The Litany
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A litany is a very ancient and time-honoured form of intercessory prayer with fixed responses addressed to God or to saints. The Litany proposed below is taken from Common Worship: Daily Prayer.
In the Litany sections I and VII must always be used I God the Father, have mercy upon us. God the Son, have mercy upon us. God the Holy Spirit, have mercy upon us. Holy, blessed and glorious Trinity, have mercy upon us. II From all evil and mischief; from pride, vanity and hypocrisy; from envy, hatred and malice; and from all evil intent, good Lord, deliver us. From sloth, worldliness and love of money; from hardness of heart and contempt for your word and your laws, good Lord, deliver us. From sins of body and mind; from the deceits of the world, the flesh and the devil, good Lord, deliver us. From famine and disaster; from violence, murder and dying unprepared, good Lord, deliver us. In all times of sorrow; in all times of joy; in the hour of death, and at the day of judgement, good Lord, deliver us. III By the mystery of your holy incarnation; by your birth, childhood and obedience; by your baptism, fasting and temptation, good Lord, deliver us. By your ministry in word and work; by your mighty acts of power; and by your preaching of the kingdom, good Lord, deliver us. By your agony and trial; by your Cross and passion; and by your precious death and burial, good Lord, deliver us. By your mighty resurrection; by your glorious ascension; and by your sending of the Holy Spirit, good Lord, deliver us. IV Hear our prayers, O Lord our God. Hear us, good Lord. Govern and direct your holy Church; fill it with love and truth; and grant it that unity which is your will. Hear us, good Lord. Give us boldness to preach the gospel in all the world, and to make disciples of all the nations. Hear us, good Lord. Enlighten N. our Bishop and all who minister with knowledge and understanding, that by their teaching and their lives they may proclaim your word. Hear us, good Lord. Give your people grace to hear and receive your word, and to bring forth the fruit of the Spirit. Hear us, good Lord. Bring into the way of truth all who have erred and are deceived. Hear us, good Lord. Strengthen those who stand; comfort and help the faint-hearted; raise up the fallen; and finally beat down Satan under our feet. Hear us, good Lord. V Guide the leaders of the nations into the ways of peace and justice. Hear us, good Lord. Guard and strengthen your servant Elizabeth our Queen, that she may put her trust in you, and seek your honour and glory. Hear us, good Lord. Endue the High Court of Parliament and all the Ministers of the Crown with wisdom and understanding. Hear us, good Lord. Bless those who administer the law, that they may uphold justice, honesty and truth. Hear us, good Lord. Give us the will to use the resources of the earth to your glory, and for the good of all creation. Hear us, good Lord. Bless and keep all your people. Hear us, good Lord. Bring your joy into all families; strengthen and deliver those in childbirth, watch over children and guide the young, bring reconciliation to those in discord and peace to those in stress. Hear us, good Lord. VI Help and comfort the lonely, the bereaved and the oppressed. Lord, have mercy. Keep in safety those who travel, and all who are in danger. Lord, have mercy. Heal the sick in body and mind, and provide for the homeless, the hungry and the destitute. Lord, have mercy. Show your pity on prisoners and refugees, and all who are in trouble. Lord, have mercy. Forgive our enemies, persecutors and slanderers, and turn their hearts. Lord, have mercy. Hear us as we remember those who have died in the peace of Christ, both those who have confessed the faith and those whose faith is known to you alone, and grant us with them a share in your eternal kingdom. Lord, have mercy. VII Give us true repentance; forgive us our sins of negligence and ignorance and our deliberate sins; and grant us the grace of your Holy Spirit to amend our lives according to your holy word. Holy God, holy and strong, holy and immortal, have mercy upon us. |
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