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

The Fourth Sunday of Epiphany

O God, you know that we are set in the midst of many grave dangers, and because of the frailty of our nature we cannot always stand upright: Grant that your strength and protection may support us in all dangers and carry us through every temptation; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Deus, qui nos in tantis periculis constitutos pro humana scis fragilitate non posse subsistere: da nobis salutem mentis et corporis; ut ea, quae pro peccatis nostris patimur, te adiuvante vincamus.

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Original-language source · public domain

BCP 2019, p. 602

Proper Preface

Preface of the Epiphany

Through Jesus Christ our Lord, who took on our mortal flesh to reveal his glory; that he might bring us out of darkness and into his own glorious light.

Provenance

Gregorian, c.790

Draft — AI-assisted research under editorial review.

One of the oldest prayers in the Anglican prayer book, this collect traces to the Gregorian Sacramentary of early medieval Rome, where it was prayed by Christians who knew what it meant to be "stationed in the midst of great dangers." Cranmer translated it for the first Book of Common Prayer in 1549, and it has been carried in Anglican books ever since.