Fr. Frederic King, CR: Blessing of the Faithful

+

May the Love of God keep you,
May the Blood of Christ cleanse you,
May the Holy Spirit sanctify and confirm you,
May the prayers of Blessed Mary 
and all the Saints strengthen and support you,
And the Blessing of God almighty, + the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost be upon you and abide with you for ever. Amen.


The blessing or benediction above may be remembered by some of us if we heard the great mission-preacher Fr. Frederic King of the Community of the Resurrection pronounce this blessing over us at the end of a mission-service. It is a benediction unique to the Anglican liturgical patrimony, and  I would hope that the clergy of the Anglican diaspora would remember it and make use of it on occasion. Likewise, I would hope that composers of future liturgical orders would include it in their books.   I offer it to you, dear Reader, for your consideration and use.  A lay person may conclude the day before sleep by saying this benediction as follows:


May the Love of God keep us,

May the Blood of Christ cleanse us,

May the Holy Spirit sanctify and confirm us,

May the prayers of Blessed Mary 
and all the Saints strengthen and support us,

And the Blessing of God almighty + the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost be upon us and abide with us for ever. Amen.

+

Forgotten Books & Texts: Anglican Patrimony

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There are so many wonderful books of prayer, chant, and hymnals that have been used by Episcopalians and Anglicans throughout the world, and yet today they are not even faint memories.  I hope to contribute to reviving the lost memories of such treasures among the people who are the Anglican Patrimony.  Such things are not always texts we must use today, but they speak to the kinds and sorts of texts that should be evaluated and adapted to our needs today whether we are Roman Catholic, in communion with Canterbury, or in a community of faith not connected to either.


Today I include a prayer from the beautiful book "Treasury of Devotion" and from "The Day Hours of the Church" which was originally entitled "The Day Hours of the Church of England".  Although I care deeply about these various books for divine worship, I recognise that I am in the extreme minority. Since returning to this blog, I have been greatly heartened to learn how many people are curious about these texts and desirous to see them at least considered.


Today's 2 excerpts are meant to point toward two separate needs.  The first is the need for private prayers for the faithful to pray before, during, and after Mass which type of prayer should be bound within The Book of Common Prayer (by whatever title).   The first prayer quoted below is a good example of the kind of prayers prayed by "Prayer Book Catholics" around the world in times past.  My great-great-Grandfather prayed this prayer, and I still pray it.   


The second underscores the need to return to a traditional calendar where the feasts of the angels are St. Gabriel (March 24th), St. Michael and All Angels, and St. Raphael.   (Of course, I should make mention of St. Uriel and his place in Anglicanism, but that will be another post to come.)  The current Ordinary Form Calendar of Rome should in no way be the base or the guide for determining what is a proper Kalendar for members of the Anglican diaspora within the Catholic Church. 


From Treasury of Devotion, Revd T. Carter, ed., 1908

I YIELD Thee thanks, O Lord, Holy FATHER, Almighty, Everlasting GOD, Who, not for any merit of mine, but of the condescension of Thy mercy only, hast vouchsafed to feed me a sinner, Thy unworthy servant, with the precious Body and Blood of Thy SON, our LORD JESUS CHRIST.  And I humbly entreat Thy boundless clemency, Almighty and Merciful Lord, that this Holy Communion may not bring guilt upon me to condemnation, but may be unto me for pardon and salvation.  Let it be unto me an armour of faith, and a shield of good resolution.  Let it be unto me a riddance of all vices, an extermination of all evil desires and lusts, and an increase of love and patience, of humility and obedience, and all virtues, especially . . . : a firm defence against the wiles of all enemies, visible or invisible, a perfect quieting of all sinful impulses, fleshly or spiritual, especially . . . : a firm adherence to Thee, the One True GOD, and a blessed consummation of my end.  And I pray Thee, that Thou wouldest vouchsafe to bring me a sinner to that ineffable Feast, where Thou with thy SON and the HOLY GHOST art to Thy Saints true Light, full and everlasting Joy, and perfect Happiness ; through the Same our LORD JESUS CHRIST. Amen.


From The Day Hours of the Church, London: Longmans, Green & Co., 1950

ST. RAPHAEL ARCHANGEL October 24

Hymn. Tibi Christe

Thee, O Christ, the Father's splendour.

Life and virtue of the heart,

In the presence of the Angels

Sing we now with tuneful art:

Meetly in alternate chorus,

Bearing our responsive part.

