A contemporary Rosary

After producing the “Rosary for Anglo-Catholic Use” and then subsequently revising the prayers into contemporary as opposed to “churchy” language, I decided to plug the latter into the former and see what it looked like.  In some other digging around, I made changes to the whole kit and caboodle, and here we have this.

This can be said without reference to specific Mysteries or with the traditional Mysteries.  A major difference, other than the contemporary (and more accurate) language prayers, is that the prayers for the small beads change according to the Church Year.

Opening prayers

Sign of the Cross (Signum Crucis)

In the Name of the Creator, and of the Redeemer, and of the Transformer.  Amen.

Still holding the cross, say:

Preces

V. Lord, open our lips.
R. And our mouth shall proclaim your praise.

V. O God, make speed to save us.

R. O Lord, make haste to help us.

V. Glory be to the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit:

R.  As it was, is now, and always shall be, forever and ever.  Amen.  Alleluia. 

In Lent, in place of “Alleluia” say: Praise to you, O Christ, King of eternal glory.

On the large bead say:

Lord’s Prayer

Father, blessed be your name.  May your dominion come and your will be done.  Let your Holy Spirit come upon us and cleanse us.  Give us what is sufficient day-by-day.  Forgive us our debts, as we forgive those indebted to us.  And save us from succumbing to temptation.  Amen.

On the three small beads say, meditating on Faith, Hope, and Love:

Trisagion

Holy God,

Holy and Mighty,

Holy Immortal One,

Have mercy upon us.

On the chain say:

Minor Doxology (Gloria Patri)

Glory be to the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit: As it was, is now, and always shall be, forever and ever.  Amen.

For each decade of beads:

On each large bead, say:

Father, blessed be your name.  May your dominion come and your will be done.  Let your Holy Spirit come upon us and cleanse us.  Give us what is sufficient day-by-day.  Forgive us our debts, as we forgive those indebted to us.  And save us from succumbing to temptation.  Amen.

On each of the ten small beads, say one of the following, according to the season:

From the First Sunday in Advent thru the Saturday before Transfiguration Sunday:

Gaude Maria

Rejoice, Mary, favored one, for the Lord is with you.  Blessed are you among women, Theotokos, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

From Transfiguration Sunday thru Holy Saturday, say:

Salvator Mundi

O Savior of the world, who by your cross and precious blood have redeemed us: Save us and help us, we humbly pray.  Amen.

From Easter Sunday thru Pentecost, say:

Pascha Nostrum

Alleluia.  Christ our Passover has been raised from the dead.  Alleluia.  The first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.  Amen.  Alleluia.

From Whit Monday day thru the Saturday before Advent, say:

Verbum Incarnavit

The Word lived among us, full of grace and truth, a light shining in the darkness: We have seen the glory of this, the Chosen One, and through him that of God.  Amen.

On the chain say:

Glory be to the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit: As it was, is now, and always shall be, forever and ever.  Amen.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior, have mercy upon me, a sinner.

On the chain at the end of the fifth decade, the Major Doxology (Gloria in excelsis) may be substituted for the Minor (Gloria Patri).

            Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth, and good will among humanity.
            Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father, we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory.
            Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, Lord God, Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us; you are seated at the right hand of the Father: receive our prayer.
            For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

Notes:

The Ave Maria and the Salvator Mundi were treated as equals in The Practice of Religion (1908 and subsequent editions), the first as a Memorial of the Incarnation and the second as a Memorial of the Redemption, which they both represent here, the former now called “Gaude Maria” to reflect the better translation from the original Greek.

I adapted the prayer here named Pascha Nostrum, a Memorial of  the Resurrection, from the same named canticle in the Daily Office of PECUSA’s 1979 BCP.

The first verses of the first chapter of the Gospel of John are usually treated solely as a memorial of the Incarnation.  Here, however, I intend this verse as a Memorial of the Ministry, it being through that ministry that “we have seen his glory” and “received…grace upon grace”.

Contemporary Trinitarian formulae

The only explicit references to the Trinity in the New Testament according to the KJV, Matthew 28:19 (“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost”) and 1 John 5:7b (“…in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one”) are widely recognized as later interpolations. 

Regarding the first of these, several scholars and theologians have pointed out that the Doctrine of the Trinity was not formulated until third and fourth century.  Several sources demonstrate that the original baptismal formula until the fourth century was not “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” but “in the name of Jesus Christ”.  Even then Cardinal Ratzinger has admitted that this is the case.

In the case of the second, a footnote in the New International Version, in which the phrase is omitted from the body of the text, states that it exists in no manuscript earlier than the sixteenth century.  It is omitted from nearly every translation not dependent on the KJV.

The fact that these are both “piously fraudulent” interpolations does not mean the terminology they use is invalid, however.

The closest non-interpolative phrase in the New Testament whose validity as original is in little or no doubt is 2 Corinthians 13:13: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.”  Here we have three Persons but no definite statement that the three are one.  It is used as the opening greeting at the beginning of the Anaphora (or Canon of the Mass or Prayer of Consecration or Eucharistic Prayer) in all the Eastern liturgies instead of “The Lord be with you” that most Western rites use.

My purpose in highlighting the “pious fraud” inherent in these two passages is to show that there being no validly Biblical terminology for the Persons of the Trinity because the Trinity is mentioned nowhere in the Bible, and that therefore it is not sacrilegious to use other terms than the traditional but possibly out-of-date and therefore less meaningful.

Many Christians today have a strong preference for gender-neutral terms for the Persons of the Trinity over the traditional “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit”. 

Almost all of these refer to the First Person as “Creator”. 

For the Second Person, various formulae use “Savior”, “Redeemer”, “Word”, even “Sustainer” to replace “Son” on general principle in the pursuit of gender-neutral deity references, though I am fairly certainly Isho bar Yosef (Jesus bar Joses) had a penis and produced androgen. 

For the Third Person, the traditional “Holy Spirit” sounds gender-neutral, but to Jews has always been femine.  When Christians became more Gentile than Jewish, they gave the Third Person a sex change, at least in pronouns.  Other more decidedly gender-neutral terms have been used to harmonize with those used for the other Persons include “Sanctifier”, “Sustainer”, “Comforter”, and “Transformer”.

Interesting that both the Second and the Third Persons of the Trinity are referred to as “the Sustainer”, though in different formulae.

My favorite of formula is “Creator, Redeemer, and Transformer”, partly because I came to it myself without realizing many Christians had been using it for fifteen or twenty years.  I like it even better because I came to it partly by way of Hinduism.

I was trying out the more traditional, to Hindus, formula for their Trinity of “Creator, Preserver, Destroyer” to see how it tasted after learning that the Hebrew word translated into English as the “Almighty” actually means “the Destroyer”, or at least derives from the same root. 

While studying this, I discovered many Hindus were now using the title “Transformer” for the Third Person of their own Trinity (more often called the “Trimurti”); i.e. “Creator, Preserver, and Transformer”, for the whole.  For Christians, “Transformer” better describes what the Third Person is to them than any of the other descriptors.

Searching through dictionaries and definitions in working on the most apt term for the Second Person, I learned that the title “Redeemer” included connotations nearly every other title substituted for “Son”: Savior, Preserver, Sustainer.

Thus, my preference for “Creator, Redeemer, and Transformer”.  For example:  “Glory be to the Creator, through the Redeemer, in the Transformer: As it was, is now, and always will be, unto aeons of aeons.”

