Hymns

Prayer

To find beginning of each hour’s hymns use ‘find’ with the hour in the box, i.e. Matins, Lauds, Prime, Terse, Sext, None, Vespers, Compline. Alternately the Hymns are divided per each day of the week, which see. Use find for SUNDAY through SATURDAY. At the end see prayers for Matins through Compline.

ON AWAKENING

Hymn to Christ the light and life

Christ come among men
as source of light,
your ineffable birth
is before the beginning of time. You are the radiant light shining with the Father. You irradiate lustreless matter
and illumine the souls of the faithful.

You have created the world
and fixed the orbit of the stars;
you sustain the axis of the earth, you save all mankind.
You guide the sun in its course
to light up all our days
and the crescent moon
which dispels the darkness of night. You make the seed to sprout preparing food for the flocks.
From your inexhaustible fount
you pour out the splendour of life making fruitful the whole universe. . .

Synesius ofCyrene

Morning hymn

A festive chirruping announces the day, singing in the light of dawn.
Christ spurs on the soul,
inviting us to a rebirth, this day.

Arise from your beds, he urges,
where a feeble languor makes you inert. Be watchful, chaste, good, and sober;
for I am close to you. .

Let us invoke Jesus, aloud, sorrowing, praying, repentant; an ardent invocation
keeps a pure heart on the alert.

O Christ, drive away sleep, break the chains of night, make good the ancient fault, bring to us new light.

Glory be to God the Father,
and to his only Son,
together with the Spirit, the consoler,
now and for ever.

Prudentius

Prayers on awakening

To the eternal creator of the world

Eternal maker of the world, who rules over night and day dividing up our daily round to ease the body’s weariness.

O night light for wayfarers
Which distinguishes night from night, the dawn bird now sings aloud calling up the light of the sun.

Holy day star unveiled by him, drives darkness from the face of heaven and malefactors in their troops abandon now their brigandage.

Sailors gain strength as he appears, and the sea’s waves grow calm again; hearing him, the Rock of the Church Christ Jesus our only Lord and Saviour, [Peter] weeping, mourns his sin.

Let us arise then speedily.
The cock awakens those who sleep and rouses up the drowsy ones; the perjurors are accused by him.

At cock crow hope is born again, and health returns to those who ail; the brigand hides his dagger now, and faith revives in apostate soul.

Jesus, look on those who waver; and, looking, help us to be firm; under your care shame fades away and tears wipe out the stain of sin.

O light, shine now within our souls and torpor fly from every mind; and at the dawn our voices rise
in songs of prayer and praise to you.

AMBROSE AND AUGUSTINE

Prayer to Christ the Creator

Sun of Justice, blessed ray,
the first source of light;
O ardently Desired, above all else; powerful, inscrutable, ineffable;
joy of the good, vision of fulfilled hope,
praised and heavenly, Christ the Creator;
king of glory, assurance of life,
fill the void of my miserable voice
with your almighty word;
and offer it as a supplication
pleasing to your Father Most High,
for you have come into the world in likeness to me, subjecting yourself to human suffering,
the heritage of the curse.
O blessing of life, watchful providence
for all, both small and great!
If you accepted to die for me,
you, God and Lord of all,
how much more,
for the sake of the body you assumed, of your nature, will you pardon the weakness that leads me into danger, interceding for me, a sinner,
with the Father whose glory you share.

Gregory of Narek

Baptism

Baptismal liturgy

SUNDAY VESPERS HYMNS

I beg you, Son of the living God; you have worked so many miracles; you changed water into wine at Cana to enlighten Israel;
you healed the eyes of the blind,
you restored hearing to deaf ears
and movement to paralysed limbs,
you corrected the stammering tongue,
freed the possessed,
made the lame run like the deer,
raised up the dead,
and taking him by the hand you made Peter walk upon the water, safe from sinking.

You have left us this saying:
“Ask and you will receive,
knock and it will be opened to you.
All that you ask of the Father, in my name,
I too will ask of my Father, that you may have it”.
I ask that I may receive, seek that I may find,
knock that it may be opened to me.
I ask in your name that you will ask your Father and.
he will hear me.
I am ready to pour out my blood,
as a victim, for your name’s sake,
to bear any torment.
You, Lord, are the one who hears and protects me; defend me from the enemy.
May the angel of light protect me,
for you have said, “What you ask of me
with faith in prayer, I will grant” . . .may your Holy Spirit work in me; your will be accomplished in me, that I may be wholly yours all the days of my life.

Eucharist

The first Christian prayer

Father;
May your name be glorified;
Your kingdom come;
Give us day by day,
The bread by which we live;
Forgive us our sins;
As we forgive those who have sinned against us;
And do not allow us to be overcome by temptation.

Luke 11, 2-4

Acts of Peter

Offertory prayer

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all, now and for ever and through the ages! Amen.
Lift up your hearts!
To you, God of Abraham, of Isaac, of Israel, O King of glory! The offering is made to God, the Lord of all things.
- It is right and praiseworthy so to do.
it is right that every tongue should glorify, every voice attest, every creature venerate and celebrate the adorable and glorious name of the most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who created the world in their loving kindness and out of their goodness saved men and granted to mortals eternal benefits. ‘
Thousands upon thousands of heavenly spirits bless and adore you, myriads and myriads of angels, their spirits on fire, sing to your name. With the cherubim and seraphim, they glorify and adore your grandeur saying to each other as they proclaim unceasingly: Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts; heaven and earth are filled with his wonderful presence, with the splendour of his greatness.
Hosanna in the highest, hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes and who will come with heavenly power in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
We affirm your presence, Lord, we, your servants, to whom you have made an immense gift which we cannot possibly repay.
You clothed yourself with our humanity, you came down from heaven with your divinity, you have raised up our littleness, lifted us from our prostration, raised to new life our mortal flesh, pardoned our sins, condoned our debt; you have brought light to our minds, vanquished our enemies, given honour to our poverty. Lord, our God may our song meetly give glory, acknowledgement and adoration to your superabundant grace, now and for ever and through all ages. Amen.