Hail, all ye angelic princedoms,

Thrones celestial, bathed in light;

Hail, benevolent Physician,

Raphaël, life's Guardian bright,

Binding fast the fiend of darkness

In the glory of thy might.

Oh may Christ beneath thy pinions,

Shield us from all harm this day,

Keep us pure in flesh and spirit,

Guard our footsteps lest they stray,

And hereafter of his mercy,

Bid us reign with him for aye.

Glory to the Sire Eternal

Sing we now in anthems sweet:

Glory to our blest Redeemer,

Glory to the Paraclete.

Triune God, whom all creation

Praiseth, as is right and meet.  Amen.

V. An Angel stood by the altar of the temple.

R. Having a golden censer in his hand.

Antiphon to Magnificat

Lo, I am* Raphael, the Angel who stands before the Lord: 

but as for you, bless ye the Lord and tell forth all his wondrous works.

Collect

O GOD, who didst give the blessed Archangel Raphael to thy servant Tobias to be his companion on the way: Grant, we beseech thee, to thy servants that we may ever be kept in safety under his protection, be continually defended by his ready help.  Through JESUS CHRIST Our LORD. Amen.

+All ye Saints, pray for us to the LORD Our GOD.

Protestants Praying Like Episcopalians

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Prior to the new liturgical books in North America -- attempting to speak in a contemporary idiom spoken by no one and contemporary to none -- the various Protestant liturgies, service books, and hymnals borrowed heavily from the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Prayer Books.  

On a Sunday morning in 1959 at an American Lutheran Church, the Sunday liturgy would be conducted with almost identical texts and within a very similar ethos of sober reverence as that found in the Episcopal Church.  In an Evangelical and Reformed Church congregation on a bright Sunday morning in 1954, the Order of Holy Communion was beautiful, biblical, and in several ways more Catholic than the Episcopalian Order of 1928:

Minister The Lord be with you.

Congregation And with thy spirit.

Minister  Lift up your hearts.

Congregation.  We lift them up unto the Lord.

Minister  Let us give thanks unto the Lord our God.

Congregation  It is meet and right so to do.

Minister

It is very meet, right, and our bounden duty, that we should at all times and in all places give thanks unto thee, O Holy Lord, Father Almighty, Everlasting God, who didst create the heavens and the earth and all that in them is, who didst make man in thine own image, and whose tender mercies are over all thy works.

For all thy mercies and favors, known to us and unknown, we give thee thanks.  But most of all we praise thee, the Father everlasting, for the gift of thine adorable, true and only Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ, who by his appearing hath abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel.  We bless thee for his holy incarnation, for his life on earth, for his precious sufferings and death upon the cross, for his resurrection from the dead, and for his glorious ascension to thy right hand.  We bless thee for the giving of the Holy Spirit, for the institution of the Church, for the means of grace, for the hope of everlasting life, and for the glory which shall be brought unto us at the coming, and in the kingdom, of thy dear Son.

Thee, mighty God, heavenly King, we magnify and praise.  With patriarchs and prophets, apostles and martyrs, with the holy Church through all the world; with the heavenly Jerusalem, the joyful assembly and congregation of the firstborn on high; with the innumerable company of angels round about thy throne, the heaven of heavens, and all the powers therein, we worship and adore thy glorious Name, joining in the song of the Cherubim and Seraphim:

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of Sabaoth;

Heaven and earth are full of the majesty of thy glory;

Hosanna in the highest!

Blessed is he that cometh in the Name of the Lord;

Hosanna in the highest!

[The Words of Institution would follow at this place in the liturgy. After which the Minister then continues:]

Wherefore, we beseech thee, O merciful Father, to send thy Holy Spirit upon us, and upon these elements of bread and wine, that the bread which we break may be to us the Communion of the Body of Christ, and the cup of blessing which we bless, the Communion of the Blood of Christ.  And be pleased now, O most merciful Father, graciously to receive this memorial of the blessed sacrifice of thy Son which we here offer unto thee, in union with the sacrifice of our thanksgiving and praise,  consecrating ourselves in soul and body,  property and life,  to thy most blessed service and praise.  Look upon us through the mediation of our great High Priest.  Make us accepted in the Beloved, and let his Name be as a pure and holy incense, through which all our worship may come up before thee, a sacrifice acceptable and well pleasing in thy sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom with thee, and the Holy Spirit, be all honor and glory, world without end. Amen.

