Commontide

For Guidance

O God, by whom the meek are guided in judgment, and light rises up in darkness for the godly: Grant us, in all our doubts and uncertainties, the grace to ask what you would have us do, that the Spirit of wisdom may save us from all false choices; that in your light we may see light, and in your straight path we may not stumble; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Prayer
Prayers

For the Universal Church

O God of unchangeable power and eternal light: Look favorably on your whole Church, that wonderful and sacred mystery; by the effectual working of your providence, carry out in tranquility the plan of salvation; let the whole world see and know that things which were cast down are being raised up, and things which had grown old are being made new, and that all things are being brought to their perfection by him through whom all things were made, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

Deus, incommutabilis virtus et lumen aeternum, respice propitius ad totius Ecclesiae sacramentum, et opus salutis humanae perpetuae dispositionis effectu tranquillius operare; totusque mundus experiatur et videat deiecta erigi, inveterata renovari et per ipsum Christum redire omnia in integrum, a quo sumpsere principium. Qui vivit et regnat in saecula saeculorum.

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Original-language source · public domain

BCP 2019, p. 646

Found in the Prayer Book

This prayer appears in more than one place in the 2019 Book of Common Prayer.

  • Occasional Prayers
  • Consecration Dedication Place Of Worship · as “The Collect of the Day”Ordination & Institution

Provenance

Roman (Gelasian), ca. 750

Draft — AI-assisted research under editorial review.

One of the oldest prayers in Western Christianity, this oration for the whole Church traces to at least the 8th-century Gelasian Sacramentary and possibly to late 7th-century Roman liturgical use. It has served at Good Friday, Easter Vigil, and ordination rites across both Roman and Anglican traditions.