Chaldean liturgy

Prayer to the Divine Master

Be propitious, O Father, Master, to your disciples;
O Father, Guide of Israel, Father and Son who are one: Lord. Grant to those who obey your precepts, to be modelled in your image, and to enjoy, after they have been proved, the goodness of God and not the severity of his judgement.
Grant that we may all live in your peace,
that we may walk in the ways that lead to your city,
resolutely passing over the waters of sin,
sure of the guidance of the Holy Spirit,
your ineffable wisdom.
Grant that day and night, till our last hour,
we may pray in thanksgiving and give thanks in prayer
to the one Father and Son, the Son and the Father;
the Son, the leader and master,
together with the Holy Spirit.
All belongs to the One, in whom is all.
Through him all is one; eternity is his.
We are all his members; all ages are his glory.
To Goodness, to Beauty, to .Wisdom,
To the Just One, all. To him be glory,
now and for all ages.
Amen.

Clement ofAlexandria

Prayer over the people

The hand of the only Son, alive and uncontaminated, the hand which cures all our ills,
which sanctifies and protects, is stretched out over the bowed heads of these people. May the light of the Spirit,
the blessing of heaven, .
the invocation of prophets and apostles
descend upon them.
May it keep their bodies pure in chastity,
their minds intent on study and the knowledge of the mystery. All in union, may they be blessed Father almighty,
through your only Son, Jesus Christ;
through him your glory and omnipotence is known
in the Holy Spirit,
now and for all ages.
Amen.

Serapion of Thmuis

Thanksgiving to Jesus

Lord Jesus, I give you thanks,
not only with the lips and heart,
which often comes to little, but with the spirit, with which I speak to you, question you,
love you, and recognise you.
You are my all, and everything is in you.
In you we live, and move, and have our being.

You are our father of believers, our brother, our all;
and to those who love you, you have promised such things as no one has ever seen or thought of,
no one ever enjoyed.

Make the gift of these things to your humble faithful; you who are God, true and good,
and there is no other besides you.

You are the true God, the true Son of God, to whom be honour and glory and majesty in eternity and for all ages to come.

Gallican Formularies

Prayer to Christ

Jesus, immaculate Lamb,
you are both father and lamb
my brother and my friend; . . .
You are he who is all, and that all is in me;
You are he who is, and nothing exists apart from you.
Take refuge in him, you too, my brothers who will yet believe from the heart;
and when you have understood that only in him will you have life, then you will receive that joy that was promised:
“That which eye has not seen
nor ear heard,
nor has it entered into the heart of man to imagine”.

Grant to us, then, what has been promised.

We praise you, we thank you, we bear witness to you; we, weak mortals, give you glory,
you who alone are God in the flesh, for there is no other, living, reigning, ruling with God our Father in the unity and power of the Holy Spirit our Paraclete,
Glory to you, unceasingly, now and always and unto the endless ages of ages to come.
Amen.

Nativity Matins

Prayer for the Nativity

Jesus Christ, radiant centre of glory,
image of our God, the invisible Father,
revealer of his eternal designs,
prince of peace;
father of the world to come. . .
For our sake he took the likeness of a slave,
becoming flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary,
without intervention of man;
for our sake, wrapped in swaddling bands
and laid in a manger
adored by the shepherds
and hymned by the angelic powers, who sang:
Glory to God in the heavens
and on earth peace and good to men.
Make us worthy, Lord, to celebrate and to conclude in peace the feast which magnifies the rising of your light,
by avoiding empty words, working with justice, fleeing from the passions and raising up the spirit above earthly goods.
Bless your Church, formed long ago
to be united with yourself through your life giving blood.
Come to the aid of your faithful shepherds,
of the priests and the teachers of your Gospel.
Bless your faithful whose only hope is in your mercy; Christian souls, the sick, those who are tormented in spirit and those who have asked us to pray for them.
Have pity, in your infinite clemency, and preserve us in fitness to receive the future, endless good things.
We celebrate your glorious nativity
with the Father who sent you for our redemption,
with the life-giving Spirit,
now and for ever and through all ages. Amen.

Syriac liturgy

Hymn for the Nativity

Sons of men, do you truly speak of justice? Dwellers on the earth,
do you truly judge with fairness?
We confess with unshakable faith
that God, who was made man
and who was given birth by a Virgin.
Before all time [and creation] he was begotten [engendered].
of the infinite Father;
now we adore him who became incarnate
in a Virgin’s womb.
He is the creator of all,
himself remaining invisible and distinct from creation.
So we are able to say:
in you, Lord, is clemency; glory be to you.
O Holy God,
you have deigned to be born, a tiny child, from a Virgin.
O God, holy and strong,
you have willed to rest in the arms of Mary.
O God, holy and immortal,
you have come to rescue Adam from hell.
O immaculate Virgin, Mother of God, full of grace,
Emmanuel, whom you have carried,
is the fruit of your womb.
In your maternal bosom you have nourished all men.
You are above all praise and all glory.
Hail, Mother of God, joy of the angels.
The fullness of your grace
goes beyond what the prophets foretold.
The Lord is with you,
you have given birth
to the Saviour of the world.

Fragment from an ancient eucharistic liturgy

Christmas prayer

We praise you, Lord Jesus Christ,
God-Saviour of men,
stupendously powerful with the Father;
we praise you, we invoke you, we pray to you; assist us with your pardon, with clemency give us your grace.

Awaken in our hearts desires deserving of fulfillment; suggest to us words that are worthy to be heard; grant that our actions may be worthy of blessing.

We beg you to renew your birth in human nature, penetrating us with your invisible Godhead
as you did in a unique way in Mary
and do now spiritually in the Church.

May you be conceived by our faith,
that a mind untouched by corruption may bring you forth, that the soul, ever confirmed by the power of the Most High, may offer you a dwelling place.

Be not born in us, but reveal yourself in us. Be truly for us the Emmanuel, God with us.

Deign to remain with us, to fight for us. Only so can we conquer.

