Be merciful, O Lord, to us sinners

An Anglo-Catholic litany

Be merciful, O Lord, to us sinners, and at the pleading of thy mother, sorrowing in thine agony and sharing in thy bitter cup, O Jesus mercy.

Our Lady of Sorrows, pray for us.

Be merciful O Lord, to us sinners and at the pleading of thy mother, suffering in thy sufferings and bruised with thy stripes, O Jesus mercy.

Our Lady of Sorrows, pray for us.

Be merciful, O Lord, to us sinners, and at the pleading of thy mother, who saw thee crowned with thorns and robed with shame, O Jesus mercy.

Our Lady of Sorrows, pray for us.

Be merciful, O Lord, to us sinners, and at the pleading of thy mother, whose love unvanquished trod thy way of sorrows, O Jesus mercy;

Our Lady of Sorrows, pray for us.

Be merciful, O Lord, to us sinners, and at the pleading of thy mother, whose soul was pierced beneath thy Cross, O Jesus mercy.

Our Lady of Sorrows, pray for us.

Eric Milner-White

"Jesu, Jesu, Jesu, have mercy on me."

Saint Margaret Clitherow

The Evangelical Chaplet of Pope John Paul II

Some further thoughts on the Luminous Mysteries

In a previous post I sketched out some thoughts about the Mysteries of Light offered to Holy Church by Pope John Paul II.

I hold that these would best be employed as a separate Evangelical Chaplet of Pope John Paul II rather than being incorporated into the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

I would like to offer another idea for this devotion in light of Pope John Paul's great and holy desire for Holy Mother Church to fully breathe with both Her lungs i.e., the Eastern and the Latin. The idea is very simple. Incorporate the Jesus Prayer into the Chaplet further giving this Chaplet its own character. Such a practice would make this devotion an appropriate form of prayer to accompany the work of seeing true Unity in Christ such as Pope Benedict XVI and the Ecumenical Patriarch's efforts in this direction. Pope Benedict's strong work in this regard is an element in common with the previous pontificate of Pope John Paul II. One can easily revisit this teaching in Pope John Paul's Ut unum sint.

So how would we actually do this? After announcing and meditating upon each mystery (for these are Evangelical Mysteries) one would first say the Jesus Prayer on the chain before the first Hail Mary. Thereafter it would be said 'on the chain' before each Hail Mary.

What then about the concluding prayers, the Hail Holy Queen and final collect? I would recommend using the ancient and magnificent Sub tuum praesidium and then follow it with the Trisagion. Sub tuum praesidium and Trisagion are used in both the Eastern churches and the Latin church.

In a future post I will endeavour to present these ideas more completely.