Then followed the Intercession concluding with the Lord's Prayer. Then follows,

Minister  O Christ, thou Lamb of God, 

Minister  that takest away the sin of the world,  

Congregation  have mercy upon us.

Minister  O Christ, thou Lamb of God, 

Minister  that takest away the sin of the world,  

Congregation  have mercy upon us.

Minister  O Christ, thou Lamb of God, 

Minister  that takest away the sin of the world, 

Congregation  grant us thy peace. Amen.

Minister  The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

Minister  Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

The follows the Communion, the communicants presenting themselves before the Lord's Table.  After the People have communicated, the Minister shall say,

May the Holy Communion of the Body and Blood of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ keep and preserve you, each one, in body, soul, and spirit, unto everlasting life.   Amen.   

Minister  Depart in peace.

I won't go into the historical particulars that explain why the E & R Church -- as it was called -- had such an advanced liturgical order printed in its Hymnal, but it shows what that common sacred language once was in the USA, how close the orders were to Episcopalians, and how great the tragedy that the groups of protestants and Anglicans could not see beyond their borders and prejudices toward a concrete unity back when it would have been so much easier to achieve.  

What if we were now to fully embrace that grand vision of being the Via through which the Protestants come home to Rome, to see in Anglicanorum coetibus the open door through which all Protestants could and should come home?     I imagine many of you can see that vision and do think of that great and glorious possibility.  Would that not be the final sanctification of the myth of the Via Media that this Via Anglicana would become the 'road between' to carry home those who would from the Protestant hinterlands to the Eternal City, Rome ...

 

 +Ut omnes unum sint

Saving Lost Language

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An issue with the BDW is the loss of well-beloved language from the BCP Eucharistic rite that is powerfully written upon each Anglican heart.  Within the celebration of Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament it could be possible to retrieve some of this lost language by gathering it together and using it as the first prayer after the singing of "O Saving Victim".

This is my private attempt to rescue some of this language drawing principally from the traditional South African Eucharistic Prayer with a phrase from the post-communion.  Prior to this prayer there is a bidding/introduction adapted from a Scottish original together with a form of the Grace taken from an Anglican liturgy from India. What I have put together here is meant as an illustration to encourage such an effort in the revision of the BDW or the generation of particular rites and services for the Ordinariates and Anglican Use parishes.

It is merely a first effort at illustrating how we might save otherwise lost Anglican language of prayer.  Following the normal form for Benediction after "O Saving Victim"/O Salutaris Hostia, then the celebrant would continue with the following:

Celebrant

LET us lift up our hearts unto the Lord, and by faith behold the Lord Jesus and adore Him here, for He abideth in his Most Blessed Sacrament.  By God the Father and through the Holy Spirit, may we worship Christ's Most Holy Face and draw virtue from the Lord himself to quicken and conserve our souls and bodies unto eternal life.

 As the celebrant says the form of The Grace, the suggestion is to make the Cross upon one's forehead at the mention of the Father, and a Cross upon the mouth at the mention of the Son (the Word), and a Cross upon the heart at the mention of the indwelling Spirit.

Celebrant
The love of God the Fa+ther; the grace of the only-begotten S+on; and the fellowship and indwelling of the Holy Spi+rit be with you all, my brethren, for ever.
And with thy spirit.

Celebrant 
Let us pray.

 

.....ALL Glory and Thanksgiving be to thee, Almighty God our heavenly Father, for that thou of thy tender mercy didst give thine only Son Jesus Christ to take our nature upon him, and to suffer death upon the Cross for our redemption; who (by his one oblation of himself once offered) made a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction, for the sins of the whole world; and did institute, and in his holy Gospel command us to continue, a perpetual memory of that his precious death, until his coming again.
.....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.
.....O merciful Father, we most humbly beseech thee to hear us; for we entirely desire thy fatherly goodness mercifully to accept this our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving; 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 living sacrifice unto thee.
.....Wherefore, O Lord and heavenly Father, according to the institution of thy dearly beloved Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ, we thy humble servants, having in remembrance his blessed passion and precious death, his mighty resurrection and glorious ascension, do render unto thee most hearty thanks for the innumerable benefits procured unto us by the same
.....And, looking for his coming again with power and great glory, we offer here unto thy divine majesty this sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving for the gift of eternal life and everlasting salvation made known to us in the Eucharistic Sacrifice of thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ who here abideth with us; and we humbly beseech thee to pour thy Holy Spirit upon us and upon all who rejoice in his holy fellowship, the Communion of Saints, the blessed company of all faithful people; that we may worthily worship and adore the most precious Body and Blood of thy Son, and be fulfilled with thy grace and heavenly benediction; through Jesus Christ our Lord; by whom, and with whom, and through whom, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, all honour and glory be unto thee, O Father Almighty, world without end.  Amen.