Mozarabic liturgy

Prayers in Eucharistia Lauds

To Christ the first-born

MONDAY VESPERS HYMNS

Christ Jesus our only Lord and Saviour
the stars that shine and the powers in motion
all vanish in the splendour of your light
and remain still before the power of your greatness.
You alone are visible,
you reveal the image of the Father almighty,
and thus you manifest the sublimity of the Father and the Son. As the Father is almighty in the heavenly sphere,
so are you, the Son, in our universe
the first-born, the guide and Lord of all power;
you, from the beginning, are the second grandeur
that comes from that of the Father;
you are the foundation of all the world.
You are our archetype,
the mind which ordains and the one who steers;
you are the way and the door that opens into light.
You are the image of justice;
you are ever our shining star.
To you we render thanks, praise and blessing.
Before you we bend the knee
and we ask, with trust, that we be made holy.
Grant that we may be ever strong in faith,
sound in mind and body
to sing for ever and without ceasing your praises,
that you, the Immortal, ,the Infinite, the Eternal
may be celebrated in every place.
You are the model and essence of the Spirit,
you are our blessed Father,
our king and our God.
With eyes fixed on you, we shall not die, O Lord;
if we confess your name we shall not be lost.

Anonymous hymn

Preface for Epiphany

On the banks of the Jordan
[Father] your voice resounded in the roll of thunder coming from heaven making manifest the Saviour,
showing yourself as Father of eternal light.
You have rent the heavens,
blessed the air,
purified the water,
made manifest your only Son
through the Holy Spirit
appearing in the form of a dove.
Today the fountains, having received your blessing,
cast off the ancient curse;
and so, the faithful, purified from their sins,
are presented to God, for eternal life,
as sons by adoption.
In fact those who through birth in the flesh
were destined for the life of time,
those whom death had seized through the complicity of sin are welcomed into eternal life
and brought back to the glory of heaven.

Ambrosian liturgy

Lauds

A plea for pardon

Jesus, come, make yourself a servant for me.
Pour the water into the basin; come, wash my feet. I know that what I ask is temerarious, but I fear your
words:
“If I do not wash your feet, you can have no part with me”.
Wash, then, my feet, that I may have a part with you. But what do I say, wash my feet?
Peter could say this
for he needed only his feet to be washed
for he was all adamant.
But I, once bathed,
have need of that baptism
of which the Lord said:
“As for me, there is another baptism with which I must be baptised” .

Origen

Canticle for the resurrection of Lazarus ¬

Lord of the heavens, merciful father of the humble, who by a single word restored Lazarus to life,
grant to those who have gone before us
the grace to contemplate the light of your countenance.

Give us the grace to live in peace in our time, to accept the death you have prepared for us, to be guided, both in life
and in death, by your will.

Give but a sign, a word,
O Lord, and already we are saved.

You will not abandon those who love you
but keep them in life, and call them to yourself who are risen. You are the resurrection and the life.

Romanos the Melodious

Lenten hymn

Remain, O Christ, in the hearts you have redeemed.
You who are perfect love,
pour into our words
sincere repentance.

We raise our prayer to you,
O Jesus, with faith;
pardon the sin we have committed.

By the Holy sign of the Cross,
by your tortured body,
defend us constantly as your sons.

The Venerable Bede

Prime

Easter Hymn

It is the Pasch; the Pasch of the Lord. . .
O you, who are truly all in all! . . .
The joy, the honour, the food and the delight of every creature; .
through you the shadows of death have fled away,
and life is given to all,
the gates of heaven are flung open.
God becomes man
and man is raised up to the likeness of God.

O divine Pasch! . . .
O Pasch, light of new splendour . . .
The lamps of our souls will no more burn out. The flame of grace,
divine and spiritual,
burns in the body and soul,
nourished by the resurrection of Christ.

We beg you, O Christ, Lord God,
eternal king of the spiritual world, stretch out your protecting hands
over your holy Church
and over your holy people;
defend them, keep them, preserve them. . .

Raise up your standard over us
and grant that we may sing with Moses
the song of victory, .
for yours is the glory and the power for all eternity! Amen. .

Hippolytus ofRome

Canticle for the Easter vigil

Today we have contemplated upon the altar
our Lord Jesus Christ. . . Today we have heard his voice, powerful yet gentle, admonishing us:

This is the Body which burns up the thorns of sin and gives light to the souls of men. . .
This is the Body in whose presence
the daughter of the Canaanite was cured.
This is the Body, which, approached
in full confidence by the sinful woman,
set her free from the mire of sin.
This is the Body Thomas touched
and recognising, cried out:
my Lord and my God.
This is the Body, great and most high,
Which is the principle of our salvation.

One day he who is the Word
and our Life determined
that his blood should be poured out for us and offered for the forgiveness of our sins.

We have drunk of the blood
by which we have been redeemed, restored, instructed, given light.

Who is entitled to celebrate the mystery of grace? we have been found worthy to share in this gift. Let us keep it to the end that we may hear
from his holy and blessed voice:
“Come, O blessed, to my Father,
Receive the inheritance of the kingdom prepared for you”.

Then those who crucified the Lord will fear; those who have not believed in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit will be ashamed;
those who have denied and not borne witness to the most Holy Trinity, one God, will be lost.

As for us, beloved,
we celebrate the wonder of the baptism of Jesus, his holy and life-giving resurrection,
through which salvation has come to the world. We await the happy fulfilment of redemption
in the grace and love
of our Lord Jesus Christ,
to whom is due all glory, honour and adoration.

Fragment from an ancient Eucharistic liturgy

Easter hymn

We glorify you, O Christ, singing: glory to the Lord! He was born of the Holy Spirit in order to give us life. He deigned to dwell among us.
To him we render our veneration,
crying out together: glory to the Lord!

Behold: the Virgin has given birth to Emmanuel. He has come down from heaven,
has saved from Egypt a people that was lost. Let us exalt him, crying: glory to the Lord!

He has willed to overcome our enemy;
has made his dwelling in the Virgin Mary: the invisible has become visible in flesh.
Let us adore him, crying out: glory to the Lord!

Born of a woman ever virgin,
the Word of truth rose again for us. Let us celebrate the Lord, intoning: glory to the Lord!

Light from light, Christ our king
is risen for us.
He has saved us from theland ofEgypt; all together let us sing: glory to the Lord!

