From 'An Office of Preparation'

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V.  I said, Lord, be merciful unto me;

R.  Heal my soul, for I have sinned against thee.

Turn thee again, O Lord, at the last;

And be gracious unto thy servants.

Let thy merciful kindness, O Lord, be upon us.

Like as we do put our trust in thee.

Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness;

And thy saints sing with joyfulness.

Cleanse thou me from my secret faults;

Keep thy servant also from presumptuous sins.

Lord, hear my prayer;

And let my cry come unto thee.

The Lord be with you;

And with thy spirit.

Let us pray.

MOST gracious God, incline thy merciful ears to our prayers, and enlighten our hearts by the grace of thy Holy Spirit; that we may worthily approach thy holy Mysteries, and love thee with an everlasting love.

     O Lord, we beseech thee, may the Comforter who proceedeth from thee illuminate our minds, and lead us, as thy Son hath promised, into all truth.

     O Lord, we beseech thee, may the power of the Holy Ghost be with us, and both mercifully cleanse and purge our hearts, and defend us from all adversities.

     Cleanse our consciences, we beseech thee, O Lord, by thy visitation; that thy Son our LORD JESUS Christ, when he cometh, may find in us a dwelling-place prepared for himself; who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the same Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, behold we approach the Sacrament of thy only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.  As sick, we come to the Physician of life: as unclean, to the Fountain of mercy: as blind, to the Light of eternal splendour: as needy, to the Lord of heaven and earth: as naked, to the King of glory.

     We pray thee, therefore, of the abundance of thine infinite majesty, that thou wouldest vouchsafe to heal our sickness, to wash our foulness, to lighten our darkness, to enrich our poverty, to clothe our nakedness; that we may receive the Bread of angels, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, with such reverence and fear, such contrition and love, such faith and purity, such devotion and humility, as is expedient for the welfare of our souls.  Grant, we beseech thee, that we may receive not only the outward sign of the Lord's Body and Blood, but also the very gift and virtue of the same.  O most merciful God, grant us so to receive the Body of thy only-begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ, which he took of the Virgin Mary, that we may be incorporated into his mystical Body, and ever reckoned among his members.  And, O most loving Father, grant that whom we now purpose to receive under a veil we may at length behold with open face, even thy beloved Son, who with thee and the Holy Ghost, liveth and reigneth ever one God, world without end. Amen.

JOY with peace, amendment of life, time for true repentance, the grace and comfort of thy Holy Spirit, perseverance in good works, grant us, O almighty and merciful Lord. Amen.

The Lord be with you;

And with thy spirit.

Let us bless the Lord;

Thanks be to God.

BLESSED be God, who blesseth and sanctifieth us through our partaking of his holy and precious and heavenly Mysteries, now and for ever and world without end. Amen.

The Cuddesdon College Office Book

London: Oxford University Press, 1961

+Exaudi nos, Domine

Wales • Post-communion, 1984

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The Book 
of Common Prayer
for use in
The Church in Wales
1984

TREFN GWASANAETH
Y CYMUN BENDIGAID
A ELWIR HEFYD YR OFFEREN

Diolchwch i'r Arglwydd, oblegid graslon yw ef;

Oherwydd ei drugaredd sy'n dragywydd.

O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is gracious;
For his mercy endureth for ever.

Almighty and everlasting God, we thank thee for the spiritual food of the Body and Blood of thy Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ, which thou hast given us in these holy mysteries, assuring us thereby of thy favour and goodness towards us who are members of the mystical body of thy Son, and heirs through hope of thy eternal kingdom:

Wherefore, we offer and present unto thee, O Lord,
ourselves, our souls and bodies,
to be a reasonable, holy, and living sacrifice unto thee,
beseeching thee
to keep us, by thy grace, in this holy fellowship
and to enable us to to do all those good works
which thou hast prepared for us to walk in;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
to whom with thee and the Holy Spirit
be all honour and glory,
world without end. Amen.

I have quoted above the Post-Communion in English but placed the Post-Communion versicle and response in Welsh at the first as a way to indicate that this liturgy is as important in its Welsh form as it is instructive in its English translation. (The secondary note is that Ordinariate liturgies only in the English language are only half measures without a proper Anglican missionary purpose.)

Unlike the liturgies of the Church of England which at times have gone to some lengths so as to avoid the use of material from the Scottish Episcopal Church and the American Episcopal Church, the Church in Wales freely crafts its clearly Anglican rite by the incorporation and weaving of material from several sources in the Anglican Communion in order to produce a beautiful Liturgy that is Anglican not in the parochial Church of England sense but rather Anglican in the world sense of the Communion of Churches by that name.