Benediction may continue with a Litany, the Rosary, or other prayers.

+Patrimonia Anglicana populus noster est.

Rite One: Intercession (Form II) revised

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In The Book of Divine Worship, Intercession (Form II) is drawn from the US BCP 1979, but it is not identical to it.  In the USA I found this form very useful at Weekday Eucharists, but upon a Sunday I always felt it was too clipped and brief. 

With interest in the origin of Form II, I found that the original is found in an experimental liturgy from New Zealand in the year A.D. 1966.  The original form has several strengths over the present form.  (I grant that the Rite Two version of Form II may well be best for that Rite and its contemporary flavour.)  I believe that in traditional language Form II simply needs more from the original from New Zealand as well as what some of us have learnt by experience in using the 1979 BCP as well as the BDW.  I offer the following as a suggestion for redrafting the Rite One: Intercession (Form II) with the hope that my effort will be both useful and helpful for my fellow Catholics of the Anglican Patrimony:

INTERCESSION (Form II, revised)

Father, we pray thee, have mercy upon thy holy Catholic Church;
That we all may be one, so that the world may believe.

Grant that all the laity in Christ, the religious and hermits, the consecrated virgins and widows may truly and humbly serve thee;
That thy name may be glorified by all people.

We pray for our Holy Father, Pope N., for our Bishop, N., and
for all bishops, priests, and deacons;

That they may be faithful stewards of thy holy mysteries.

For all who govern and hold authority in the nations of the world;
That in our days thy peace may be upon the earth.

May we seek to do thy will in all that we undertake;
That we may be blessed in all our works and find favour in thy sight.

Have compassion on [N. and] those who suffer from any grief or trouble;
That they may be comforted in affliction and delivered from their distress.

Rest eternal grant to [N. and] all the departed, O Lord:
Let light perpetual shine upon them.

We praise thee for the Blessed Virgin Mary, for Saint Joseph, [for Saint N.], 

and for all thy saints who have entered into joy:
That through their prayers we may come to thy heavenly kingdom.

Prayer may be offered for the sick, the departed, and those in any need or trouble.  The leader concludes these prayers with the following, 

Lord, hear our prayer;
And let our cry come unto thee.

The Celebrant offers a concluding collect.
  

 +Kyrie eleison imas.

Praying for Christ's Church

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The Prayer for the Whole State of Christ's Church is one of the great prayers of Anglicanism, and it is also a prayer that enjoys many different versions since being published in the first Book of Common Prayer in 1549.  How to conclude this prayer is one of the serious tasks for anyone who desires to revise the Book of Divine Worship as the form in the BDW is something less than the best version of this prayer.  First, let us consider what we find in the Book of Divine Worship:

... any other adversity.

(Additional petitions and thanksgivings may be included here.)

And we also bless thy holy Name for all thy servants departed this life in thy faith and fear [especially N.…], beseeching thee to be merciful and grant them fulness of joy in thy love and service; and to grant us grace so to follow the good examples of the Blessed Virgin Mary, [of Saint N.], and of all thy saints, that with them we may be partakers of thy heavenly kingdom.  Grant these our prayers, O Father, for Jesus Christ’s sake, our only Mediator and Advocate. Amen.

The BDW version is adequate, but it leaves me wanting more of that tradition and heritage we are being invited to save and bring forward into the Book of Divine Worship through Pope Benedict's most generous and gracious invitation in Anglicanorum coetibus.  In the first Book of Common Prayer (1549) we read a conclusion well beloved by many in the Anglican Communion and among us Catholics of Anglican identity and heritage:

And here we do give unto thee most high praise and hearty thanks, for the wonderful grace and virtue, declared in all thy saints, from the beginning of the world : and chiefly in the most glorious and Most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of thy Son Iesu Christ our Lord and God, and in the holy Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles and Martyrs, whose examples (O Lord) and steadfastness in thy faith, and keeping thy holy commandments, grant us to follow.  We commend unto thy mercy (O Lord) all other thy servants, which are departed hence from us, with the sign of faith, and now do rest in the sleep of peace: Grant unto them, we beseech thee, thy mercy, and everlasting peace, and that at the day of the general resurrection, we and all they which be of the mystical body of thy son, may altogether be set on his right hand, and hear that his most joyful voice: Come unto me, O ye that be blessed of my father, and possess the kingdom, which is prepared for you, from the beginning of the world:  Grant this, O Father for Jesus Christ's sake our only Mediator and Advocate. Amen.