Fragment from an ancient Eucharistic liturgy

Paschal doxology

O Pasch, great and holy mystery that purifies the universe, I would speak to you Immortal Soul.
O Word of God, light and life, wisdom and power!
I greet you with your many names.
Illustrious shoot, breath and image of the Spirit!
O Word of God, visible being in whom all is assumed
and all governed by your power!
Deign to listen to my words: .
they are not the beginning
but certainly the fulfillment of my offering.
Grant that they may be both thanksgiving and supplication.
Grant that I may bear only the trials of the spirit
that bring the reward assigned to our life.
Lighten the weight of the body;
You know, O Lord, how heavily it weighs.
Mitigate the severity of your judgment,
when we come to be winnowed by you. ¬
But if our desires will be realised
grant that we may set out on our way and find welcome
in the heavenly mansions.
We will go on offering to you an acceptable sacrifice,
on your altar, Father, Word and Holy Spirit.
To you be the glory, the honour and the power through all ages. Amen.

Gregory Nazianzen

Easter hymn

Night clearer than the day!
O night more luminous than the sun! O night whiter than the snow! giving more light than our torches, sweeter than Paradise!
O night that knows no darkness;
driving away our sleep,
you make us keep watch with the angels.
O night, the terror of the demons,
paschal night, awaited for a year!
The Church’s wedding night
which gives life to the newly baptised
and renders harmless the torpidity of the demon. Night in which the Heir
brings the heirs into eternity.

Asterius of Amasea

Preface for Easter

It is necessary, and for our well-being, to give you thanks God, Holy and Almighty,
to celebrate your praise with devotion, Father of glory, creator and author of the universe,
through your Son, Jesus Christ.
He, being God, full of majesty, humbled himself
to the point of accepting the punishment of the cross
for the salvation of men.
In the depth of ages
Abraham prefigured this in his son;
the people of Moses with the paschal lamb they immolated.
He it is of whom
announcement was made by the voice of the prophets:
he would take upon himself the sins of all men,
cancel out the whole of our misdeeds.
This is the great Pasch
which the blood of Christ has covered with glory,
making the Christian people exult with joyous devotion!
O mystery of grace!
Inexpressible mystery of divine munificence!
O festival most venerated among all festivals,
in which he abandoned himself to men
even unto death, to save mere slaves!
O blessed death, which has broken the chains of death!
Now the prince of hell is vanquished,
and we, saved from the abyss of guilt,
exult in joy and take with Christ once more
the road to heaven.

Ambrosian liturgy

Terse

Prayer for help

TUESDAY VESPERS HYMNS

Have pity, O Christ,
on those who believe in you. You are the God of glory for all ages.

Hasten to the aid of those who suffer, make speed to comfort those in trouble.

Father of believers, life of the living,
God who is over all, for there is no one above you.

Creator of all things, universal judge, Lord over princes, God of the world.

Sublime majesty of the heavenly Jerusalem, king, glory, and triumph of the kingdom.

God of eternal light, inexpressible,
highest, most loveable, beyond compare.

Great and clement God, wise and omniscient, mover of all things, ancient and new.

Pope Pelagius I

Prayer for salvation

My Saviour, grant that the arduous task of my salvation may be brought to a happy conclusion. May neither the lashing rains,
nor the impetus of torrents racing down from the
mountains,
nor the violent storm be able to shake my house.

With your victorious hand, assist me, Lord!
Be my help, preserve my life,
that I may praise you, the giver and Lord of all that is most precious and the salvation of men.

Without you, Almighty, no work would exist, no project, no idea, no proposal, no security, nor any of those things that
would serve to attain the final end.

You have created and given me, both soul and body; you have raised me up when I had fallen,
and have shown me the way to heaven.

And you will bring me in, without merit of mine, to your house to live with you in eternity
and to sing a hymn to your glory
along with all the blessed.

Maximus

Prayer for the Catholic Church

We beg you, good Jesus, our Lord,
by the intercession of the glorious Virgin Mary your Mother, and of all angels and saints,
to increase the faith of your catholic Church, to grant us peace and forgive our sins.

Grant health to the sick,
a good journey and happy arrival
to those who travel by land or sea or air,
serenity to those who suffer,
liberty to the oppressed;
to slaves, to the vanquished, to pilgrims, liberty, clemency and return to their homeland.

Send your holy angel on sentry
over those who place obstacles to fraternal charity;
in your kindness grant true faith to those who believe not, and eternal repose to those of our brothers
who have died in the faith.

Alcuin’s Liturgical Collection

FOR THE SUNDAY OF PENTECOST

The Work of His Hands. Alleluia.

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaimeth the work of His hands.
By the Word of the Lord were the heavens established.
And all the might of them by the Spirit of His mouth.
For he hath looked out from His holy height. The Lord looked down from heaven, He beheld all the sons of men.
Fire shall go before Him.
And round about Him shall there be a mighty tempest.
Coals were kindled therefrom.
And he bowed the heavens and came down.
from the Far-shining radiance that was before Him there passed by clouds.
The wings of a dove covered with silver.
And her pinions of sparkling gold.
Out of Sion is the magnificence of His comeliness.
When He that is in the heavens ordaineth kings over her.
They shall be made snow-white in Selmon.
All the ends of the earth shall remember and shall turn unto the Lord.
And all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before Him.
For the kingdom is the Lord’s, and He Himself is sovereign of the nations.
The law of the Lord is blameless, converting souls.
The testimony of the Lord is trustworthy, bringing wisdom to infants.
The statutes of the Lord are upright, gladdening the heart.
The commandment of the Lord is far-shining, enlightening the eyes.
The earth was shaken and the heavens dropped dew, at the presence of
The God of Sinai, at the presence of the God of Israel.
A rain freely given shalt Thou ordain, O God, for Thine inheritance; yea it became weak.
But Thou shalt restore it.
In the stead of thy fathers, sons are born to thee.
Thou shalt make them princes over all the earth.
Their sound hath gone forth into all the earth.
And their words unto the ends of the world.
Thou wilt send forth Thy Spirit, and they shall be created.
And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.
Thy good Spirit shall lead me in the land of uprightness.
Create in me a clean heart, O God.
And renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from Thy presence, and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation.
And with Thy governing Spirit establish me. The Lord shall give speech with great power to them that bring good tidings.
The Lord will give strength unto His people.
The Lord will bless His people with peace.
Glory; both now. Alleluia.