In some ways, the terminology for the First Person in situations outside the Trinitarian formula is more problematic.  Many prayers of the Church, the Lord’s Prayer to cite the most notable example, are addressed to the First Person as “Father”.  The word “Creator” doesn’t have quite the same connotation as you’re the “Adam of your labors” speaking of or to Dr. Victor von Frankenstein.  The word “Parent” sounds too clinical, and still brings to mind “Mom and Dad”.

The only word in the English language that comes close to being adequate as a stand-n for “Father” that is gender neutral and avoids calling to mind “Mom and Dad” is the word “Progenitor”.  Its use in the valid phrase spuriously inserted into 1 John 5:7 would render that formula “Progenitor, Word, and Holy Spirit”.  For example: “In the Name of the Progenitor, and of the Word, and of the Holy Spirit” and “Progenitor, we sanctify your name”.

If “Progenitor” feels too clinical or too awkward as a term by which to address the First Person in prayer, use “Beloved”.  While this at first may seem too familiar, check out the verse Hosea 2:16.  In here, God tells that prophet that the people of Israel one day in the future will no longer call him “Baali” but rather “Ishi”.  Despite other interpretations, both terms were in fact used by wives to refer to husbands, Baali meaning husband as “my Master” and Ishi meaning (or at least having the connotation of) husband as “my Beloved”.  Thus we would get, “Beloved, we sanctify your name”.

Contemporary version of the Peace Prayer, or Prayer of St. Francis

While compiling (and editing and re-editing) my Rosary for Anglo-Catholic Use, it dawned on me that the prayers usually accompanying it, whether said in a Roman setting or an Anglican setting,  were in “church” language.  You know what I mean: “thee”, “thou”, “doest”, “beseech”, “hallowed”, “art”, “thy”, “thine”, etc.; what folks call Elizabethan or King James English, just like Shakespeare’s plays and the “Authorized Version” of the Bible.  Roughly equal to mouthing ecclesiastical Latin during an old style Mass and not really feeling what is said in such a foreign sound, no matter how beautiful to the ears.

At around the same time, looking through the histories of some of these prayers, I discovered that many of the better known English language texts were based on translations which left something to be desired.  That, and the fact that there were older, simpler versions of the prayers in early, sometimes obscure manuscripts.

The best way to go about this is, for each prayer in turn, to give the familiar, churchy-language version first, then my revision, followed by an explanation of the changes.

Fourth up is the Prayer of Saint Francis.

Peace Prayer

Better known as the “Prayer of Saint Francis”, this prayer first appeared in magazine in Paris in 1912, probably written by the priest who was its publisher.  The most often seen translation into English goes:

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace; Where there is hatred, let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is discord, harmony; Where there is error, truth; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; And where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, Grant that I may not so much seek To be consoled as to console; To be understood as to understand; To be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; It is in pardoning that we are pardoned; And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. 

This, however, is not an entirely exact translation.  But then, neither is mine.

*****

Remind us, Rabbani, to be instruments of your peace.  Let us show love where there is hatred; pardon where there is injury; union where there is discord; trust where there is doubt; hope where there is despair; your light where there is darkness; joy where there is sadness. May we seek rather to console than to be consoled; to understand than to understood; to love than to be loved. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are forgiven; and it is in dying that we live.  Amen.

*****

1) On “Remind us to be” rather than “Make us”:  A Christian is supposed to be an instrument of peace from conversion, baptism, or age of majority, depending on the order those happen.  We tend to forget, however, and do need reminding.

2) On the reversal of the more traditional order:  Active voice rather than passive voice is always better, in prayer as well as literature.

3) On the name:  While it certainly fits with Francis of Assisi’s teachings, he did not write this prayer, which was written in Paris, France, in 1912.

Contemporary version of the Minor Doxology

While compiling (and editing and re-editing) my Rosary for Anglo-Catholic Use, it dawned on me that the prayers usually accompanying it, whether said in a Roman setting or an Anglican setting,  were in “church” language.  You know what I mean: “thee”, “thou”, “doest”, “beseech”, “hallowed”, “art”, “thy”, “thine”, etc.; what folks call Elizabethan or King James English, just like Shakespeare’s plays and the “Authorized Version” of the Bible.  Roughly equal to mouthing ecclesiastical Latin during an old style Mass and not really feeling what is said in such a foreign sound, no matter how beautiful to the ears.

At around the same time, looking through the histories of some of these prayers, I discovered that many of the better known English language texts were based on translations which left something to be desired.  That, and the fact that there were older, simpler versions of the prayers in early, sometimes obscure manuscripts.

The best way to go about this is, for each prayer in turn, to give the familiar, churchy-language version first, then my revision, followed by an explanation of the changes.

Third up is the Minor Doxology, also known as the Lesser Doxology and the Gloria Patri.

Minor Doxology

Old, familiar version (Western):

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.  Amen.

Old, familiar version (Eastern):

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and always, unto ages of ages. Amen.

Updated and revised version:

*****

Glory be to the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit: As it was, is now, and always shall be, unto aeons of aeons.  Amen.

*****

Notes on the Minor Doxology

1) On the name Minor Doxology:  Often this prayer is referred to by its Latin handle, Gloria Patri.  It is also called the Lesser or Minor Doxology, being thus vis-à-vis the Greater or Major Doxology also know by its Latin name, Gloria in excelsis Deo.

2) On “through” and “in” instead of “and” and “and”:  This is not a conjunction junction malfunction.  What is offered here is the original form of the Minor Doxology, before all the trouble between the Athanasians and the Arians.  The change of conjunctions probably came at the same time that the Great Commission was added to the end of the Gospel of Matthew, or at least its formula for the Trinity altered.

3) On “As it was…” instead of “As it was in the beginning…”:  Another amendment to the Minor Doxology made in the West but not in the East to protest or protect against Arianism was the addition of the Latin phrase “Sicut erat in principio”, which does in fact literally mean “As it was in the beginning”.  This was added in support of the doctrine of the coequal divinity of the Son with the Father, “it” being understood to mean “he” rather than “it”. 

With the passage of many centuries, “it” came to be understood more as “the way things are”.  The prepositional phrase “in the beginning”, however, implies finity rather than eternity.  By dropping it, this part of the Minor Doxology now mirrors the two verses of Revelation (1:8 & 4:8) referring to God as the one “who was and is and is to come”.

4) On “unto aeons of eons” instead of “world without end”:  The Greek phrase “eis toús aió̱nas tó̱n aió̱no̱n”, accurately translated into Latin as “in saecula saeculorum”.  This phrase literally means “unto aeons of aeons”.  Only in two places in the KJV out of several in which it occurs was this phrase translated “world without end”.  The Sarum Use also translated it thus in the Minor Doxology.  This version follows the literal translation, but “forever and ever” may taste better to some tongues.  Eastern translators usually render it as “unto ages of ages” and Western translators as “forever and ever”, either of which may work for those in whose mouths the phrase “aeons of aeons” does not taste well.