I confess that for me the 1549 form of this prayer has always been the form to prefer over all others.  Nonetheless, there are interesting developments with quite elegant solutions to the question of how to end this great prayer.  Some may not realise that the 1549 BCP was something of a persona non grata in the Anglican Communion because of objections from the rather strident most protestant wing of the Anglican Church.  As a consequence post-Elizabethan revisers of Prayer Books have had to tread carefully so as not to raise too much ire from the anti-catholics in the Anglican Church.  


We get a window into these pressures upon revisers through the draft Prayer Book known as The Durham Book and the great caution taken by revisers in not going too far for the 'evangelical' wing.  Starting with the 1619 Edition of the Book of Common Prayer (beloved by none) Bishop Cosin and the revisers desired to improve upon the 1619 version of this prayer known then as the Prayer for Christ's Church militant.  The revisers left us an important note as to why they inteded to expand the Prayer from the form in which they had received it.  In Part. 51 we read this note:
 

In ye Beginning of ye Prayer for ye State of Christ's Church militant, there be these words, (sett as Preface to what is intended to follow, & to have Relation thereunto,) Which hast taught us to Give Thanks for all men; & accordingly, in the old forme of this prayer sett forth in K. Edward's time, such Thanks were given, yt one part of the prayer might be correspondent to ye other.  But here in our forme, ye Thanksgiving is omitted, &  yet ye preface of Giving Thanks is suffered to stand still; being indeed forgotten to be put out.  Therfore it either now to be taken away, or els the former (or the like) Thanksgiving ought to be added unto the prayer: for otherwise wee say to God, (in effect) that though he hath taught us to give Thanks for all men, yet wee thinke fitt to let it alone.

The expansion of the prayer as proposed is now well known in most parts, and I quote as it appears in The Durham Book (Being the First Draft of the Revision of the Book of Common Prayer in 1661) (ed. G.J. Cumming, Oxford, 1961) starting with the text printed in italics from the 1619 Book:

And we most humbly beseech thee of thy goodness, O Lord, to comfort and succour all them which in this transitory life be in trouble, sorrow, need, sickness, or any other adversity:  And we also bless thy holy Name for all those thy Servants, who having finished their course in faith do now rest from their labours,.  And we yield unto thee most high praise and hearty thanks for the wonderful grace and virtue declared in all thy Saints, who have been the choice Vessels of thy Grace, and the Lights of the World in their several Generations; most humbly beseeching thee, that we  may have grace to follow the example of their steadfastness in thy faith, and obedience to thy holy Commandments, that at the day of the general Resurrection, we and all they which are  of the mystical Body of they Son, may be set on his right Hand, and hear that his most joyful voice,  "Come ye Blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the World.".  Grant this, O Father for Jesus Christ's sake, our only Mediator and Advocate Amen.

The revisers' notes in the Durham Book made mention of the Scottish Liturgy of their era and its Prayer as a model for how to correct the prayers deficiencies.  So now we turn toward Scotland and the magnificent Scottish Liturgy in The Book of Common Prayer 1929 (Scottish Episcopal Church) where the conclusion to the Prayer for the Whole State of Christ's Church reads as follows:

And we yield unto thee most high praise and hearty thanks, for the wonderful grace and virtue declared in all thy Saints, who have been the choice vessels of thy grace, and the lights of the world in their several generations: (and chiefly in the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord and God, and in the Holy Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles, and Martyrs,) beseeching thee to give us grace to follow the example of their stedfastness in thy faith, and obedience to thy holy commandments, that at the day of the general resurrection, we, and all they who are of the mystical body of thy Son, may be set on his right hand, and hear his most joyful voice, Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.  Grant this, O Father, for Jesus Christ's sake, our only Mediator and Advocate. Amen.

In the Korean Anglican 1962 Holy Eucharist translated into English, we read:

And here we do give unto thee O Lord, most high praise and hearty thanks for the wonderful grace and virtue declared in all thy saints, and chiefly in the blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and in the holy patriarchs, prophets, apostles and martyrs:  beseeching thee to give us grace to follow their good examples in steadfastness of faith and in keeping of thy commandments.  And we commend to thy gracious keeping, O Lord, all thy servants departed this life in thy faith and fear, who now rest in the sleep of peace, beseeching thee to grant them mercy, peace, and light, both now and in the day of resurrection. Grant this, O Father, for Jesus Christ's sake, our only Mediator and Advocate. Amen.