Sext

WEDNESDAY VESPERS HYMNS

Prayer to the suffering Christ

I fall in adoration at your feet, Lord! I thank you, God of goodness;
God of holiness, I invoke you,
on my knees, in your sight. . .
For me, an unworthy sinner,
you have willed to undergo the death of the cross, setting me free from the bonds of evil.
What shall I offer you in return for your generosity?
Glory to you, friend of men!
Glory to you, most merciful!
Glory to you, most patient!
Glory to you who forgive sin!
Glory to you who have come to save us!
Glory to you who have been made man in the womb of a Virgin!
Glory to you who have been bound!
Glory to you who have been scourged!
Glory to you who have been derided!
Glory to you who have been nailed to the cross!
Glory to you, laid in the sepulchre, but risen again!
Glory to you who have preached the Gospel to men and have been believed!
Glory to you who have ascended to heaven!
Glory to you, seated at the right hand of the Father
and who will return with him, in majesty, among the angels, to judge those who have disregarded your passion!
The powers of heaven will be shaken;
all the angels and archangels, the cherubim and seraphim will appear in fear and trembling before your glory;
the foundations of the earth will quake
and all that has life will cry out before your majesty.

In that hour let your hand draw me beneath your wings, and save me from the terrible fire, from the gnashing of teeth, from the outer darkness and from despair without end. That I may sing to your glory:
glory to him who through his merciful goodness
has designed to redeem the sinner.

Ephrem Syrus

In praise of the Cross

O Cross, ineffable love of God and glory of heaven!
O Cross; eternal salvation;
O Cross, terror of the reprobate.
O Cross, support of the just, light of Christians,
for you, God became a slave in the flesh, here on earth; by your means, man in God is crowned king in heaven;
from you streams the true light, victorious over accursed night. You gave believers power to make
the pantheon of the nations quake;
you are the soul of peace
that unites men in Christ the mediator;
you are the ladder for man to climb to heaven.
Be always for us, your faithful, both pillar and anchor;
watch over our homes, set the course of our ship.
In the Cross may our faith remain strong,
and there be our crown prepared.

Paulinus of Nola

Hymn to the Cross

The regal banners now advance, now shines the mystery of the cross on which the Creator of mankind made man, was raised on high to die.

With arms fast bound and nailed hands the cross-piece fixed, we now behold the sign of our redemption there where Clemency the victim makes.

His side, sore wounded by the point, transpiercing, of the cruel lance,
to cleanse the world from sinful stain pours blood and water from the wound.

Now is the prophecy fulfilled
of David speaking with such truth when to the nations he foretold that God would reign upon a tree.

O shining and majestic tree adorned with regal mantle now, most noble trunk, chosen to bear limbs of such great sanctity.

O blessed tree, that with your arms support the Saviour of the world a balance for that flesh divine that snatched away the prey of hell.

From your bark a perfume breathes in sweetness surpassing nectar far, proudly you bear the fertile fruit while shouts acclaim his triumph now.

From the glory of the Passion praise to the altar and Victim blest in passion, undergoing death, with death, restoring life again.

Hail cross, our one and only hope, in this our time of mourning, grant that all the faithful grow in grace and sinners have their guilt forgiven.

O Trinity, the source of life,
all spirits sing their praise to you.
To those time-bound give comfort still, who by the cross have been redeemed.

Venantius Fortunatus

Prayer to obtain forgiveness

Pardon, Lord; pardon your people
whom you have redeemed with your blood, O Christ; may your anger not weigh upon us.

We pray you for your infinite clemency; turn away your wrath from this city and turn from this holy house.

We have sinned against you
and you have been angry with us
and no one can flee from your punishments.

We have sinned against you, O Lord, we have sinned.
Be merciful to us, set us free from ills which every day fall upon us.

Pardon, O Lord, the sins of your people, according to your infinite generosity.

You once showed kindness to our fathers: be merciful to us and your glory
will shine out in our lives.

Pardon, O Lord, those who have sinned; give your grace to those who repent; have pity on us who pray to you,
O Christ, Saviour of the world.

Jesus, look upon us and have pity. Amen.

Hibernian-Celtic hymnody

Ode to Christ the Saviour

Christ Incarnate makes me worthy of God, Christ humbled for me, raises me high, Christ, the giver of life,
suffering in human nature,
makes me impassive.
And so, I sing a hymn of thanksgiving,
to him who is glorified.

Christ crucified raises me high,
Christ who is slain makes me rise again with him;
Christ gives me life.
And so, clapping my hands with joy,
I sing to the Saviour a hymn of victory,
to him who is glorified.

Cosmas of Maiuma

Ode to Christ crucified

By the tree of the cross
you have healed the bitterness of the tree, and have opened Paradise to men.
Glory be to you, Lord!
Now we are no longer prevented.
from coming to the tree of life;
we have hope in your cross.
Glory be to you, Lord!
O Immortal One, nailed to the wood,
you have triumphed over the snares of the devil. Glory be to you, Lord!.

You, who for my sake have submitted
to being placed on the cross,
accept my vigilant celebration of praise,
O Christ, God, Friend of men.
Lord of the heavenly armies,.
who knows my carelessness of soul,
save me by your cross,
O Christ, God, Friend of men.
Brighter than fire, more luminous than flame,
have you shown the wood of your cross, O Christ.
Burn away the sins of the sick and enlighten the hearts of those who, with hymns, celebrate
your voluntary crucifixion.
Christ, God, glory to you!
Christ, God,
who for us accepted a sorrowful crucifixion,
accept all who sing hymns to your passion,
and save us.

Byzantine liturgy

Plea for protection

With the seal of the cross,
impressed with your blood,
with which we have been baptized
to make us ready for adoption,
you have modelled us into the image of your glory:
By all these divine gifts:
satan be put to confusion, his plots overturned,
his snares evaded, the enemy vanquished,
his sharp weapons repelled,
light shine through the gloom,
darkness be dispelled,
mists fade away.
Would that your arms might receive us
into your protection,
your right hand press its seal upon us.
You are indeed full of love and clemency
and your name is invoked over your faithful.
To you, together with the Father
through the Holy Spirit,
be glory and majesty through all ages. Amen.