Contemporary version of the Angelic Salutation

While compiling (and editing and re-editing) my Rosary for Anglo-Catholic Use, it dawned on me that the prayers usually accompanying it, whether said in a Roman setting or an Anglican setting,  were in “church” language.  You know what I mean: “thee”, “thou”, “doest”, “beseech”, “hallowed”, “art”, “thy”, “thine”, etc.; what folks call Elizabethan or King James English, just like Shakespeare’s plays and the “Authorized Version” of the Bible.  Roughly equal to mouthing ecclesiastical Latin during an old style Mass and not really feeling what is said in such a foreign sound, no matter how beautiful to the ears.

At around the same time, looking through the histories of some of these prayers, I discovered that many of the better known English language texts were based on translations which left something to be desired.  That, and the fact that there were older, simpler versions of the prayers in early, sometimes obscure manuscripts.

The best way to go about this is, for each prayer in turn, to give the familiar, churchy-language version first, then my revision, followed by an explanation of the changes.

Second up is the Angelic Salutation, also called the Ave Maria and the Hail Mary.

Angelic Salutation

Old,  familiar version (Western):

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of death. Amen.

Old,  familiar version (Eastern):

Hail, Virgin Mary, Mother of God, full of grace, the Lord is with thee:  Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, which gave birth to the Savior of our souls

Updated and revised contemporary English version:

*****

Rejoice, Mary, favored one, for the Lord is with you: Blessed are you among women, Theotokos, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus Christ.

*****

Notes on the Angelic Salutation

1) On the name Angelic Salutation:  This prayer begins with the salutation of the angel, traditionally Gabriel the Archangel, to Mary, betrothed of Joseph.  With less common, this prayer is called Angelic Salutation by some authorities and the reasons for me doing so should be obvious after a minute or two, if not immediately.

2) On “Rejoice, Mary!” vs. “Hail, Mary!”:  The word in the koine Greek original, chaíre, does not mean “hail!” but literally means “rejoice!”.  When Jerome translated the Vulgate, “Chaire Maria” became “Ave Maria”, which does in fact mean “Hail Mary”.  But it is not the original.

3)  On “favored one” vs. “full of grace”: The word in the koine Greek original, kecharitōménē, the present perfect passive voice participle of the verb charitóō, does not mean “full of grace” but “favored one” or “honored one”.  The word kerecharitomene is usually translated “favored one”.

4) On “Jesus Christ” vs. just “Jesus”:  When the name was first added to emphasize the identify of the “fruit of your womb”, it was the name and cognomen, including in the Sarum Use.

5) On “Theotokos” vs. “Mother of God”:  The Greek word Theotokos literally means “Birth-giver to God”.  The Latin counterpart is Mater Deus, which literally means Mother of God and is the usual translation of the term.  In Greek, however, this would be Meter Theou.  Another often used translation is “God-bearer”, but in Greek that is Theophoros.  Why the quibble?  The title Theotokos is the one given Mary the mother of Jesus by the Council of Ephesus in 431.  Since it doesn’t really translate into English well, I think it is better to stand as is.

6) On the absence of “Amen”:  This is absent in all the documents from the sixteenth century, whether missals or primers.

Footnote:  In nineteenth century translations of the Ave Maria, “full of grace” becomes “thou that art highly favored”.

Contemporary version of the Lord's Prayer

While compiling (and editing and re-editing) my Rosary for Anglo-Catholic Use, it dawned on me that the prayers usually accompanying it, whether said in a Roman setting or an Anglican setting,  were in “church” language.  You know what I mean: “thee”, “thou”, “doest”, “beseech”, “hallowed”, “art”, “thy”, “thine”, etc.; what folks call Elizabethan or King James English, just like Shakespeare’s plays and the “Authorized Version” of the Bible.  Roughly equal to mouthing ecclesiastical Latin during an old style Mass and not really feeling what is said in such a foreign sound, no matter how beautiful to the ears.

At around the same time, looking through the histories of some of these prayers, I discovered that many of the better known English language texts were based on translations which left something to be desired.  That, and the fact that there were older, simpler versions of the prayers in early, sometimes obscure manuscripts.

The best way to go about this is, for each prayer in turn, to give the familiar, churchy-language version first, then my revision, followed by an explanation of the changes.

First up is the Lord’s Prayer, also called the Our Father or Paternoster.

Old, familiar version:

We’ll start with the one nearly every Christian knows, the Lord’s Prayer, or as it is known in Latin, the Paternoster.  The version almost all, regardless of denomination, are familiar with is this version from *PECUSA’s 1928 Book of Common Prayer (BCP), itself a slightly revised version of the rendition in the **CoE’s 1662 BCP:

“Our Father who (which) art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name.  Thy kingdom come.  Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread.  And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those (them) who trespass against us.  Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.  Amen.”

*Protestant Episcopal Church in the USA

**Church of England

The plain text is that of the 1928 BCP, the two words in parentheses and italics belonging to the version found in the 1662 BCP, which itself is almost entirely the original translation by William Tyndale for his edition of the New Testament, which Thomas Cranmer chose for the first BCP in 1549 despite more accurate translations at hand.  So, in essence, when nearly every English-speaking human on Earth says the Lord’s Prayer, they are saying the Lord’s Prayer According to Tyndale and/or Cranmer.

Updated and revised version:

Father, blessed be your name.  May your dominion come and your will be done.  Let your Holy Spirit come upon us and cleanse us.  Give us what is sufficient day-by-day.  Forgive us our debts, as we forgive those indebted to us.  And save us from succumbing to temptation.  Amen.

Notes on the Lord’s Prayer

Yes, I realize this must look quite different to the eyes of most Christians of native English-speaking parts.  This is because the Lord’s Prayer According to Tyndale & Cranmer was/is based on the version found in the Gospel of Matthew (6:9-13), while the version just presented, which one might call the Lord’s Prayer According to Chuck, is based on the formula found in the Gospel of Luke (11:2-4).  If you’re looking at the KJV translation of the Lucan formula, which is merely copied straight from the Geneva Bible of 1560, you will notice many differences between that and the one here.  The basis of my version is from later translations which have dropped the additions by “pious fraudsters” trying to make the versions in the two gospels identical.

Nearly universal scholarly opinion holds that the Lucan formula is the elder version of the two and closer to the original.

1) On “Father” instead of “Our Father in heaven”: 

In the oldest manuscripts, the prayer is addressed to “Father” rather than “Our Father” largely because in the context in both gospels is private rather than corporate prayer.  “Our Father” as opposed to just “Father” represents the accretion of liturgical practice into scripture, much like the formulae for the consecration of bread and wine into Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians, which is clearly an interpolation by a later editor.

The word in Aramaic, “Abba”, by the way, simply means “Father”.  It does not, I repeat, does not mean and has never meant “Daddy”, an urban myth among evangelicals.

2) On “blessed be” instead of “hallowed be”: 

“To hallow” is so archaic that the last time it was used in America was by President Lincoln in the Gettysburg Address.

3) On “Your dominion come” instead of “Your kingdom come”:

Besides being gender neutral for the most part, “dominion” is less anthropomorphic and less prone to anthropopathy.

4) On “Let your holy Spirit come upon us and cleanse us”: 

At least two manuscripts of the four gospels, substitute (or maintain) the former over the latter.  The eleventh century Miniscule 700 and the twelfth century Miniscule 162 are called “miniscules” because of the type of script used, not because of their size. 