Now to step back a few years to the 1954 Order for Holy Eucharist of the Anglican Church in the British West Indies or the 1954 Order for Holy Communion of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa where a slightly different note is sounded .. aspiration to be gathered into the Kingdom of Heaven as the longing of those who are interceding in prayer:

And here we do give unto thee most high praise and hearty thanks for the wonderful grace and virtue declared in all thy Saints; chiefly in the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of thy Son Jesus Christ, our Lord and God, and in the holy Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles, and Martyrs; beseeching thee to give us grace that we, rejoicing in the Communion of thy Saints, and following their good examples, may be partakers with them of thy heavenly kingdom: Grant this, O Father, for Jesus Christ's sake, our only Mediator and Advocate. R. Amen.

The Melanesian Prayer Book of 1938 would expand the final line to make this prayer explicitly Trinitarian "Grant this, O Father, for Jesus Christ’s sake, our only Mediator and Advocate; Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen."

There are of course many modern versions of this conclusion, and I close this post with what one may encounter in Botswana, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe in the new rite of 1976.  Here these sentiments are placed into very simple English for a province of the Anglican Communion where many will not have English for their mother tongue and where the Anglican Church offers its worship in several languages:

We remember all who have died . . . . . . . . . .

(Silence may be kept.)

We commend all men, the living and the dead, to your unfailing love. We bless and praise you for the blessed Virgin Mary, mother of our Lord, for the patriarchs, prophets, apostles and martyrs, and for all your saints (especially . . . . . whom we remember today). We pray that we may share with them in your eternal kingdom.
Merciful Father, accept these prayers,
for the sake of your Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

What then do I suggest for a revision of The Book of Divine Worship?  That, dear reader, I shall reveal in a forthcoming post, but until then I hope you will consider this prayer -- often read as a Litany these days or simply omitted in favour of something far too short as an expression of the General Intercession of God's Faithful People -- and ask the question, Which is the best way to conclude this great prayer for our lives as Roman Catholics of the Anglican Patrimony and does this text deserve pride of place among the other forms of Intercession at the Mass?

+Kyrie eleison imas.

Concluding a Service or Office

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The conclusions of the services of prayer among the Anglican Churches exhibit a wide variety of ascriptions, scriptures, and blessings. More contemporary forms conclude the Office with the sharing of the Peace dislocated from the Mass and without its Sacrificial context.  However, it does make perfect sense to observe the Peace at that point if the Offertory and Eucharist are to follow directly.   How shall the offices conclude in the revised rites and services?  I offer the following as a first thought drawing simply from what I did with the Prayer Book Office in expanding the conclusion to include other options such as the two ascriptions of praise by the sainted Thomas Ken as well as several selections of Sacred Scripture.

With the Anglican Morning Office normatively containing V. Praise ye the Lord. R. The Lord's Name be praised. I would conclude with the Benedicamus Domino then The Grace followed by a line from the Divine Liturgy that served as parallel to the verse and response mentioned above at an earlier part of the Office.  Whether it was the use of the Gloria at the end of Mass or an ascription of Praise at the end of the Office, to the traditional Anglican mind the worship of the Lord should end on a note of joy.  I type the following in English though in published form I would include English and Latin in parallel columns:

Let us bless the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

The Grace + of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with us all evermore. Amen.

Blessed be the Name of the Lord 
henceforth and forevermore.

[A kind friend in the west of Scotland has written that in her parish they do the above in a reversed order such that they say (1) Blessed be the Name..., (2) The Grace, and (3) Let us bless the Lord ... With the Eastward gaze whilst standing in the West, there are commonalities among these local riches worthy of consideration.]

For General Use on a feast or festival, I would use these words from Thomas Ken which in contemporary form figure prominently in the An Anglican Prayer Book 1989: 

Blessing and honour and thanksgiving and praise

more than we can utter, more than we can conceive

be unto Thee, O most adorable Trinity,

Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,

by all angels, all men, all creatures

for ever and ever,  Amen and Amen.