It is also rooted in its Celtic identity, and provides a clue to the Anglican diaspora in the Catholic Church how some beautiful Eucharistic language can be reclaimed and given new life in the Post-Communion. The lesson is one that can be taken from The Book of Common Prayer, 1662 but is given some refinement here.

Also, of interest is the avoidance of rubrics preferring instead alternating typefaces to indicate the Celebrant on the one hand and the Faithful on the other.

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O WORSHIP JESUS NOW

A favourite but forgotten hymn. If one clicks on the image below, one should then see the image much enlarged and easier to read.

+Laus Deo.

Beginning of The India Liturgy (Anglican)

adapted from the Divine Liturgy of St. James of Jerusalem

THE DIVINE LITURGY:

The India Liturgy

of

The Church of India,
Burma, and Ceylon ~ Anglican


THE PRAYERS BEFORE THE LITURGY

Before the service, there shall be set in readiness upon the altar so much bread upon the Paten, and so much wine, mixed with a little pure water, in the Chalice, as shall be sufficient; and the Priest shall bless them, saying the prayer following:


O Lord our God, who didst send forth thy heavenly Bread, the food of the whole world (all bow) even Jesus Christ thine only Son (all rise), to save us and to redeem us, to bless us and to sanctify us: Vouchsafe now to ble+ss this our oblation, and to accept it on thine altar in Heaven. Do thou remember, O Lover of Man, both them that offer it and them for whom it is offered; and do thou preserve us thy servants uncondemned in the ministration of the divine mysteries: for hallowed and blessed is thy glorious name, (all bow and make the Sign of the Cross whilst saying) O + Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, (all rise) now and ever, and world without end. Amen.


And, at the time appointed, being duly vested, the Celebrant and all those who are to share in the service of the sanctuary, shall say the prayers following:

Celebrant: Peace be with you.
Answer: And with thy spirit.

All bow and make the Sign of the Cross as the Celebrant says:

Celebrant: Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.

All rise.

Answer: As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be:
world without end. Amen.

Celebrant: Let us pray.

Almighty and all-holy Father, we thine unworthy servants humbly entreat thy Majesty so to prepare us for this sacred service, that entering with a pure heart into thy sanctuary, we may offer to thee the Sacrifice of this Holy Eucharist for thy honour and glory: in remembrance of thy manifold mercies vouchsafed to us in our Saviour Jesus Christ; for the well-being of thy whole Church; and to the remission of our own manifold sins and offenses. Vouchsafe, O Fountain of Mercy, to accept this our pure sacrifice through the merits of Jesus Christ our Saviour; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.


LITURGY OF THE CATECHUMENS

While a hymn is sung, the Celebrant, having set on incense and blessed it, shall solemnly cense the altar and sanctuary therewith, after which he shall cense the other ministers and persons in the sanctuary, as also the choir, congregation, and the whole church, the people standing.

And at the time when he censes the altar, the Celebrant shall say:


May the incense of the merits of Christ our Saviour which we plead before thee, O Lord our God, avail unto us for the remission of our sins and for the reward of eternal life; and do thou, O life-giving Son, who by thy Cross hast saved us, set us on thy right hand in the day when thy mercy dawneth; who livest and reignest God for ever and ever. Amen.


Celebrant: The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory.

Answer: Glory be to God on high, and in earth peace, good will towards men. We praise thee, we bless thee, we worship thee, we glorify thee, we give thanks to thee for thy great glory, O Lord God, Heavenly King, God the Father Almighty.

O Lord, the only begotten Son (solemn bow) Jesu Christ (rise); O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, that takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us. Thou that takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us. Thou that takest away the sins of the world, receive our prayer. Thou that sittest at the right hand of God the Father, have mercy upon us.

For thou only art holy; thou only art the Lord; thou only, (bow) O Christ (rise), with the Holy Ghost, art most high in the + glory of God the Father. Amen.


Clergy and People in English, Greek, or other local language:

Holy God,
Holy and mighty,
Holy and immortal,
Have mercy upon us.

Holy God,
Holy and mighty,
Holy and immortal,
Have mercy upon us.

Holy God,
Holy and mighty,
Holy and immortal,
Have mercy upon us.

Celebrant: Peace be with you.
Answer: And with thy spirit.
Celebrant: Let us pray.