Gregory of Narek

Communion chant

You, who once spoke to Moses
on mount Sinai,
have received from an immaculate Virgin flesh that is free from all sin.

You who once pastured Israel, now feed on the milk of a Mother who has not known man.
A marvellous happening!

You who once punished kings now save yourself from a king by flight intoEgypt.

You, seated in majesty [on a high throne] were laid in a manger
retaining all your dignity.

And now, full of faith,
we praise the Mother and sing to the Son.

He who in heaven is God and has no mother,
has descended to earth and lived as though motherless.

To you be the glory!

Fragment from an ancient Eucharistic liturgy

Communion chant

Let us invoke Christ.
The sacred Body of Christ! The lamb of God,
the sacred Body of him who died for our salvation!

The sacred Body of him
who revealed the mystery of grace of the new covenant
to his disciples.

The sacred Body which washed with water
the feet of the apostles, and with the Spirit washed their souls.

The sacred Body which pardoned the penitent woman; the sacred Body whose blood makes us clean.

The sacred body which
received the kiss of betrayal; the sacred Body which loved the world so much
as to accept even death on a cross.

We bless and glorify your name.

Fragment from an ancient Eucharistic liturgy

Communion chant

He has given them a heavenly bread
and man has eaten the bread of angels.
He has given them a heavenly bread
we have received a bread of blessing:
the Body of Christ and his precious Blood.
The Lord. . . then took the bread,
and a saving drink, the chalice of life.
We have received the holy bread.
Let us bless the Lord who has done great things on all the earth. All the people, praise the Lord,
exult with joy in the Lord, O you just:
you have received the Body and Blood of Christ.
We give you thanks, O Christ, our God,
because you have deigned to share with us
your Body and your Blood, O Saviour;
you have drawn to yourself our hearts. . .

Fragment from an ancient Eucharistic liturgy

Communion chant

Your sacrament, Lord Jesus Christ,
gives life
and the remission of sins;
you have suffered the passion for our sake.

For us you have drunk gall to take from us all bitterness;

you have drunk a bitter wine for us to lift us from our weariness;

you have been despised for us,
that the dew of immortality might be poured upon us;

you have been beaten with scourges to ensure to our frailty eternal life;

you have been crowned with thorns that your faithful might be crowned with the evergreen laurels of love;

you have been wrapped in a winding sheet that we might be clothed in your strength;

you were laid in the tomb
that in a new age loving kindness might again be granted to us.

Fragment from an ancient eucharistic liturgy

None

Hymn for Ascension Day

THURSDAY VESPERS HYMNS

on this day the new bread of the spirit has gone up to heaven.
The mysteries were revealed in your Body which has gone up as an offering.
Blessed be your bread, O Lord!

The Lamb has come to us from the house of David;
the priest, from the stock of Abraham,
has become for our sakes the Lamb of God,
the new minister of sacrifice.

His body is the victim, his blood is our drink. . Blessed be the new sacrifice!

He has descended from heaven like the light; is born of Mary as a divine shoot;
as a fruit he has fallen from the cross;
and is offered up to heaven as the first fruits. Blessed be his will!

You are the offering of heaven and of earth, immolated and at the same time adored.
You came to be a victim,
you ascended as a singular offering,
you ascended, Lord,
bearing with you the offering of your sacrifice.

Ephrem Syrus

Prayer before martyrdom

Lord, God almighty, Jesus Christ, who came to call not the just but sinners to repentance, in fulfilment of your promise you have graciously said: In the moment that the sinner repents of his fault, I forget his sin.

Accept my repentance in this hour of pain, and by means of this fire prepared for my body, set me free from the eternal fire that would burn both soul and body.

I thank you, Lord Jesus Christ, for having accepted me as a holocaust to your name. I thank you for having offered yourself on the cross as a victim for the whole world; you, the just for the unjust; the good for the evil; you, the innocent, a victim for sinners.

I offer my sacrifice to you, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit, live and reign, God, for ever and ever. Amen!

Afra ofAugusta

Invocations before martyrdom

Let no creature, visible or invisible, attract me, so that I may belong to Jesus Christ alone.
Fire and the cross; herds of wild beasts; torn, stretched, rent, lacerated limbs; dislocated bones; crushed body; and all the tremendous torments of the devil let them all come upon me if only I can rest in Jesus Christ.
All the kingdoms of this world and the joy of them are nothing to me. I prefer to die in Christ than to reign from one end of the earth to the other.
I seek him who died for us; I long for him who rose again for our sakes.
Be good to me, my brothers; do not impede my birth into life, do not kill me [by preventing me from dying for Christ], do not give to the world one who desires to belong only to God. Allow me to turn to that pure light: when I arrive there [in the arena] I will be a man of God indeed.
Let me imitate the passion of my God. Let anyone who lives with God in his heart understand my desire, and sympathize with me in my torment.

Ignatius ofAntioch

Prayer at the stake

He was not nailed but bound. And bound thus, with his hands behind his back, he seemed like a lamb chosen from the flock for the sacrifice, prepared as a holocaust pleasing to God; and raising his eyes to heaven he said:

Lord, God almighty, Father of Jesus Christ, your blessed and beloved Son who has taught us to know you.

God of the angels, of the whole of creation, of the whole race of the just who live in your presence: I bless you because you have judged me worthy of this day and of this hour; worthy to be added to the number of the martyrs; worthy to drink the chalice of your Christ, so as to rise up to eternal life in body and soul in the immortality of the Holy Spirit.

May I today be numbered among the martyrs in your presence as a precious and acceptable victim; bring to completion that which your will has prepared and revealed to me; God, faithful and true, for this grace and for all the others, I praise you, I glorify you, and bless you through our eternal heavenly priest, your beloved Son, Jesus Christ.

Through him, with him, and with the Holy Spirit, may you be glorified now and through all ages.
Amen.

Polycarp of Smyrna

Prayer to Christ

Vespers

Evening hymn

FRIDAY VESPERS HYMNS

O Christ Jesus, radiant light
of the immortal glory of the Father of heaven! As the sun sinks to its setting
we are face to face with the twilight of evening: we honour God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
You are worthy ever to be hymned by voices that are pure, Son of God who gives us life.
The universe proclaims your glory.