At times I used the following depending upon the weekday:

Sunday:   
To God the Father, who loved us, and made us accepted in the Beloved: to God the Son, who loved us, and loosed us from our sins by his own blood:  to God the Holy Spirit, who poureth the love of God into our hearts:  to the one true God, be all love and all glory, for time and for eternity. Amen.    Thomas Ken
Monday:   
Now to him who is able to do all things more abundantly than we desire or understand, according to the power that worketh in us:  To him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus, unto all generations, world without end. Amen.  Ephesians 3:20-21 Rheims
Tuesday:  
Now unto the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.  1 Timothy 1:17 AV (with Rheims)
Wednesday:  
Now to him who is able to preserve us without sin, and to present us spotless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, in the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, To the only wise God our Saviour through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, before all ages, and now, and for all ages of ages. Amen.  Jude 24-25 Rheims (with AV)
Thursday:  
Now may the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing, that we  may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost. Amen.  Romans 15:13  Rheims
Friday:  
Unto Jesus Christ, who hath loved us and freed us from our sins by his own blood,  and hath made us a kingdom, to be priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.  Revelation 1:4-6 (composite)

I also have a table of such conclusions for the Office depending upon Seasons of the Church Year, particular Red Letter Days, and a few special occasions, but I won't take up space here to print them.  In a printed edition it may be best to provide a ferial form and a festal one preceded with a permissive rubric to use something else.  I offer these as an idea on how our worship through the Office might conclude on that "note of joy" characteristic of the framers of the Eucharistic rite found in the 1928 & 1929 Books of Common Prayer.

Now that we are Catholic, I hope that in the appropriate Offices the Marian antiphons such as Ave Regina Caelorum, Salve Regina, and Regina Caeli will be sung after the Office in their traditional place.  As to which English translation should be employed ... ah, but that is another post.

+De ventre matris meae  

Revising the Prayer of Humble Access

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Prayer Book revisions saw the original Prayer of Humble Access docked by degree (putting "Holy Mysteries" to the axe first) until in the American Episcopalian Prayer Book of 1979 the text was finally shorn of some very important phrases involving the Body and Precious Blood of Our Lord.  Very sadly this is the version one finds in the current Book of Divine Worship and to which I will devote no reprinting space here. 

The Prayer of Humble Access in the Book of Common Prayer, 1549, is as follows:

We do not presume to come to this thy table (o mercifull lord) trusting in our owne righteousness, but in thy manifold and great mercies: we be not woorthie so much as to gather up the cromes under thy table: but thou art the same lorde whose propertie is alwayes to haue mercie: Graunt us therefore (gracious lorde) so to eate the flesh of thy dere sonne Jesus Christ, and to drynke his bloud in these holy Misteries that we may continuallye dwell in hym, and he in us, that our synfull bodyes may bee made cleane by his body, and our soules washed through hys most precious bloud. Amen.

 It would be easy to suggest that this is the proper form to use in the revision with the spelling updated to the British world standard of spelling.  Obviously, the British standard should be the spelling convention for all of the Ordinariates including the North American one.

With liturgical revision in the works perhaps someone will forward this post to those entrusted with the revision of the Book of Divine Worship and other rites. Having inquired at length there is no official mechanism for the laity to contribute to the process by making a recommendation to this "Working Group".  

As my readers know I oppose any process for the Ordinariates or the Anglican Use Parishes that does not collaborate and consult the Laity who will be saddled with the revisions.  Whilst Roman Catholics have no concept of the consent of the governed touching upon such things, such an issue is a very significant matter for Anglicans who have found haven from the liturgical and polity wars of the Anglican Communion.  

For some it is true that it is haven enough to trust the True Church at work.  But in the long run it is short-sighted of Ordinaries and Authorities in Rome to proceed without a process that invites parochial participation and the collaboration of the clergy, religious, and especially the Laity in Christ.  We know how to do this, and after all our numbers are small at this time.

I have spent some years searching out all of the various official and unofficial versions of the Prayer of Humble Access which can be found in Anglican service books, Lutheran service books in North America, and various Presbyterian and Methodist books of prayer and hymnals. 

The average standard is that found in the US BCP 1928 and related books, but it would be a pity simply to punt with the 1662 BCP and not look beyond it to the strong liturgical contributions found in the composition of this prayer and its editing.  Also, the 1662/1928 version no longer enjoys common recollection among us unless we are over 50 years of age or coming from a place using the older liturgical books.