Then shall be said the Collect of the Day

The Liturgy forms man in wakefulness

Dietrich von Hildebrand:

The man formed by the Liturgy is the man who is awake in the highest sense of the word. He is not only inwardly open to hearing the voice of God; he is not only aware of the ultimate Truth, but he also looks on all earthly goods in their true light. Far removed from all bluntness, indifference, stoic insensibility, and passiveness, his awakened ear is open to every created thing in its mysterious message from above and in its God-given meaning. His heart is open to the precious and noble character of created things such as water, for instance, as disclosed in the blessing of the baptismal water.

What a contrast to the blunt, obvious conceptions of earthly goods received from God's paternal hand is found int he liturgical "Benedicite!" What constantly awakened gratitude! "The eyes of all wait upon Thee, O Lord, and Thou givest them their meat in due season (Oculi omnium in te sperant, Domine, et tu das escam illorum in tempore opportuno )." "Bless us, O Lord, and these Thy gifts which we are about to receive from Thy bounty (Benedic, Domine, nos et haec tua dona, quae de tua largitate sumus sumpturi )." "We give Thee thanks, O almighty God, for all Thy mercies (Agimus tibi gratias omnipotens Deus, pro universis beneficiis tuis )." At the same time, everything is organically placed into relation with the supernatural so that our spirit can rejoin again and again the unique and eternal, the goal of our hope: "May the King of eternal glory make us participate in the divine banquet (Mensae caelestis participes faciat nos Rex aeternae gloriae )."

The man formed by the Liturgy watches, so to speak, with a "burning lamp in his hand," and "with girt loins," for the advent of the Lord. His life is a life of longing, hope, gratitude, solemn emotion, and openness to the mysteries of being. We see how deeply wakefulness is linked with reverence, with the consciousness that an adequate response is due to value, and with the sense of the right gradation of values. The awakened man is also conscious of the ultimate tie which binds him to all men before God; he sees Christ in his neighbor; he lives in the truth of the Mystical Body of Christ. To the extent that a man is awakened in this sense, he exists fully as a person; he genuinely lives; his life is true; he is a personality in the original sense of the word.

Today it is particularly important to stress this point. In a legitimate reaction against an analytical, self-reflective consciousness, many have fallen into the cult of a naive unconsciousness, a childish unwakefulness. This is a falling into Charybdis in order to avoid Scylla. A wrong self-consciousness is, of course, disastrous, whether it takes the form of a squinting at the accomplishment of our life (in a curious looking backward at our actions and attitudes just in the living moment instead of focusing on the object) or whether it takes the form of an intellectual analysis and dissection of the world and ourselves in which we no longer see the woods for the trees. In either case, it is a hypertrophy of the analytical attitude which leaves no room for a contemplative possession of an obejct. But the unconscious man also is incomplete; he is an inauthentic half-man.

True consciousness, an indispensable element of personality and an essential part of transformation in Christ, is nothing but wakefulness. It means emerging from all the mists of the vital and the unconscious into the brightness of the logos; it means being irradiated by the lumen Christi. It also means the ripening toward that full wakefulness which we shall actually possess only in eternity when we shall be flooded by the lumen gloriae, when we no longer see through a glass in an obscure manner but face to face, and when we no longer know in part but know as we have been known.

The great motto of this earthly life must be, "Watch ye therefore, because you know not the day nor the hour!"

Dietrich von Hildebrand
1943
Liturgy and Personality:
The Healing Power of Formal Prayer
Sophia Institute Press, 1993
pp. 101-103

Anglican Prayers of the Church of South India, Liturgy 1954

Prayer of Corporate Confession

HEAVENLY Father, we confess that we have sinned against thee and our neighbour. We have walked in darkness rather than in light; we have named the name of Christ, but have not departed from iniquity. Have mercy upon us, we beseech thee; for the sake of Jesus Christ forgive us all our sins; cleanse us by thy Holy Spirit; quicken our consciences; and enable us to forgive others, that we may henceforth serve thee in newness of life, to the glory of thy holy name. Amen.


The Prayer of Humble Access

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, so to eat the Flesh of thy dear Son Jesus Christ, and to drink his Blood, that our sinful bodies and souls may be made clean by his most precious Body and Blood, and that we may evermore dwell in him, and he in us. Amen.


A Thanksgiving after Holy Communion

O ALMIGHTY God, our heavenly Father, who hast accepted us as thy children in thy beloved Son Jesus Christ our Lord, and hast fed us with the spiritual food of his most precious Body and Blood, giving us the forgiveness of our sins and the promise of everlasting life; we thank and praise thee for these inestimable benefits, and we offer and present unto thee ourselves, our souls and bodies, to be a holy and living sacrifice, which is our reasonable service. Grant us grace not to be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, that we may learn what is thy good and perfect will, and so obey thee here on earth, that we may at the last rejoice with all thy saints in thy heavenly kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever. Amen.