As the first is also found in the Gospel of the Lord brought to Rome by theologian Marcion of Sinope in the mid-second century, it is not unreasonable to conclude that his reading is the original.  Though some scholars prefer to claim that Marcion’s gospel is the Gospel of Luke with parts removed or altered, it is more likely that his was an earlier version of that gospel, which was not finalized until the last decade of the second century. 

(Note: Marcion also brought with him to Rome all the seven universally recognized epistles of Paul, Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, and Philemon; the rest—Ephesians, Colossians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus—being pseudepigraphal, and Hebrews more likely written by James the Just.)

The late Church Fathers Gregory of Nyssa (late fourth century) and Maximus the Confessor (early seventh century) both used the first clause, while Tertullian, the second-third century theologian, uses it in place of “hallowed (or blessed) be your name” (and also reverses the other to “Your will be done on earth as in heaven.  Your kingdom come”).

In the earlier formula, this petition came after “your name be sanctified”.  Since “as in heaven” modifies the other three opening petitions, this one had to be moved.

5) On “Give us what is sufficient day-by-day”:

The problem with the translation of this sentence is that the Greek word often translated “daily bread” or sometimes “bread for tomorrow”—“epiousios”—is specific to these verses of Matthew and Luke in all of Greek literature.  After perusing several versions, translations, and opinions, this is the one that seems best to me, or at least the one I prefer.

Most translations of Luke use the phrase usually “daily bread”, but some agree with the version in the early second century Didache (“The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles to the Heathen”) which had “bread for tomorrow”.  For the versions in Matthew, the early Latin translations, called collectively the Vetus Latina, used “quotidianum”, literally meaning “daily”, while the later Vulgate of St. Jerome (a translation with numerous problems) translates the same Greek word as “supersubstantialem”, or “supersubstantial”.

I have used the phrasing I provided here because “give us what is sufficient day-by-day” preserves the senses of both “daily” and “for tomorrow”.

6) On “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive those indebted to us”:

Tyndale translated the “debts” as “trespasses”, and an uncharitable person might think this was to prevent the suggestion that debtors should have the obligations of their debts removed.  The translators of the KJV (and plagiarists of the Geneva Bible) preferred to use the word “debts”, and modern translators have almost universally agreed this is more accurate.   In fact, The Encheiridion, a manual for private devotion according to Sarum Use published between 1528 and 1530 translated this segment of the Lord’s Prayer as “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive out debtors”.

Trespass has a much different connotation in the twenty-first century than it did in Tyndale’s day.  His translation, or rather mistranslation, always makes me think to those signs that say, “No Trespassing: Violators Will Be Shot.  Survivors Will Be Violated”.  Much the same as when we said the old version of the Nicene Creed* when I was a kid that every time we talked about Jesus coming back to judge “the quick and the dead”,  I would get afraid that I was going to hell because I couldn’t run very fast.  In addition, debts and forgiving debts have so much broader and inclusive meaning that simple “trespasses”.

Unfortunately for their credibility and to the deficit spiritually of those who may follow their suggestion, the English Language Liturgical Commission (ECCL; formerly International Consultation on English Texts, or ICET) took the same cop out or intentionally misleading route as did Cranmer and Tyndale before them.  Their deficient text substitutes “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us” for “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us”.  This, despite the fact that every single modern translation without, or nearly without, exception renders that clause “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive those indebted to us”.

The original vernacular of the Lord's Prayer before Tyndale and Cranmer got their hands on it was “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” (see the 1868 republished edition of The Encheiridion, published originally in 1531), so there is no excuse.

It should be noted, however, that the third century theologian Origen, one of the most prominent of his day, substituted "trespasses" and "those who trespassed against us" for "debts" and "our debtors".

*I have never said the Nicene Creed, never in my life, and neither has any other living Christian of whom I know.  The name is properly the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed.

7) On the omission of “deliver us from evil”:

This is absent from all manuscripts of Luke.  In Matthew, different manuscripts testify to “deliver us from evil” or to “deliver us from the evil one”.

8) On the omission of the concluding doxology:

This ending, “for yours are the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever” in Matthew and “for the power and the glory are yours” in the Didache, has always been omitted from the passage in Luke.  Modern scholars regard it as an interpolation in Matthew, and most modern translations omit it entirely or consign it to a footnote.

In the Divine Liturgy of the Eastern Orthodox churches, the Lord’s Prayer concludes with this doxology:  “For Thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory; of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages.”

According to Orthodox Wiki, this and its forerunner in the Gospel of Matthew are an allusion to 1 Chronicles 29:11: “Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all.”

Other notes on the LP

One cannot help but notice that, despite Jesus addressing private prayer in the scenes that introduce the Lord’s Prayer in both Matthew and Luke, in both, even when addressed to “Father” instead of “Our Father” in Luke, that the form of the Lord’s Prayer as presented is communal and corporate as all the petitions use the collective “us” rather than the individual “me”.  This proves more or less beyond doubt that these gospels were composed well after members of The Way, or the Nazarenes, soon to become known as Christians, first started formalizing worship.

Other older renderings of the Lord’s Prayer less often seen than Tyndale’s rendition, either from the King James Version or using Elizabethan English:

Matthean version:  “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name.  Thy kingdom come.  Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily (or supersubstantial) bread.  And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.  Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.  Amen.”

Traditional Lucan version:  “Father, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Give us day by day our daily bread.  And forgive us our debts; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.”

Early Lucan version:  “Father, hallowed be thy name. Thy holy Spirit come upon us and cleanse us.  Give us day by day our daily bread.  And forgive us our debts; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us.  And lead us not into temptation.” 

Tertullian’s version:  “Father in heaven, thy holy Spirit come upon us and cleanse us.  Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  Thy kingdom come.  Give us this day our daily bread.  And forgive us our debts; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation, but take us away from the evil one.  Amen.”

English vernacular version, early sixteenth century: “Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name.  Thy kingdom come.  Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread.  And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.  Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.  For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.  Amen.”

Earlier edition of this contemporary version: Father, your name be sanctified.  Your Holy Spirit come upon us and cleanse us.  Your dominion come.  Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us each day our daily bread.  Forgive us our debts, as we forgive those indebted to us.  And lead us away from temptation.  Amen.

Olivet Discourse fulfilled

For most evangelicals and many other Christians, especially Rapturists, one of the favorite gospel passages is that known as the Olivet Discourse.  The passage is so named because in its occurrence in the Gospel of Matthew (Chapter 24) and in the Gospel of Mark (Chapter 13) takes place on the Mount of Olives outside Jerusalem.  Unfortunately for those using it as a horoscope of Earth’s future, it has already been fulfilled, at least the core prediction of its original form, found in the Lucan version.

The nearly identical, but less altered and closer to the original, exchange and discourse in the Gospel of Luke (Chapter 21:5-37) happens within the temple compound.  Its central prediction (in verses 20-24) is the siege of the city of Jerusalem ending in its complete destruction and subsequent deportation of its entire population.  That is exactly what happened in 70 CE, at the end of the Great Jewish Revolt that began in 66 CE.

The Great Jewish Revolt was not the first uprising of the population of Palestine against the empire of Rome, of which it had been a part since Pompey’s conquest of the Levant in 63 BCE, after which the Hasmoneans continued as client-kings.

Earlier rebellions against Rome

Less than two decades after the conquest, Hezekiah ben Garon declared himself king of the Jews upon beginning a rising in Galilee in 47 BCE.  This rebellion was put down by Galilee’s governor, Herod the Idumean, later known as Herod the Great.  Herod overthrew the last Hasmonean in 37 BCE, to the great relief of everyone, and was recognized as king of the Jews by the Empire.