Athenegoras, Christian martyr, at the lighting of the lamps

Prayer to Christ

He who is immortal
has suffered much for us.
Come to help us, Son of God, born of Mary! Christ Jesus, come to our aid, born of Mary!

Heavenly shoot from the stock of David,
come to our aid, O Son, born of Mary!
Christ Jesus, come to our aid, O Son, born of Mary!

May the immortal Son be praised over all the earth. Come to our aid, O Son, born of Mary!
Christ Jesus, come to our aid, O Son, born of Mary!

In your clemency, you came from heaven to earth. Come to our aid, O Son, born of Mary!
Christ Jesus, come to Our aid, O Son, born of Mary!

Master of true life from all eternity,
Come to our aid, O Son, born of Mary!
Christ Jesus, come to our aid, O Son, born of Mary!

Egyptian epigraph

Hymn for the night

O Christ, Word of God,
light of light, without beginning,
help of the Spirit, we praise you. Threefold light of one undivided glory, we praise you.
You have banished the darkness and created the light and in this you have created all things seventy generations before your incarnation ex nihilo on one day at the very beginning
To matter you have given life
Giving it the imprint of the face of the world
and the traits of its beauty on the rest of the first 6 days

You have illumined man’s spirit
with reason and wisdom when on the last of the first six days you formed Adam from the moist earth and breathed into him and he became a living soul cast him into a deep sleep and formed Eve from his side the first man and woman with none other before them anywhere else and none other with them at the beginning anywhere else from whom are all men descended here on earth wherein all salvation is worked out from the first adam to the last saint saved by no other than you Jesus Christ Our Lord and Saviour by your Most Holy Cross
Your eternal light is reflected everywhere,
so that, in the light, man might discover
true beauty, and all become luminous.
You have lit up the heavens with variegated lights.
The night and the day you have commanded to take turns in a rule of fraternal friendship;
the first brings to an end the fatigue of the body,
the other spurs us on to work as commanded;
and we flee from the darkness
to hasten towards that day
which no sadness of the night
can ever bring to an end.
Give to my eyelids a light slumber
that my voice may not long remain silent.
While created things watch to sing psalms with the angels, may my sleep be ever restful in your presence;
may the night make me oblivious of the day’s sins,
and its oddities not beset my dreams.

Even if my body is inert
my spirit, O God, gives you praise! Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
to you be honour and glory and power through all ages. Amen.

Gregory Nazianzen

Evening hymn

Give to us, O Lord, the peace of the evening and save us from the snares of the enemy in the strength of your Holy and victorious
Cross.
Lord of my salvation,
I implore you day and night,
may my prayers come unto you,
bend your ear to my pleading.
May there come to us, a Lord,
a guardian sent by you
to protect us always.
Implant in us, a Lord,
the power of your Holy Cross
which will protect us always.
Make us worthy, O Lord,
to spend this evening
in peace and without temptation.
Deign, a Lord,
during this night,
to keep us in peace and without sin.
The Lord God is with us;
know this, you nations, and be bewildered;
for God is with us.
In him will we hope
and he will be our salvation;
because God is with us. . .
And the people that dwelt in darkness
see the great light;
for God is with us.
And you who live in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
light will shine upon you;
because God is with us.

And we have been given a Son; for God is with us.
And the dominion
will be on his shoulders;
because God is with us.
And his name will be
“Messenger of the great mystery”; for God is with us.
And “Wonderful Counsellor”;
because God is with us.
And “God the strong prince”; because God is with us.
And the “Prince of peace”,
“Father of the world to come”;
the “Lord God with us”.

Armenian liturgy

Compline

Prayer from the anaphora of Gregory

SATURDAY VESPERS HYMNS

O Lord Christ Jesus, our only Creator Redeemer, the only begotten Son, lamb of God who alone takes away the sin of the whole world of those who are saved, The only first born from the dead in the flesh, who shall come again in the same flesh, back from the third heaven from the right hand of the Father, we beg you:
give stability and strength to Your Church, implant in the depths of our souls
the harmony of love,
that the integrity of faith may grow.
Give firmness to the shepherds
and soundness to the flock.
May the clergy be irreprehensible in their morals, the monks continent,
the virgins pure,
married couples in accord;
may the penitent receive your pardon;
the rich be generous,
those in power, moderate;
may the poor receive help.
Be strength to the old
and teacher to the young.
Enlighten those without faith,
make divisions in the Church to cease,
break the pride of heretics
and deign to hold us all united
in concord and love.

Coptic liturgy

Prayer of an old man

Lord, Christ Jesus, King of kings, you have power over life and death; you know the intimate secrets and none of our thoughts and sentiments are unknown to you. Repair the evil which I have done in your sight.

My life declines from day to day and my sin is growing. O Lord, God of soul and body, you know the extreme frailty of my soul and of my flesh, give strength to my weakness and sustain me in my anguish.

You, who are my powerful support, know that I am esteemed by many. Give me a grateful heart, which will not forget your benefits, Lord of infinite goodness! Forget my many sins and pardon all my treachery.

Lord, do not despise the prayer of one who is sorry; keep me in your grace as you have kept me in the past. This has shown me the wisdom of: blessed are those who pass swiftly through life, for they will receive a crown of glory.

Lord, I praise and glorify you in spite of my unworthiness, for your mercy to me has been without limit. You are my help and my protector. May your name be ever praised!
Have mercy upon our kinsmen after the flesh and our friends and neighbors and all who – a sin not unto death – have personally trespassed against us, forgive and save them. To you, O Lord our God, be glory!

Ephrem Syrus

Prayer in sickness

Give me strength, O Christ. Else, Your servant is undone. My voice, singing to you, is now silent.
How can you allow it?
Give me strength, and do not abandon your minister. I would have health once more;
sing to your praise and sanctify your people.
I beg you, my strength, do not desert me.
If my faith has grown less in the storm,
yet I would return to you.

