Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Rite III Additions

Though there is really quite little in Prayer I that is entirely impossible to understand and the poetry in its cadence and sounds are shifted by slight changes in wording, why not a slightly updated version for Rite III:

All glory be to you, Almighty God, our heavenly Father, for you, of your tender mercy, gave your only Son Jesus Christ to suffer death upon the Cross for our redemption; who made there by his one oblation of himself once offered, a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction, for the sins of the whole world; and did institute, and in his Gospel command us to continue, a perpetual memory of his precious death and sacrifice, until his coming again:

For on the night in which he was betrayed, he took bread; and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take, eat: this is my Body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

Likewise, after supper, he took the cup; and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink this, all of you: This is my Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you and for many for the remission of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this for the remembrance of me.”

Wherefore, O Lord and heavenly Father, according to the institution of your dearly beloved Son our Savior Jesus Christ, we, your humble servants, do celebrate and make here before your divine Majesty, with these your holy gifts, which we now offer to you, the memorial your Son has commanded us to make; having in remembrance his blessed passion and precious death, his mighty resurrection and glorious ascension; rendering to you most hearty thanks for the innumerable benefits procured unto us by the same.

And we most humbly beseech you, O merciful Father, to hear us; and of your almighty goodness, vouchsafe to bless and sanctify, with your Word and Holy Spirit, these your gifts and creatures of bread and wine; that we, receiving them according to your Son our Savior Jesus Christ’s holy institution, in remembrance of his death and passion, may be partakers of his most blessed Body and Blood.

And we earnestly desire your fatherly goodness mercifully to accept this our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving; most humbly beseeching you to grant that, by the merits and death of your Son Jesus Christ, and through faith in his blood, we, and all your whole Church, may obtain remission of our sins, and all other benefits of his passion.

And here we offer and present unto you, O Lord, our selves, our souls and bodies, to be a reasonable, holy, and living sacrifice unto you; humbly beseeching you, that we, and all others who shall be partakers of this Holy Communion, may worthily receive the most precious Body and Blood of your Son Jesus Christ, be filled with you grace and heavenly benediction, and made one body with him, that he may dwell in us, and we in him.

And although we are unworthy, through our manifold sins, to offer unto you any sacrifice; yet we beseech you to accept this our bounden duty and service; not weighing our merits, but pardoning our offenses, through Jesus Christ our Lord:

By whom, and with whom, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all honor and glory be to you, O Father Almighty, world without end. Amen.

2 comments:

  1. Isn't it interesting that provision is made for modern-to-tradtional: "In any of the Proper Liturgies for Rite One service, the contemporary idiom may be conformed to traditional language." (BCP, p 14) but the reverse is not provided for by rubric (as far as I know) -- so you have to take the Rite III short-cut to get the Rite I prayer into modern English. It does sound good, though, doesn't it? Even in the "modern idiom".

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  2. Fr John-Julian,

    It is interesting, and perhaps, worthy of changing? I'm going to check in with folks about proposing such a change. I would suggest that by not allowing for Rite I to be used in Rite II language, hints at obsolescence. But the prayer still speaks as you note: It is a beautiful prayer expressing the heart of Anglican Christology-- God Saves. This is cruciform prayer expressing a compassionate and merciful Christ by whom we are upheld always. It takes the propitiatory language of Sarum and wholly reworks that language to participation in God's own life as sheer gift and not something for which we must plead.

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