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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Commontide
Collect
Prayers

Week Starting September 18-24

Proper 20

O Lord, you have taught us that without love, all our deeds are worth nothing: Send your Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of charity, the true bond of peace and of all virtues, without which whoever lives is counted dead before you; grant this for the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

BCP 2019, p. 620

Provenance

Cranmer 1549

Draft — AI-assisted research under editorial review.

Cranmer composed this prayer from scratch for the first English Prayer Book in 1549, weaving together five Pauline and Johannine texts into a single sentence petitioning the Holy Spirit to pour into our hearts the gift of charity, "the bond of peace and of all virtues." It has stood virtually unchanged in Anglican prayer books for nearly five centuries.