Lord God, our Father have mercy us
Lord God, the Son Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour have mercy us
Lord God, the Holy Spirit have mercy us

Gregory Nazianzen







Meditation

Praying with the saints

Matins

Keep us O Lord from useless fighting with words and grant that we always speak the truth, preserve us in the faith,
true and undefiled, so that we may always hold on to what we professed when we were baptised in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
grant that we may have you for our Father and that we live in your Son Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour and in the communion of the Holy Spirit our Paraclete through the same Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour.

Lauds

O gracious and holy Father, give us wisdom to perceive you, intelligence to understand you, diligence to seek you, patience to wait for you, eyes to behold you, a heart to meditate on you, and a life to proclaim you through with and in your beloved and only begotten first born from the dead in the flesh your Son Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour in the power and unity of your Holy Spirit our Paraclete.

Prime

O God, to save us you gave your beloved and only begotten Son to a most painful and bitter death on the most Holy Cross cleansing the waters, and by his glorious Resurrection in the flesh delivered us from all the power of the enemy and all it’s minions.
grant us to die daily to sin so that we may live closer to him in the joy of the Resurrection through the same Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour in the unity and power of the Holy Spirit our Paraclete.

Terse

Open our hearts, O Lord and enlighten us by the grace of the Holy Spirit that we may seek what is pleasing to your will and so order our lives according to your commandments that we may be found worthy to enter your unending joys through Jesus Christ our only Lord and most loving
Saviour, who we beseech to reveal yourself to us who ask you, so that knowing you we may love you alone by day and by night and ever hold you in our thoughts.
fill us with your love as is fitting for you to be loved and honoured as our God, so that love may fill the inner depths of our being and your love may own us all and your affection may fill all our senses so that we may know no other love apart from you, the fountain of the water of
life always to be desired and drunk, springing up to eternal life unto the endless ages of ages to come.

Sext

We bring before you Lord God our Father the trouble and dangers of people and nations; the sighing of prisoners, the sorrows of the bereaved, the neccessities of strangers, the dependency of the weary, the failing powers of the aged, Lord draw near to each for the sake of and through your beloved and only Son Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour, come O Holy Spirit our Paraclete, consolation of the sorrowful, down to us at this time with your mighty power into the depths of our hearts. Gladden there with your brightness every dark corner and make all rich with your comfort.
Give us inner warmth that our prayers and praises may go
up to you, our God, through your beloved and only begotten Son Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour.

None

Thanks to you, our only Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, for all the gifts your have won for us, for all the pains and insults you have born for us.
O merciful redeemer, friend and brother, may we know you
more clearly, love you more dearly, and follow you more nearly, unto the endless ages of ages to come.

Vespers

Watch o Lord with those who wake or watch or weep tonight, and give your angels charge over those who wake or sleep.
tend your sick ones, O Lord Christ Jesus our only Lord and Saviour beloved and only Son of the living God O holy Father Almighty in the unity and power of your Holy Spirit our Paraclete O welcome Comforter;
rest your weary ones;
bless your dying ones;
soothe your suffering ones;
pity your afflicted ones;
shield your joyous ones;
and all for your love’s sake;
and have us do the same for the sake of your most holy name baruch Adonai Yahweh tsidkenou our only righteousness unceasingly in the humble joy of your willing servants.

Compline

Fiery creator of fire,
light giver of light,
life and author of life,
salvation and bestower of salvation,
in case the lamps should abandon
the joys of this night,
you who do not desire our death,
give light to our breast.
to those wandering from Egypt,
you bestow the double grace,
you show the veil of cloud,
and give the nocturnal light.
with a pillar of cloud in the day,
you protect the people as they go,
with a pillar of fire at evening,
you dispel the night with light.

You call out to your servant from the flame,
you do not spurn the bush of thorns,
and though you are consuming fire,
you do not burn what you illumine.
Now it is time that the cloudy bee-bread
should be consumed, all impurity boiled away, and the waxen flesh should shine
with the glow of the Holy Spirit.

You store now in the recesses of the comb the sweet food of the divine honey,
and purifying the inmost cells of the heart,
you have filled them with your word;
that the swarm of the new brood,
chosen by your mouth and spirit,
may leave their burdens and win heaven
on wings now free from care.

May your holy angels, O Christ Jesus, Son of the living God,
tend our sleep, our rest, our bright bed.
Let them reveal true visions to us in our sleep, O high prince of the universe, O great and mysterious king.
May no devils, no demons, no spirits of sorcery or magic, no evil spirits of any sort visible or invisible, no injury or terrifying dreams disturb our rest, our prompt and swift repose.
May our waking, our work, and our living be holy; our sleep, our rest, without hindrance or harm.

O holy Lord God of creation, we invoke you. you are our gracious counselor. do you turn your face toward our enemies, for you are our judgement without betrayal.

You are our king. You are our law. Yours are our spirits, souls, bodies, we love you, blessed Christ Jesus, for our spirits, souls, bodies are yours tonight, tomorrow and at all times unceasingly and now and unto the endless ages of ages to come.
O holy King. keep us in your royal dwelling all our days. Eating the feast from your table. Keep us in you,
O holy Jesus,
gentle friend,
morning star,
midday sun adorned,
brilliant flame of righteousness, life everlasting and eternity,
fountain ever-new, ever-living, ever-lasting,
heart’s desire of patriarchs, especially St. Enoch in the flesh,
longing of prophets, especially St. Elijah in the flesh, with St. Enoch, your holy prophets yet to come,
beloved master of St. Michael and St. Gabriel, your loyal warriors, holy archangels,
master of apostles and disciples,
giver of the law,
prince of the new testament,
Saviour of the saved,
judge of doom,
Son of the merciful Father without mother in heaven,
Son of the true virgin Mary, without father on earth,
true and loving brother,
keep us in you O holy God at all times unceasingly and now and unto the endless ages of ages to come,
blessed virgin who bore God and took care of him with tender love,
bright, with goodness full,
Mary miracle, the lion’s precious love,
virgin once, mother of Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour, and virgin still, all ye elect angels and saints of God, the same, pray for and with us unceasingly, baruch Adonai Yahweh Elohim olam eth Abba our Father and the Son Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour and the Holy Spirit our Paraclete deliver us unceasingly with and by the prayer and company of all your elect angels and saints for and with us unceasingly and now and always and unto the endless ages of ages to come.