Litany and Suffrages for Ordinations

From the Ordinal of the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, USA

+

O GOD the Father,
Have mercy upon us.
O God the Son,
Have mercy upon us.
O God the Holy Ghost,
Have mercy upon us.
O holy Trinity, one God,
Have mercy upon us.

+

WE beseech thee to hear us, good Lord; and that it may please thee to grant peace to the whole world, and to thy Church;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.

That it may please thee to sanctify and bless thy holy Church throughout the world;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.

That it may please thee to inspire all Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, with love of thee and of thy truth;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.

That it may please thee to endue all Ministers of thy Church with devotion to thy glory and to the salvation of souls;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.

¶ Here, at the Ordination of Deacons or of Priests shall be said,

That it may please thee to bless these thy servants, now to be admitted to the Order of Priests, and to pour thy grace upon them; that they may duly execute their Office to the edifying of thy Church, and to the glory of thy holy Name;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.

That it may please thee to guide by thy indwelling Spirit those whom thou dost call to the Ministry of thy Church; that they may go forward with courage, and persevere unto the end;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.

That it may please thee to increase the number of the Ministers of thy Church, that the Gospel may be preached to all people;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.

That it may please thee to hasten the fulfilment of thy purpose, that thy Church may be one;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
That it may please thee to grant that we, with all thy saints, may be partakers of thy everlasting kingdom;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.

Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.

OUR Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. Amen.

Minister  Hearken unto our voice, O Lord, when we cry unto thee;
Answer  Have mercy upon us and hear us.

Minister  O Lord, arise, help us;
Answer  And deliver us for thy Name's sake.

Minister  Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness;
Answer  And let thy saints sing with joyfulness.

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

+

Let us pray.

GOD, who dost ever hallow and protect thy Church; Raise up therein, through thy Spirit, good and faithful stewards of the mysteries of Christ, that by their ministry and example thy people may abide in thy favour and be guided in the way of truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the same Spirit ever, one God, world without end. Amen.

+We beseech thee to hear us, O Lord.

The Bishop addresses those to be ordained priests

From the Ordinal in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer (USA)

+

YE have heard, Brethren, as well in your private examination, as in the exhortation which was now made to you, and in the holy Lessons taken out of the Gospel, and the writings of the Apostles, of what dignity, and of how great importance this Office is, whereunto ye are called. And now again we exhort you, in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye have in remembrance, into how high a Dignity, and to how weighty an Office and Charge ye are called: that is to say, to be Messengers, Watchmen, and Stewards of the Lord; to teach, and to premonish, to feed and provide for the Lord's family; to seek for Christ's sheep that are dispersed abroad, and for his children who are in the midst of this naughty world, that they may be saved through Christ for ever.

Have always therefore printed in your remembrance, how great a treasure is committed to your charge. For they are the sheep of Christ, which he bought with his death, and for whom he shed his blood. The Church and Congregation whom you must serve, is his Spouse, and his Body. And if it shall happen that the same Church, or any Member thereof, do take any hurt or hindrance by reason of your negligence, ye know the greatness of the fault, and also the horrible punishment that will ensue. Wherefore consider with yourselves the end of the Ministry towards the children of God, towards the Spouse and Body of Christ; and see that ye never cease your labour, your care and diligence, until ye have done all that lieth in you, according to your bounden duty, to bring all such as are or shall be committed to your charge, unto that agreement in the faith and knowledge of God, and to that ripeness and perfectness of age in Christ, that there be no place left among you, either for error in religion, or for viciousness in life.

Forasmuch then as your Office is both of so great excellency, and of so great difficulty, ye see with how great care and study ye ought to apply yourselves, as well to show yourselves dutiful and thankful unto that Lord, who hath placed you in so high a dignity; as also to beware that neither you yourselves offend, nor be occasion that others offend. Howbeit, ye cannot have a mind and will thereto of yourselves; for that will and ability is given of God alone: therefore ye ought, and have need, to pray earnestly for his Holy Spirit. And seeing that ye cannot by any other means compass the doing of so weighty a work, pertaining to the salvation of man, but with doctrine and exhortation taken out of the Holy Scriptures, and with a life agreeable to the same; consider how studious ye ought to be in reading and learning the Scriptures, and in framing the manners both of yourselves, and of them that specially pertain unto you, according to the rule of the same Scriptures; and for this self-same cause, how ye ought to forsake and set aside, as much as ye may, all worldly cares and studies.

We have good hope that ye have well weighed these things with yourselves, long before this time; and that ye have clearly determined, by God's grace, to give yourselves wholly to this Office, whereunto it hath pleased God to call you: so that, as much as lieth in you, ye will apply yourselves wholly to this one thing, and draw all your cares and studies this way; and that ye will continually pray to God the Father, by the mediation of our only Saviour Jesus Christ, for the heavenly assistance of the Holy Ghost; that, by daily reading and weighing the Scriptures, ye may wax riper and stronger in your Ministry; and that ye may so endeavour yourselves, from time to time, to sanctify the lives of you and yours, and to fashion them after the Rule and Doctrine of Christ, that ye may be wholesome and godly examples and patterns for the people to follow.

+We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.