Hezekiah son Hananiah was a venerated sage contemporary with Hillel and Shammai.

Upon Herod’s death in 4 BCE, four risings broke out across his former kingdom in Idumea, Judea (with which Samaria had been merged since 110 BCE), Perea, and Galilee.  The legate of Syria, Publius Quinctilius Varus, crushed the revolt rather easily, crucifying over two thousand of its leading members.

After the revolt was settled, Herod’s son Archaelaus inherited Judea (which indluded Samaria and Idumea); Herod’s son Antipater (aka Antipas) inherited Galilee, Perea, and the Decapolis; Herod’s son Philip inherited Iturea, Trachonitis, Batanea, Gaulanitis, and Panaeas; and Herod’s daughter Salome inherited Philistia.  This settlement makes rather inconvenient the assertion in Chapter 2 of the Gospel of Matthew that after returning from Egypt Jesus’ parents, originally from Bethlehem, relocated to Galilee since Judea was ruled by “Herod’s son”; so was Galilee.

The census for tax purposes mentioned in the Gospel of Luke took place in 6 CE after Rome had removed Archaelaus and made Judea a province under direct Roman rule as a subprovince of the province of Syria.  Quirinius, legate of Syria at the time, ordered the census for the new acquisition, which was the only area covered by the census, not the “whole world”.  Judas the Galilean took advantage of the resentment to start another rising from his home base.  After this was put down, the Romans moved the capital of the subprovince to Caesarea Palestinae.

In 36 CE, the Samaritan Prophet and his followers occupied the summit of Mt. Gerizim, upon which Herod the Great had rebuilt their temple destroyed by the Hasmonean ruler of Judea, John Hyrcanus,  in 110 BCE.  Though their only goal was a separate subprovince under Roman rule, the local prefect, Pontius Pilatus, crushed their benign demonstration with such brutality that Rome recalled him.

From 41 through 44 CE, Herod’s grandson Agrippa managed to cobble his grandfather’s kingdom back together with himself recognized as king of the Jews.  Upon his death, the entirety reverted to direct Roman rule, but under a Jewish procurator from Alexandria named Tiberius Julius Alexander.

Around 45 CE, Theudas the prophet, probably of Judea, led his followers to the wilderness around the Jordan River, claiming to be the Messiah.  The minor revolt was easily dispatched.

The sons of Judas the Galilean, Jacob and Simon, rose up against Roman rule in 46 CE, and carried out a guerrilla war for two years.  At the end in 48 CE, they were both crucified.

The year after those crucifixions, 49 CE, rumors of impending destruction of the temple by Ventidius Cumanus, procurator of Judea, led to riots which caused the trampling deaths of thousands in the city for Passover.

In 52 CE, Galilean anti-Samaritan extremists led by brothers Alexander and Eleazar ben Dinaeus invaded Samaria, causing destruction, mayhem, murder, rape, and robbery.  Basically, they were bandits mouthing political slogans.

A charismatic individual known to history only as the Egyptian Prophet led an uprising in 58 CE that ended in a climactic battle on the Mount of Olives.

Jesus ben Ananias

According to the renowned Jewish historian Titus Flavius Josephus, a commoner and farmer named Jesus ben Ananias appeared in Jerusalem during Sukkot, or the Feast of Booths, in 62 CE preaching the coming destruction of Jerusalem and of the Temple.  Not content with disturbing temple-goers, he then paraded around all the streets of the city, preaching his message.

Though Josephus does not mention it, I can say without a doubt that people were waving palm branches and shouting Hosannas.  How do I know this to state it so unequivocally?  Because palm branches and Hosannas were always part of Sukkot, as they still are today.  They are not part of Pesach, or Passover, and never have been.  Palm branches and Hosannas for Passover are like Christmas trees and carols for Easter.

Well, the temple priests and elders of the Sanhedrin, along with the business leaders present, who were trying to conduct ceremonies and collect wagonloads of money from tourists, took exception to the gloom Jesus ben Ananias was spreading, arrested him and took him into the basilica at the south end of the temple compound, its meeting place at the time, where they interrogated and beat him, trying to goad him into either silence or an actionable outburst.

Failing, they sent him to the Roman procurator, Lucceius Albinus, accusing him of sedition and suspicion of rebellion.  Hearing their case and hearing from the defendant nothing but more of the same, the procurator had him flogged.  Jesus ben Ananias never cried out except to say “Woe to Jerusalem!” repeatedly.  Albinus decided he was just crazy, and let him go.

Jesus ben Ananias continued preaching about the impending destruction of Jerusalem until his death during the Siege from a rock thrown by a Roman catapault.

The festival at which Jesus ben Ananias chose to appear, by the way, is the one at which Jews look forward to the coming of the Messiah.  The name Ananias is a Greek rendering of the Hebrew name Hanina, and it is not beyond possibility that this Jesus, or Yeshua, was the son of the earlier sage Hanina ben Hezekiah ben Garon.

The Great Jewish Revolt

Despite unrest in the past decade, the Romans were unprepared for the violence of the uprising that began in 66 CE, at first centered in Judea, but then spreading to Galilee, Idumea,  and even Samaria.  The legions retook Samaria first, destroying its capital of Sebaste and burning the temple atop Mt. Gerizim (rebuilt by Herod in 19 BCE).  Galilee fell in 69 CE, which left Judea and Idumea. 

While the Romans had been reconquering their perimeter, six factions of rebels fought for supremacy among themselves, only uniting as the Romans closed their siege lines.  These factions included the traditional Temple Guard and priests, the Galilean Zealots, Judean peasants, the Judean Zealots, the Sikarii, and the Idumeans.  The members of the fledging cult then known as The Way or the Nazarenes fled the city to the Nabatean capital of Petra. 

The siege lasted six months, with tens of thousands dying of starvation and disease, plus those caught when trying to escape whom the Romans crucified within sight of the walls, thousands of them.  At the height of the Siege, the entire city was surrounded with crucified people.  Until the accessible countryside ran out of wood, that is.

Aftermath

After the capitulation, captive rebels were forced to tear the city down to ground level, leaving only the western wall of the city and three towers, according to Josephus, who was there on site.  The Romans crucified only a few of the survivors; one of the captive leaders, in fact, made it to Rome (John of Giscala).  Many of the survivors of the siege and some captives from elsewhere in Palestine were deported to imperial territories in North Africa west of Egypt, where they became ancestors to the Jewish ethnic division known as the Maghrebim.

Note that above I stress “of the city” when referring to the western wall left standing.  It was the western wall of the entire city, not the western wall of the temple mount, which was on the east side of the city.  The mount and compound of the temple, which occupied the eastern extremity of the city, were dismantled even more completely than the rest of the city.  During the siege, the Temple had caught fire and was utterly destroyed, with the fire burning hot enough to liquefy all the gold in its treasury.  To get it all, the legionnaires forced the captives to reduce it thoroughly to ground level and sift through all the detritus.

In the second year of the Great Jewish Revolt, the Samaritans, previously quiet, joined the revolt, but their rebellion was swiftly ended by Sextus Vettulenus Cerealis, legate of Syria, who destroyed their temple atop Mount Gerizim near Neapolis (Nablus).