What follows below is my version of the Prayer of Humble Access -- a synthesis of various approaches together with an original idea.  The first part of the prayer i normal typeface is unfailingly the same in every traditional sacred language version of the Prayer.  What needs to be considered is found in the second portion of the prayer in boldface : the boldface is used to highlight this but not to indicate a division in the participation of the Celebrant and that of the whole congregation: 

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.
In these Holy Mysteries, 
grant us therefore, gracious Lord,
so to eat the Flesh of thy dear Son Jesus Christ
and to drink his Blood
that, made clean by his Body
and washed through his most Precious Blood,
we may evermore dwell in him, and he in us. Amen.

The other worthy alternative is the original version of the Prayer of Humble Access found in the 1954 edition of the CSI Liturgy which follows:

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.

Should the CSI version be elected, I would suggest altering 'sinful bodies and souls' to 'souls and bodies'.  This slight alteration would reflect the language of the traditional BCP Eucharistic Prayer which is lost language in the BDW  ...  "souls and bodies" rather than "sinful bodies and souls".  

Any revision is awkward for the tongue when another form is known, but that we may have an excellent version for our children's children that does not merely reflect our tastes and preference for what we know in our personal experience but rather reaches up to the Lord with the best we can muster, I encourage us all to embrace either form of this prayer -- mine or the amended CSI version -- as the version we gift to the Church and the future generations of our children and converts yet to come. 

+Parce mihi, Domine.

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!

Post-Sanctus, 1718 Liturgy of the Non-Jurors

Adapted from the Clementine Liturgy

Immediately after the Sanctus, the Priest shall say, HOLINESS is thy nature and thy gift, O Eternal King; Holy is thine only begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom thou hast made the worlds; Holy is thine Ever-blessed Spirit, who searcheth all things, even the depths of thine infinite perfection. Holy art thou, almighty and merciful God; thou createdst Man in thine own image, broughtest him into Paradise, and didst place him in a state of dignity and pleasure: And when he had lost his happiness by transgressing thy command, thou of thy goodness didst not abandon and despise him. Thy Providence was still continued, thy Law was given to revive the sense of his duty, thy Prophets were commissioned to reclaim and instruct him. And when the fulness of time was come, thou didst send thine only begotten Son to satisfy thy Justice, to strengthen our Nature, and renew thine Image within us: For these glorious ends thine Eternal Word came down from heaven, was incarnate by the Holy Ghost, born of the Blessed Virgin, conversed with mankind, and directed his life and miracles to our salvation: And when his hour was come to offer the Propitiatory Sacrifice upon the Cross; when he, who had no sin himself, mercifully undertook to suffer death for our sins, in the same night that he was betrayed (a) took bread; and when he had given thanks, (b) he brake it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, Take, eat, (c) THIS IS MY BODY, which is given for you, Do this in remembrance of me.	a) Here the Priest is to take the Paten into his hands: (b) And here to break the Bread: (c) And here to lay his hand upon all the Bread.
Here the People shall answer, Amen. Then shall the Priest say, LIKEWISE after Supper, (d) he took the Cup; and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying Drink ye all of this, for (e) THIS IS MY BLOOD of the New Testament, which is shed for you and for many for the remission of sins; Do this, as oft as ye shall drink it, in remembrance of me.	d) Here he is to take the Cup into his hands: (e) And here to lay his hand upon every vessel (be it Chalice or Flagon) in which there is any Wine and Water to be consecrated.
Here the People shall answer, Amen. Then shall the Priest say, WHEREFORE, having in remembrance his Passion, Death, and Resurrection from the dead; his Ascension into heaven, and second coming with glory and great power to judge the quick and the dead, and to render to every man according to his works; we Offer to thee, our King and our God, according to his holy Institution, this Bread and this Cup; giving thanks to thee through him, that thou hast vouchsafed us the honour to stand before thee, and to Sacrifice unto thee. And we beseech thee to look favourably on these thy Gifts, which are here set before thee, O thou self-sufficient God: And do thou Accept them to the honour of thy Christ; and send down thine Holy Spirit, the witness of the passion of our Lord Jesus, upon this Sacrifice, that he may make this (f) Bread the Body of thy Christ, and this (g) Cup the Blood of thy Christ; that they who are partakers thereof, may be confirmed in godliness, may obtain remission of their sins, may be delivered from the Devil and his snares, may be replenished with the Holy Ghost, may be made worthy of thy Christ, and may obtain everlasting life, Thou, O Lord Almighty, being reconciled unto them through the merits and mediation of thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ; who, with Thee and the Holy Ghost, liveth and reigneth ever one God, world without end. Amen.	(f) Here the Priest shall lay his hand upon the Bread. (g) And here upon every vessel (be it Chalice or Flagon) in which there is any Wine and Water.