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.

From the Anglican Patrimony

Introduction to the prayerbook Sursum Corda

t is an undoubted part of every Christian's duty to pray for others ; and, like many another duty, intercession is an ever widening one : it grows with the growth of the Church and her needs : it grows with the growing complexity of human society, as new classes and objects rise up to claim its help : it grows with the advance of human knowledge, as new mysteries of GOD's work and ways are revealed to us : it grows with every acceleration in locomotion, and every advance in intelligence -- in fact almost every step forward in civilisation seems to demand some correlative advance in intercessory prayer.

The duty of intercession is also an every widening element in each indiviudal life : as a man's interests and experiences widen, so must his prayers : at first his horizon is narrow, limited to a small home circle : then he goes out into the larger world, and that too claims his intercessions : and bit by bit, as friends, acquaintances, and interests grow, he must keep pace with all this expansion, not only in the activity of his outer life, but also in all the hidden energy of his life or devotion and supplication.

Again, if he is a man of GOD, there must be a development in his view as to what is a proper subject for intercession : he begins, alas, too often with a narrow view : he does not see how centrifugal and wide-reaching is this power of intercessory prayer : he looks to other things to accomplish his objects, to advance his interests, and to fulfil many of his best projects. But gradually, as he is a man of GOD, he learns otherwise : he finds that he accomplishes more of GOD's purposes and of his own best hopes by a short quiet half-hour of prayer than by days of restless activity : he no longer denies a place in his intercessions to certain parts of his aims and desires on the ground that they are unsuitable subjects for prayer : on the contrary, he insists on finding a place there for them all, for he finds how prayer, far more than anything else, brings him into effective touch with the widest circles of his fellow-men, the largest range of human interests, and with his own best and highest aspirirations, no less than with the eternal purposes of GOD.

From the Introduction to Sursum Corda
W. H. Frere
The Community of the Resurrection, Mirfield
Easter, 1898

"THE HOLY GHOST is in us to make us Christ-like. He is in us to communicate life, as the 'Author and Giver of life.' He is in us to communicate Christ, to enable us to partake of Christ's Body and Blood. He is our never-failing Friend, our never-absent Companion."

The Reverend Arthur Williamson, D.D.

+Laus Deo.

Novena to St. Frances Xavier Cabrini

A special novena to St. Frances Xavier Cabrini

O Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini who found in the Divine Heart of Jesus the secret of sanctity and the strength to carry His message to many nations, look kindly upon me and hear my prayer.

Inspired by Christ's charity you went about helping many in their spiritual and temporal needs; from the glory of Heaven, where your charity is not lessened nor your power weakened, grant my petition and obtain for me the grace I so urgently desire: protection from enemies at home, from civil strife, from famine, civil war and plague, and for mercy for the poor souls [who have died since 9/11] because of violence and war.

From the Sacred Heart of Jesus obtain that His Kingdom may be established in this world, now divided by hatred and dissensions; secure peace among nations, conversion of the sinners, health to the sick, alleviation for the victims of war, deliverance for the souls in Purgatory, salvation for the human race redeemed by Christ Our Saviour. Amen.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be.

An indulgence of 300 days each time the above prayer is recited

July 7, 1946 +URBAN J. VEHER, Archbishop of Denver

An Intercession for the Church

From Wednesday at the Sixth Hour

I believe in one holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church ;
And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Let us pray :

For the Church Catholic.

For the holy Catholic Church from one end of the world to the other, let us beseech the Lord ;

Lord, have mercy.

That she may be established in peace, immovable and unshakable upon the rock of her faith ;

Lord, have mercy.

For particular churches that are persecuted and suffereing ;

Lord, have mercy.

For them that are rich or poor or weak or tempted ;

Lord, have mercy.

For our own church ;

Lord, have mercy.

That she may offer herself a pure sacrifice of prayer and lowly service ;

Lord, have mercy.

That she may be truly catholic in faith and love ;

Lord, have mercy.

That she may use her freedom for the ministry of Truth ;

Lord, have mercy.

That she may be at peace within her borders ;

Lord, have mercy.

For all who love Christ and pray with us, yet are in separation ;

Lord, have mercy.

The Lord be with you ;
And with thy spirit.

Let us pray.

GRACIOUS Father, we humbly beseech thee for thy holy Catholic Church. Fill it with all truth ; in all truth with all peace. Where it is corrupt, purge it ; and where it is in error, direct it ; where it is superstitious, rectify it ; where anything is amiss, reform it ; where it is right, strengthen and confirm it ; where it is in want, furnish it ; where it is divided and rent asunder, make up the breaches of it ; O thou Holy One of Israel. Amen.


Let us pray :

For the Church Apostolic.

That we may continue steadfast in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and in the prayers, we humbly pray :

Lord, hear us.

For our fathers the bishops and rulers of the Christian Church ;

Lord, hear us.

That they may be blameless, vigilant, and holy ;

Lord, hear us.

For the priests and shepherds of Christ's flock ;

Lord, hear us.

That they may burn with the love of souls, and be mighty to convert;

Lord, hear us.

For the deacons and ministers of the household of God ;

Lord, hear us.

For those who have heard and answered the call to Holy Orders ;

Lord, hear us.

That their hearts may be kindled, and their minds enlightened in the days of making ready ;

Lord, hear us.

The Lord be with you ;
And with thy spirit.

Let us pray.

O 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, the Christian people may abide under thy protection, and be guided in the way of truth ; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, ever, world without end. Amen.

Let us pray :

For the Holiness of the Church.

That everywhere and at all times, in the power of faith and the ministry of love, she may show forth Christ, by inward spirit and outward deed;

We beseech thee, O Lord.

For the faithful in every land;

We beseech thee, O Lord.

That they may be strengthened and confirmed in sacrament and prayer, and in every good work ;

We beseech thee, O Lord.

For those pledge to the perfection of Jesus, under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience;

We beseech thee, O Lord.

For all guilds and confraternities devoted to the building up of Christian life;

We beseech thee, O Lord.

The Lord be with you;
And with thy spirit.

Let us pray.

VOUCHSAFE, we beseech thee, O Lord, to strengthen and confirm all thy faithful, and to lift them up more and more continually to heavenly desires ; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.


Let us pray :

For the Unity of the Church.

That the bitter grief of a sundered Church may pass away ;

Lord, hear us.

That the Holy Spirit may bind us in new fellowship to seek peace and ensue it ;

Lord, hear us.

For a new and living faith in the communion of saints ;

Lord, hear us.

That the unity and clear vision of those at rest may help our blindness ;

Lord, hear us.

That our broken fellowship on earth may not mar our share in the perfect fellowship above;

Lord, hear us.

The Lord be with you ;
And with thy spirit.

Let us pray.

O LORD Jesu Christ, who didst say to thine Apostles, Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: Regard not our sins, but the faith of thy Church, and grant her that peace and unity which is agreeable to thy will ; who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Our Father . . .

O GOD of unchangeable power and eternal light, look favourably on thy whole Church, that wonderful and sacred mystery ; and by the tranquil operation of thy perpetual providence carry out the work of man's salvation ; and let the whole world feel and see that things which were cast down are being raised up ; that those which had grown old are being made new ; and that all things are returning to perfection, through him from whom they took their origin, even our Lord Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

E. Milner-White & B.T.D. Smith
Cambridge Offices and Orisons
1921