The Sikarii, many of them escapees from the Siege of Jerusalem, held out for three years in Herod's fortress at Masada.  When the Roman finally breached the walls with laboriously constructed siege engines, they found all inhabitants dead by their own hands.

At the time of the revolt, there was not only the temple in Jerusalem and that atop Mount Gerizim, but another in Egypt, at Leontoplis in the "Land of Onias".  After the capture of Masada, the prefect of Egypt, the same Tiberius Julius Alexander who had previously been procurator of Judea, destroyed the temple of Onias to prevent it becoming a staging ground for rebellion.

Of the eschatological discourse on the Mount of Olives

In the discourse, Jesus talks of other signs for the coming of the Son of Man, although he stresses after naming several that seeing them does not necessarily that the end is imminent.  Then he tells the Parable of the Blossoming Fig Tree, which some quite mistakenly and on little basis say is a prophecy of the revival of a Jewish nation-state.  In reality, when he talks of the fig tree blooming and knowing therefore that “spring is nigh”, it is the same as saying, “When you see the dogwoods blooming, you know you’re about to get a cold snap”, nothing more.

The version of the discourse in Matthew and Mark replaces the prophecy in Luke about Jerusalem being surrounded by armies with absurd anachronism about a future “abomination of desolation”.  For Jesus of Nazareth to have issued such a prediction in the fourth decade of the Common Era (c. 33 CE) would have been as ridiculous as me predicting in the year 2015 that there will be a civil war in the United States when the southern states attempt to secede from the Union in order to preserve slavery. 

The purported “abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet” took place even longer before Jesus’ day than the Civil War is from now.  It would be more like me predicting the War of 1812.

Alexander the Great conquered Syria, Samerina (Samaria), Yehud (Judea), Phoenicia, Philistia, and Egypt from the Achaemenid Empire of Iran in 332 BCE.  After he died in 323 BCE, war broke out among his generals over the spoils.

At the end of the Wars of the Diadochi (the successors) in 301 BCE, the province of Samareia with its sub-province of Judeia lay in the hands of the Ptolemys of Egypt.  Their Seleucid rivals of Antioch in Syria took Samareia in 219 BCE and Judeia in 198 BCE.

Thirty years later (168 BCE), the Selucid king in Antioch, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, invaded Ptolemaic Egypt to take that dynasty’s last bit of territory, but was forced out by the latter’s allies from the Roman Republic.  On his return to his capital at Antioch, his army stopped in the vicinity of Jerusalem, seat of Judeia, then a sub-province of Samareia.  This is when the “abomination of desolation” is supposed to have taken place.

The story in the Apocrypha book of 1 Maccabees (written by a pro-Hasmonean propagandist) is that Antiochus stormed the temple mount, breeched compound, invaded the inner sanctum, and erected a statue to Zeus in the Holy of Holies.  Josephus’ account is mch more prosaic; according to him, Antiochus helped restore the high priest, Menelaus son of Simon of the Oniad dynasty, who had been deposed by the previous high priest, his brother Jason, while the Seleucid army was in Egypt.  To pay off his benefactor, Menelaus plundered the temple treasury.

The story about an “abomination of desolation” made a better story for propagandists of the Hasmonean dynasty.  The accuracy of this “prophecy” in the book of Daniel was greatly enhanced by the fact that it was probably written by the same author as the one who recorded its fulfillment in 1 Maccabees (among other commonalities, they make the same historical errors).

Whatever their actual nature, the events occurred a decade before that actual outbreak of the Second Judean Civil War, sometimes called the Maccabean Revolt, which happened over the question of succession after the death of high priest Alcimus in 159 BCE.  Rising in noble answer to such an egregious offence sounds much better than the ignoble quest of greed and ambition that it actually was.

Conclusion

So, the prophecies of the Olivet Discourse?  For the most part already fulfilled, and the remainder vague at best.  Even James Ussher, to whose chronology of history so many are committed, knowingly or otherwise (he was the one who originated the date of 4004 BCE for Creation), explicitly stated this to be the case.  He felt it so strongly that he ended his chronology with the events that led up to the temple’s destruction.

A Rosary of the BVM for Anglo-Catholic Use

The Scripture passages used herein are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible © 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.

Collects: © Church Publishing Inc.; used by permission.

A Rosary for Anglo-Catholic use

The following form for saying the Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary is based on the forms in Rosaries compiled for the use of the English Church (1853), The Practice of Religion (1908), St. Augustine’s Prayer Book (1947), and current practice of the Rosary in the Roman Church.

(Image from the website of Loyola Press: http://www.loyolapress.com/praying-the-rosary.htm)

The method for saying the Rosary is simple and intended to be so.  The entire Rosary here includes twenty decades divided into four chaplets of five decades each.  Many who have used the Rosary before may be used to just fifteen decades in three chaplets.  In the Roman Church, it has had four chaplets since 2002, the year that Pope John Paul II instituted the fourth chaplet of Mysteries, his reason for doing so given at the end of the prayers here.

The opening prayers are the Sign of the Cross (Signum Crucis), the Apostle’s Creed (Symbolum Apostolorum), the Our Father (Pater Noster), three Hail Marys (Ave Maria), and the Lesser Doxology (Gloria Patri).

After these are said, the first decade begins.  On the large, or single, bead, first name the Mystery upon which you are meditating.  On each small bead, say a Hail Mary.  When you get to the chain, or string, say the Lesser Doxology.  On the chain at the end of the final decade, the Greater Doxology (Gloria in excelsis) may be substituted for the Lesser Doxology.  Upon concluding the final decade, say the Marian Anthem appropriate to the time of the church year.

The Joyful Mysteries are said Mondays and Sundays from the First Sunday of Advent through Transfiguration Sunday (Last Sunday after the Epiphany before Lent).

The Luminous Mysteries are said Thursdays and Sundays after Pentecost, except for Christ the King Sunday (Last Sunday before Advent).

The Sorrowful Mysteries are said Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays of Lent.

The Glorious Mysteries are said Wednesdays, Saturdays, Easter Day through Pentecost Sunday, and Christ the King Sunday.

The gospel passages supplied here for each of the Mysteries may be read or not between each Mystery during the recitation of the Rosary.

For the traditional Hail Mary, some may wish to substitute its Eastern Orthodox counterpart, the Theotokos Parthenos:

“Rejoice, Mary, Virgin Mother of God, full of grace, the Lord is with thee:  Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, for thou hast given birth to the Saviour of our souls.”

Opening prayers

Sign of the Cross (Signum Crucis)

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Still holding the cross, say:

Apostle’s Creed (Symbolum Apostolorum)

I believe in God, the Father almighty, 

    creator of heaven and earth; 

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. 

    He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit 

        and born of the Virgin Mary. 

    He suffered under Pontius Pilate, 

        was crucified, died, and was buried. 

    He descended to the dead. 

    On the third day he rose again. 

    He ascended into heaven, 

        and is seated at the right hand of the Father. 

    He will come again to judge the living and the dead. 

I believe in the Holy Spirit, 

    the holy catholic Church, 

    the communion of saints, 

    the forgiveness of sins

    the resurrection of the body, 

    and the life everlasting. Amen.

On the large bead say:

Lord’s Prayer (Pater Noster)

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name.  Thy kingdom come.  Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread.  And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.  Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.  Amen.

