Almighty God, who has revealed to your Church your eternal Being of glorious majesty and perfect love as one God in Trinity of Persons: Give us grace that, like your bishop Gregory of Nyssa, we may continue steadfast in the confession of this faith, and constant in our worship of you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit; who live and reign for ever and ever. Amen.
A collect for Saint Gregory of Nyssa
O God, the King of Saints, who strengthened your servants Perpetua, Felicity, and their companions to make a good confession and to encourage one another in the time of trial: Grant that we who cherish their blessed memory may share their pure and steadfast faith, and win with them the palm of victory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
A collect for Saints Perpetua and Felicity
"What difference does one life make? What difference does one decision make? What difference does one conversation make? In this present evil age, is there any righteous cause left?
Beloved, [...] God calls life out of death and things into existence that do not yet exist."
Almighty God, who called your servant George Herbert from the pursuit of worldly honors to be a poet and a pastor of souls: Give us grace, we pray, joyfully to dedicate all our powers to your service; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
A collect for George Herbert
"The good news of Lent is that our vindication comes from the triune God. [...] So, as gently as I can manage, I invite you to loosen your grip on being “one of the good ones.” Let go of the notion that you’re not one of them."
Almighty God, who in the place of Judas chose your faithful servant Matthias to be numbered among the Twelve: Grant that your Church, being delivered from false apostles, may always be guided and governed by faithful and true pastors; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
A collect for St. Matthias the Apostle:
O God, the maker of heaven and earth, you gave your venerable servant, the holy and gentle Polycarp, the boldness to confess Jesus Christ as King and Savior and the steadfastness to die for his faith: Give us grace, following his example, to share the cup of Christ and to rise to eternal life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
A collect for Polycarp of Smyrna
"If you want to draw closer to God then go be near those God loves: the poor, the immigrant, the stranger, the enslaved; then God will rebuild in you all that Empire & consumerism & whiteness & misogyny & racism has ruined, because God is the God who calls life out of death."
Almighty God, we bless your Name for the witness of Frederick Douglass, whose impassioned and reasonable speech moved the hearts of people to a deeper obedience to Christ: Strengthen us also to speak on behalf of those in captivity and tribulation, continuing in the way of Jesus Christ our Liberator; who with you and the Holy Spirit dwells in glory everlasting. Amen.
A collect for Frederick Douglass
O God, our refuge and our strength, who raised up your servant Martin Luther to reform and renew your church in the light of your word: Defend and purify the church in our own day and grant that, through faith, we may boldly proclaim the riches of your grace, which you have made known in Jesus Christ our Savior, who with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
A collect for Martin Luther:
Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
A collect for Ash Wednesday
"If these words are true, and I believe they are, then it means that every interruption, every transitional instability—whether good or bad, wanted or unwanted, joyful or sorrowful, or somewhere in-between—God is bringing us into new life, and God never wastes a chance to bring death back to life."
Join us this Wednesday at 7pm for a joint Ash Wednesday service with our host church, St. Paul Lutheran
To a group of wounded, humble, and uncertain disciples, Jesus says: You are the world’s salt. You are the world’s light. ... Together, through your efforts to love God, self, and neighbor, y’all bring the world seasoning and preservation, illumination and revelation.
"If you want to live well in the Kingdom of Heaven, here is what your life will look like under the Empires of this world: depleted, mourning, hungry, yet merciful, peaceful, and just."
Almighty God, who has enriched your church with the singular learning and holiness of your servant Thomas Aquinas: Enlighten us more and more, we pray, by the disciplined thinking and teaching of Christian scholars, and deepen our devotion by the example of saintly lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
A collect for the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas
"Do you find yourself at the end of hope? Do you find yourself weary, confused, or disoriented in a maze of darkness? Jesus says, “Caminemos en conjunto; Let’s walk together. [...] Come, be my apprentice to love and learn how to live, even if you're surrounded by darkness.”
O God, who gave your servant John Chrysostom grace eloquently to proclaim your righteousness in the great congregation, and fearlessly to bear reproach for the honor of your Name: Mercifully grant to all who proclaim your word such excellence in preaching, that all your people may be made partakers of the glory that shall be revealed; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.
A collect for the feast of St. John Chrysostom
Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
In peace, let us pray to the Lord, saying,
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
For an end to the immiseration of people in this country for the benefit of the rich and powerful; for strength for those able to stand, for the binding up of the broken hearted and restoration of the sorrowful; for a new light to shine out in the darkness of this nation, that we may, perhaps for the first time, truly hear the good news of the Gospel. May life be snatched out of the jaws of barbarism and death and may you, Lord Christ, guide our feet in the way of peace, we pray to you O Lord. Lord have mercy.
For an end to the immiseration of people for the benefit of the rich and powerful:
For the people of these United States, that your judgment would come upon this country as it has on all empires, that this people may know that there is a God in heaven and he champions the cause of the orphan, the widow, the lowly, and the immigrant. May would-be kings tremble, false prophets be silenced, and those who profit from war be brought to ruin. We pray for the men who have joined ICE, CBP, DHS, and other paramilitary organizations, that you would turn their hearts away from violence and evil, and show them a path through shame to true amendment of life, we pray to you O Lord. Lord have mercy.
For judgement and repentence:
For the people of Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, Ukraine, and Greenland, that they may be bold to rebuke injustice, aggression, corruption, theft and the threat of violence, we pray to you O Lord. Lord have mercy.
For the rebuking of injustice:
For the people of Minneapolis, Illinois, Los Angeles, and other places where ICE has disappeared their family and neighbors. In faith we pray that you will inspire you people to work for the liberation of captives, uniting of families, and an end to torture, imprisonment, and death within ICE prisons. May chains be broken and camps turned to rubbish heaps, we pray to you O Lord. Lord have mercy.
For the people of Minneapolis, Illinois, Los Angeles, and other places where ICE has disappeared their family and neighbors:
For the soul of Renée Nicole Good, that the witness of her life may continue to inspire those who love their neighbors and seek their flourishing. Bless her family as they stand for the truth of her life against slander, violence, and lies, we pray to you O Lord. Lord have mercy.
For the soul of Renée Nicole Good:
For all who risk their health, safety, and lives by exercising their rights in protest and deterrence of tyranny, that the people of this nation may enjoy the benefits of the rule of law and democratic governance, we pray to you O Lord. Lord have mercy.
For all who risk their health, safety, and lives in protest and deterrence of tyranny:
That you would increase in your people the passion of righteous anger, that we may be awakened to all wickedness, malice, and works of hatred sown by the Enemy, we pray to you O Lord. Lord have mercy.
For the passion of righteous anger:
For the soul of Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a nurse, friend, son, and neighbor to the end; may this country listen to the voice of the blood of our brother and end federal violence in our streets, we pray to you O Lord. Lord have mercy. That you would give us grace to attain that greater love which he showed in his death, a love that cannot be overcome by evil, we pray to you O Lord. Lord have mercy.
For the soul of Alex Jeffrey Pretti:
Prayers in a time of tyranny, injustice, and violence
In peace, let us pray to the Lord, saying, "Lord, have mercy"
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O God, by the preaching of your apostle Paul you have caused the light of the Gospel to shine throughout the world: Grant, we pray, that we, having his wonderful conversion in remembrance, may show ourselves thankful to you by following his holy teaching; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
A collect for the Conversion of St. Paul the Apostle
Grant, Almighty God, that in all times of trial and persecution, we might remain steadfast in faith and endurance, according to the example of your servant Fabian, who was faithful even unto death. We ask this for the sake of him who laid down his life for us all, Jesus Christ our Savior; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
A collect for St. Fabian, Bishop and Martyr