Ancient Preface for the Dedication of a Church

V. The Lord be with you.
R. And with thy spirit.
V. Lift up your hearts.
R. We lift them up unto the Lord.
V. Let us give thanks unto our Lord God.
R. It is meet and right so to do.

IT is very meet, right, and our bounden duty, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks unto thee, O Lord holy, Father Almighty, everlasting God:

WHO as the giver of all good things dwellest in this House of Prayer reared by human hands, and by the unceasing operation of thy grace dost sanctify the Church which thou thyself hast founded. And verily thy Church is the true House of Prayer, of which these visible buildings are but the figures. It is the Temple of the habitation of thy glory, the Throne of unchanging truth, the Holy Place wherein everlasting love abideth. It is the Ark which bringeth us, who are delivered from the deluge of the world, into the haven of salvation. It is the beloved and only Bride which Christ hath purchased with his Blood and quickened by his Spirit; in whose bosom we, who have been regenerated by thy grace, are fed with the milk of the Word, are strengthened with the Bread of Life, and are comforted by the help of thy mercy. This is that Bride that on earth, being holpen by the Bridegroom, fighteth the good fight of faith, and being crowned by him in heaven, singeth the songs of triumphant joy.

AND therefore with Angels and Archangels, with Thrones and Dominations, and with all the company of the heavenly host, we sing the majesty of thy glory, evermore praising thee, and saying:

HOLY, HOLY, Holy, Lord God of Hosts, Heaven and earth are full of thy glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he that cometh in the Name of the Lord. Hosanna in the Highest.

An ancient Eucharistic Preface for the Dedication of a Church.

Heart of the Holy Child

from The English Catholic Hymn Book
The S. Matthew Edition, No. 977

........HEART of the Holy Child
........Hide me in thee,
........Purest and undefiled
........Purify me.
........Joy of my earthly life,
........Far from sin and passions rife,
........Troubling this world of strife,
........Keep me with thee.

........Sweet Child of Bethlehem,
........Open thine heart,
........Lessons from Nazareth
........Deign to impart;
........Mary and Joseph dear
........Let us be to Jesus near,
........With you we shall not fear
........From him to part.

........................-Author unknown

Lift up your hearts today

Lift up your hearts today!
Rise Up! Behold the Way,
The Truth, the Life.
Christ Jesus calls to you,
Opens his heart for you,
Pours out his love anew,
The joy of life.

The peace of Christ we share
With mercy everywhere
For everyone.
God offers all to us
Through Christ and by his Cross.
He has forgiven us,
And made us one.

Welcome are we above,
The Spirit of God's love
Lifts us on high.
Unto the throne of grace
We now behold his face.
As angels fill this place
'Holy!' we cry.

The Supper of the Lord,
Body and Blood outpoured,
God's Bread and Wine.
Heaven and earth are one,
Reconciled in the Son,
Joined in Communion,
Spirit divine.

Here we declare our love
For our great Lord above
God with us all.
Father of lights we praise,
And Comforter always,
To Christ our thanks we raise -
One God of all!

Words: Copyright © 1996 Vincent Uher. All rights reserved.
Tune: Moscow
Meter: 664 6664

Christ my God, my faith discerning

Christ my God, my faith discerning,
Present here through heaven's Bread,
With my heart and mind adoring
By your life my soul is fed.
By your Blood my sins are covered.
By your grace I am renewed.
In your Spirit may I journey
With your light and life imbued.

Magnify, my soul, God's greatness
Even in the day of wrath.
Though great darkness falls on nations
Christ our Light reveals our path.
Let the faithful praise the Body
And the Blood of Christ our Lord --
Holy Wisdom, Word eternal,
Light and Life by all adored.

Calvary's sacrifice and offering
In the Chalice and the Host -
Here is mercy like an ocean
From Our Lord in whom we boast.
With great joy we share his Body
Reverently with hearts raised up.
Pain or blessing, joy or sorrow,
Lovingly we drink his Cup.

We adore the Lord our Brother
In the Sacrament of Life
Cherishing his very Presence
Bringing peace to end all strife.
May we, fed by Christ's own Body,
Serve and see God's kingdom come,
And with all saints praise the Spirit
With the Father and the Son.

Words: Copyright © 1997-2007 by Vincent Uher. All rights reserved.
Suggested tunes: Holy Manna or Hyfrydol
Meter: 87 87 D