On the three small beads say, meditating on Faith, Hope, and Love:

Hail Mary (Ave Maria)

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of death. Amen.

On the chain say:

Lesser Doxology (Gloria Patri)

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever.  Amen.

Saying the chaplet for the Mysteries

For each decade of beads:

Start each decade by naming the Mystery on which you will be meditating.

On each large bead, say:

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name.  Thy kingdom come.  Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread.  And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.  Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.  Amen.

On each of the ten small beads, say:

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of death. Amen.

On the chain say:

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever.  Amen.

The Mysteries of the Rosary,

These are arranged in three groups of five.  The Scripture passage may be read before the Our Father of the decade and the Collect said after the Gloria Patri.

Joyful Mysteries of the Incarnation

Said Mondays and Sundays of Advent thru Transfiguration Sunday

1. The Annunciation (Luke 1:26-38)

²⁶ In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, ²⁷ to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”  ²⁹ But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.³⁰ The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹ And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. ³² He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. ³³ He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” ³⁴ Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”  ³⁵ The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. ³⁶ And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. ³⁷ For nothing will be impossible with God.” ³⁸ Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

Collect  Pour your grace into our hearts, O Lord, that we who have known the incarnation of your Son Jesus Christ, announced by an angel to the Virgin Mary, may by his cross and passion be brought to the glory of his resurrection; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

2. The Visitation (Luke 1:39-56)

³⁹ In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, ⁴⁰ where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.⁴¹ When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit ⁴² and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. ⁴³ And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? ⁴⁴ For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵ And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”

⁴⁶ And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord,⁴⁷ and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, ⁴⁸ for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; ⁴⁹ for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.  ⁵⁰ His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.  ⁵¹ He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.  ⁵² He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; ⁵³ he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.  ⁵⁴ He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, ⁵⁵ according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”  ⁵⁶ And Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.

Collect  Father in heaven, by your grace the virgin mother of your incarnate Son was blessed in bearing him, but still more blessed in keeping your word: Grant us who honor the exaltation of her lowliness to follow the example of her devotion to your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

3. The Nativity (Luke 2:4-20)

⁴ Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. ⁵ He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. ⁷ And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

⁸ In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: ¹¹ to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” ¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, ¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”

¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶ So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. ¹⁷ When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Collect  Almighty God, you have given your only-begotten Son to take our nature upon him, and to be born of a pure virgin: Grant that we, who have been born again and made your children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by your Holy Spirit; through our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom with you and the same Spirit be honor and glory, now and forever. Amen.

4. The Presentation in the Temple (Luke 2:22-35)

²² When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord ²³ (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”), ²⁴ and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”

²⁵ Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. ²⁶ It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.  ²⁷ Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, ²⁸ Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, ²⁹ “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; ³⁰ for my eyes have seen your salvation, ³¹ which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, ³² a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”

³³ And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. ³⁴ Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed ³⁵ so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

Collect  Almighty and everliving God, we humbly pray that, as your only-begotten Son was this day presented in the temple, so we may be presented to you with pure and clean hearts by Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

5. The Finding in the Temple (Luke 2:41-51)

⁴¹ Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. ⁴² And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. ⁴³ When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. ⁴⁴ Assuming that he was in the group of travelers, they went a day’s journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. ⁴⁵ When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. ⁴⁶ After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. ⁴⁷ And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. ⁴⁸ When his parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, “Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.”⁴⁹ He said to them, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”   ⁵⁰ But they did not understand what he said to them. ⁵¹ Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart.

Collect  Receive, Lord, the prayers of your people, and grant that we may see and know those thing which we ought to do, and have the grace and power to do them; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Luminous Mysteries of the Ministry

Said Thursdays and Sundays after Pentecost

1. The Baptism of Jesus (Matthew 3:13-17)

¹³ Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him.¹⁴ John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” ¹⁵ But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. ¹⁶ And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. ¹⁷ And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

Collect  Father in heaven, who at the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan proclaimed him your beloved Son and anointed him with the Holy Spirit: Grant that all who are baptized into his Name may keep the covenant they have made, and boldly confess him as Lord and Savior; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

2. The Wedding at Cana (John 2:1-12)

2 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. ² Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.³ When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” ⁴ And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.” ⁵ His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” ⁶ Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. ⁷ Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. ⁸ He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.” So they took it. ⁹ When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom ¹⁰ and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.” ¹¹ Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

¹² After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother, his brothers, and his disciples; and they remained there a few days.

Collect  Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world: Grant that your people, illumined by your Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ's glory, that he may be known, worshipped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and forever. Amen.

3. The Proclamation of the Kingdom (Mark 1:14b-15, 2:3-13)

¹⁴ Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, ¹⁵ and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the gospel.”

³ Then some people came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. ⁴ And when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and after having dug through it, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay. ⁵ When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” ⁶ Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, ⁷ “Why does this fellow speak in this way? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” ⁸ At once Jesus perceived in his spirit that they were discussing these questions among themselves; and he said to them, “Why do you raise such questions in your hearts? ⁹ Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and take your mat and walk’? ¹⁰ But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— ¹¹ “I say to you, stand up, take your mat and go to your home.” ¹² And he stood up, and immediately took the mat and went out before all of them; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

¹³ Jesus went out again beside the sea; the whole crowd gathered around him, and he taught them.

Collect  O Lord, you have taught us that without love whatever we do is worth nothing: Send your Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts your greatest gift, which is love, the true bond of peace and of all virtue, without which whoever lives is accounted dead before you. Grant this for the sake of your only Son Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

4. The Transfiguration (Mark 9:2-8)

² Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, ³ and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. ⁴ And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. ⁵ Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three shrines, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ⁶ He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. ⁷ Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” ⁸ Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them anymore, but only Jesus.

Collect  O God, who on the holy mount revealed to chosen witnesses your well-beloved Son, wonderfully transfigured, in raiment white and glistening: Mercifully grant that we, being delivered from the disquietude of this world, may by faith behold the King in his beauty; who with you, O Father, and you, O Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

5. The Institution of the Eucharist (Luke 22:14-20)

¹⁴ When the hour came, he took his place at the table, and the apostles with him. ¹⁵ He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; ¹⁶ for I tell you, I will not eat it^[a] until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” ¹⁷ Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; ¹⁸ for I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” ¹⁹ Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁰ And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.”

Collect  Almighty Father, whose dear Son, on the night before he suffered, instituted the Sacrament of his Body and Blood: Mercifully grant that we may receive it thankfully in remembrance of Jesus Christ our Lord, who in these holy mysteries gives us a pledge of eternal life; and who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

Sorrowful Mysteries of the Redemption

Said Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays from First Sunday of Lent thru Palm Sunday

1. The Agony in the Garden (Matthew 26:36-46)

³⁶ Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” ³⁷ He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and agitated. ³⁸ Then he said to them, “I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me.” ³⁹ And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.” ⁴⁰ Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, “So, could you not stay awake with me one hour? ⁴¹ Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” ⁴² Again he went away for the second time and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” ⁴³ Again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. ⁴⁴ So leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words. ⁴⁵ Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴⁶ Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand.”

Collect  Jesus Christ, Good Shepherd who feeds and purifies your sheep with your own precious Blood: let your Agony in the Garden and all your Passion be comfort and salvation to us and to all sinners.  Amen

2. The Scourging (Luke 23:13-16)

¹³ Pilate then called together the chief priests, the leaders, and the people,¹⁴ and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was perverting the people; and here I have examined him in your presence and have not found this man guilty of any of your charges against him. ¹⁵ Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us. Indeed, he has done nothing to deserve death. ¹⁶ I will therefore have him flogged and release him.”

