord,
in these holy Mysteries
so to eat the flesh of thy dear Son Jesus Christ,
and to drink his blood,
that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his body,
and our souls washed through his most precious blood,
and that we may evermore dwell in him, and he in us. Amen.

De Sancta Eucharistia

Liber Precum Publicarum, 1979 USA

Deus, qui nobis sub Sacramento mirabili passionis tuae memoriam reliquisti: Tribue, quaesumus, ita nos Corporis et Sanguinis tui sacra mysteria venerari, ut redemptionis tuae fructum in nobis iugiter sentiamus; qui vivis et regnas, cum Deo Patre in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

Pentecost and Whitsuntide Collects, Ancient and Modern, in the Anglican Tradition

Pentecost, Sarum Missal
Deus qui hodierna die corda fidelium Sancti Spiritus illustratione docuisti : da nobis in eodem Spiritu recta sapere, et de ejus semper consolatione gaudere.

Whitsunday, 1549 BCP
God, which as upon this day hast taught the hearts of thy faithful people, by the sending to them the light of thy Holy Spirit; Grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgement in all things, and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort; through the merits of Christ Jesus our Saviour, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the same Spirit, one God, world without end.

Pentecost, commonly called Whitsunday, second collect, 1928 USA
Almighty and most merciful God, grant, we beseech thee, that by the indwelling of thy Holy Spirit, we may be enlightened and strengthened for thy service; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the same Spirit ever, one God, world without end.

Monday in Whitsunday Week, 1928 USA
Send, we beseech thee, Almighty God, thy Holy Spirit into our hearts, that he may direct and rule us according to thy will, comfort us in all our afflictions, defend us from all error, and lead us into all truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with thee and the same Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, world without end.

Tuesday in Whitsunday Week, 1928 USA
Grant we beseech thee, merciful God, that thy Church, being gathered together in unity by thy Holy Spirit, may manifest thy power among all peoples, to the glory of thy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with thee and the same Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, world without end.

Day of Pentecost, 1979 USA BCP
Almighty God, on this day you opened the way of eternal life to every race and nation by the promised gift of your Holy Spirit : Shed abroad this gift throughout the world by the preaching of the Gospel, that it may reach to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you , in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Vigil of Pentecost, Pentecost Eve
God our Father when your Son ascended into heaven he promised to send us the Holy Spirit : grant that we, who have not been left as orphans may abide always in that Spirit, and be loving and obedient disciples of your Son; who lives ...

An Anglican Prayer Book, CPSA, South Africa

Pentecost, First Collect, An Anglican Prayer Book, CPSA
Almighty God, on the day of Pentecost you sent your Holy Spirit to the disciples with the wind from heaven and in tongues of flame : inspire our hearts and set them on fire with his joy and power and send us out as witnesses to the wonder of your love; through Jesus Christ our Lord who lives ...

Pentecost, Second Collect, Ireland Alternate Prayer Book
Almighty God, who on the day of Pentecost sent the Holy Spirit to the disciples, filling them with joy and with boldness to preach the Gospel : Send us out in the power of the same Spirit to witness to your truth, and to draw all men to the fire of your love; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Pentecost, Canada BAS
Almighty and everliving God, who fulfilled the promises of Easter by sending us your Holy Spirit and opening to every race and nation the way of life eternal, keep us in the unity of your Spirit, that every tongue may tell of your glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives ...

Pentecost, Year B, A Prayer Book for Australia
Almighty God, you sent your Holy Spirit to be the life and light of your Church: open our hearts to the riches of your grace, that we may bring forth the fruit of the Spirit, in love, joy and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Pentecost, Year C, A Prayer Book for Australia
O God, who in smoke and fire upon Mount Sinai gave the law to Moses, and who revealed the new covenant in the fire of the Spirit: grant, we pray, that, kindled by that same Spirit, which you poured forth upon your apostles, we may fulfil with joy your commandment of love. We ask this through Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Ascension Day

O ALMIGHTY GOD, whose blessed Son our Saviour Jesus Christ ascended far above all heavens that he might fill all things: Mercifully give us faith to perceive that, according to his promise, he abideth with his Church on earth, even unto the end of the ages; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.


GRANT, we beseech thee, Almighty God, that like as we do believe thy only begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ to have ascended into the heavens, so we may also in heart and mind thither ascend, and with him continually dwell; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.

Collects from the Book of Common Prayer Tradition

A Sarum Prayer of the Priest before Holy Mass

GOD, who makest worthy of the unworthy, just and holy of sinners, and clean of the unclean, cleanse my heart and body from all taint and defilement of sin, and make me a worthy and strenuous minister at thy holy altars; and mercifully grant that on this altar, to which I unworthy make approach, I may offer a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to thy loving-kindness, for my sins and offences, and for my innumerable daily transgressions, and likewise for the washing away of the sins of all Christian people. And may my desire be acceptable to thee, through him who offered himself a sacrifice for us to thee his God and Father, Who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.


This prayer of the priest before Mass appears in a 1526 edition of the Sarum Missal. In the Missal this prayer is located between Holy Saturday and Easter Day. It would be an appropriate prayer for the priests of the Anglican Use before Mass in a future revision of the Book of Divine Worship.