II

Prayers

A. Collects of Universality

I. Our God, and God of our fathers! May Thy presence be manifest to us in all Thy works, and may reverence for Thee fill the hearts of all Thy creatures; may all the children of men bow before Thee in humility and unite to do Thy will with perfect hearts, and all acknowledge that Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the majesty, and that Thy name is exalted above all.

Grant hope, O LORD, to them that seek Thee; inspire with courage all who wait for Thee, and be nigh unto all who trust in Thy name; that all men may walk in the light of Thy truth, and recognize that they are children of One Father, that One God has created them all. Then shall the just rejoice and the

righteous be glad; then shall iniquity be no more and all men will render homage to Thee alone as their God and King.

Eternal, our God, may Thy kingdom come speedily, and the worship of Thy name and obedience to Thy law unite all men in the bonds of brotherhood and peace, that every creature may know that Thou hast created it, and every living being exclaim: The Eternal, the God of Israel, ruleth, and His dominion endureth forever. Amen.

II. We most earnestly beseech Thee, O Thou lover of mankind, to be mindful of the one holy Catholic Church, which is spread over the face of the whole earth: be mindful, O LORD, of all Thy people, the flocks of Thy fold.

O King of Peace, give us Thy peace; keep us in love and charity; be our God, for we know none besides Thee; we call upon Thy name; grant unto our souls the life of righteousness, that the death of sin may not prevail against us, or any of Thy people.

Relieve those who are in prisons or in the mines, under accusations or condemnations, in exile or in slavery, or loaded with grievous tribute; deliver them all, for Thou art our

God, who loosest those who are in bonds, and raisest up those who are oppressed; the hope of the hopeless, the helper of the helpless, the lifter up of those who are fallen, the haven of those who are shipwrecked, the avenger of those who are injured. . And, O

LORD, Thou physician of soul and body, heal all our infirmities both of soul and body: O Thou, who art the overseer of all flesh, watch over us and heal us by Thy saving health. .

Bless also, O LORD, and crown the year with the riches of Thy goodness, for the sake of the poor, the widow, the fatherless, and the stranger; for the sake of all of us, who put our trust in Thee, and call upon Thy holy name: for the eyes of all wait upon Thee, O LORD, and Thou givest them their meat in due season.

Give rest to the souls of our fathers and brethren, O LORD our God, in the tabernacles of Thy saints; dispense unto them in Thy Kingdom those good things which Thou hast promised, which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, which Thou hast prepared, O God, for those who love Thy holy name. Give rest to their souls, and vouchsafe them the kingdom of heaven: but grant unto us that

we may finish our lives as well pleasing to Thee, and free from sin, and that we may have our portion and lot with all Thy saints. Amen.

III. We are met, O LORD, in Thy name, to inquire the law from Thy mouth, and seek those things which make for the peace of Jerusalem; and since all our profiting depends upon Thy blessing, fulfil to us, we beseech Thee, Thy gracious promise that where two or three of Thy disciples are gathered together in Thy name, Thou wilt be in the midst of them. Vouchsafe to preside over this assembly by Thy Spirit, the Spirit of truth and peace. Sanctify us in Thy truth. Purify and enlighten our minds, that we may truly understand, and devoutly handle, Thy Holy Word. Suffer us not, O LORD, to deceive any man by the Scriptures, nor let us be ourselves deceived; but grant that, seeking the truth sincerely, we may find it, and having found it, may hold it fast with a steady faith. Oh, that we may all praise Thee, with one mouth and one mind, and that there may be no divisions among us; and help us at the same time to remember that the contention which unites us to God is better than

the peace which separates us from Him. Bring back into the right way any that have erred and been deceived. May the peace of God which passeth understanding keep our hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of the truth; and may the blessing of God Almighty, ... be upon and abide with us henceforth and evermore, world without end. Amen.

IV. O God, who art, and wast, and art to come, before whose face the generations rise and pass away; age after age the living seek Thee, and find that of Thy faithfulness there is no end. Our fathers in their pilgrimage walked by Thy guidance, and rested on Thy compassion: still to their children be Thou the cloud by day, the fire by night. Where but in Thee have we a covert from storm or shadow from the heat of life? In our manifold temptations, Thou alone knowest and art ever nigh: in sorrow, Thy pity revives the fainting soul: in our prosperity and ease, it is Thy Spirit only that can wean us from our pride and keep us low.

O Thou sole source of peace and righteousness; take now the veil from every heart: and join us in one communion with Thy prophets