Collect  Lord God, whose blessed Son our Savior gave his body to be whipped and his face to be spit upon: Give us grace to accept joyfully the sufferings of the present time, confident of the glory that shall be revealed; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

3. The Crowning with Thorns (John 19:2-3)

² And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they dressed him in a purple robe. ³ They kept coming up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and striking him on the face.

Collect  Jesus, you were crowned with thorns, blindfolded, buffeted, struck with a reed, clothed in derision with a purple garment, and in many other ways mocked and reviled: have mercy on us, Lord, now and at the hour of our death.  Amen.

4. Bearing the Cross (John 19:16-17)

⁶ Then he handed him over to them to be crucified.  So they took Jesus; ¹⁷ and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha.

Collect  Almighty God, whose beloved Son willingly endured the agony and shame of the cross for out redemption: Give us courage to take up our cross and follow him; who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.

5. The Crucifixion (Mark 15:23-37)

²³ And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh; but he did not take it. ²⁴ And they crucified him, and divided his clothes among them, casting lots to decide what each should take.

²⁵ It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. ²⁶ The inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.” ²⁷ And with him they crucified two bandits, one on his right and one on his left. ²⁹ Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, ³⁰ save yourself, and come down from the cross!” ³¹ In the same way the chief priests, along with the scribes, were also mocking him among themselves and saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. ³² Let the Messiah,the King of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also taunted him.

³³ When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. ³⁴ At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”³⁵ When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, “Listen, he is calling for Elijah.” ³⁶ And someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” ³⁷ Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last.

Collect  Almighty God, we pray you graciously to behold this your family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed, and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death upon the cross; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Glorious Mysteries of the Resurrection

Said Wednesdays, Saturdays, Sundays from Easter thru Pentecost, and Christ the King

1. The Resurrection (Matthew 28:1-10)

28 After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. ² And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. ³ His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. ⁴ For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. ⁵ But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. ⁷ Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.”⁸ So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. ⁹ Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him.  ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

Collect  Almighty God, who through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ overcame death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life: Grant that we, who celebrate with joy the day of the Lord's resurrection, may be raised from the death of sin by your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

2. The Ascension (Acts 1:6-11)

⁶ So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” ⁷ He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. ⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” ⁹ When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. ¹⁰ While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. ¹¹ They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

Collect  Almighty God, whose blessed Son our Savior Jesus Christ ascended far above all heavens that he might fill all things: Mercifully give us faith to perceive that, according to his promise, he abides with his Church on earth, even to the end of the ages; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

3. The Descent of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:13-14, 2:1-4)

¹³ When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. ¹⁴ All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.

2 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.² And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. ³ Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. ⁴ All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

Collect  Almighty God, you opened the way of eternal life to every race and nation by the promised gift of your Holy Spirit: Shed abroad this gift throughout the world by the preaching of the Gospel, that it may reach to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

4. The Church Triumphant or The Assumption (Revelation 7:2-12)

² I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to damage earth and sea, ³ saying, “Do not damage the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have marked the servants of our God with a seal on their foreheads.”

⁴ And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred forty-four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the people of Israel.

⁹ After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. ¹⁰ They cried out in a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!” ¹¹ And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, ¹² singing, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom
and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

Collect  Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

5. The Beatific Vision or The Coronation (Revelation 4:1-11)

4 After this I looked, and there in heaven a door stood open! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” ² At once I was in the spirit, and there in heaven stood a throne, with one seated on the throne!³ And the one seated there looks like jasper and carnelian, and around the throne is a rainbow that looks like an emerald. ⁴ Around the throne are twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones are twenty-four elders, dressed in white robes, with golden crowns on their heads. ⁵ Coming from the throne are flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and in front of the throne burn seven flaming torches, which are the seven spirits of God; ⁶ and in front of the throne there is something like a sea of glass, like crystal.

Around the throne, and on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: ⁷ the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with a face like a human face, and the fourth living creature like a flying eagle. ⁸ And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and inside. Day and night without ceasing they sing, “Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God the Almighty, who was and is and is to come.”

⁹ And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to the one who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, ¹⁰ the twenty-four elders fall before the one who is seated on the throne and worship the one who lives forever and ever; they cast their crowns before the throne, singing, ¹¹ “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

Collect  Almighty and everlasting God, you have given to us your servants grace, by the confession of a true faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of your divine Majesty to worship the Unity: Keep us steadfast in this faith and worship, and bring us at last to see you in your one and eternal glory, O Father; who with the Son and the Holy Spirit live and reign, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

Concluding prayers

On the chain at the end of the fifth decade, the Greater Doxology (Gloria in excelsis) may be substituted for the Lesser (Gloria Patri).

            Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth.
            Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father, we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory.
            Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, Lord God, Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us; you are seated at the right hand of the Father: receive our prayer.
            For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

The following Marian Antiphon concludes with a seasonal versicle, response, and collect.

Salve Regina

Hail, holy Queen, Mother of Mercy! our life, our sweetness, and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley, of tears. Turn, then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us; and after this our exile show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus; O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

In Advent, conclude with:

V. The Angel of the Lord announced unto Mary,

R. And she conceived by the Holy Spirit.

Pour forth we beseech thee, O Lord, thy grace into our hearts, that we to whom the Incarnation of Christ, thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may, by his Passion and Cross, be brought to the glory of his resurrection; through the same Christ, our Lord.  Amen.

From Christmas Day thru Candlemas Eve, conclude with:

V. The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.

R. O Mother of God, plead for us.

O God, who by the fruitful virginity of blessed Mary, hast given unto mankind the rewards of eternal salvation: grant, we beseech thee, that we may experience her intercession for us, by whom we deserved to receive the Author of life, our Lord Jesus Christ, thy Son.  Amen.

From Candlemas (2 February) thru Good Friday, conclude with:

V. Allow me to praise thee, O sacred Virgin.

R. Against thine enemies give me strength.

Grant unto us, O merciful God, a defense against our weakness, that we who remember the holy Mother of God, by the help of her intercession, may rise from our iniquities, through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

From Easter thru Pentecost, conclude with:

V. Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, alleluia.

R. For the Lord is risen indeed, alleluia.

O God, who through the resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ gave rejoicing to the world, grant, we pray, that through his Mother, the Virgin Mary, we may obtain the joy of everlasting life.  Through Christ our Lord.  Amen.

From  Trinity Sunday thru Christ the King, conclude with:

V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.

R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Almighty, everlasting God, who by the cooperation of the Holy Spirit didst prepare the body and soul of the glorious Virgin-Mother Mary to become a dwelling-place meet for thy Son: grant that as we rejoice in her commemoration; so by her fervent intercession we may be delivered from present evils and from everlasting death. Through the same Christ our Lord.  Amen.

At anytime, instead of the seasonal collect, the following may be used:

V. Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God.

R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

O God, whose only-begotten Son, by his life, death, and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal life, grant, we beseech thee, that meditating upon these mysteries of the most holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise, through the same Christ our Lord.  Amen.

After the concluding collect, say,

V. May the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace.

R. And let light perpetual shine upon them.

May Almighty God bless us, Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Afterword

A very, very brief history of the Ave Maria

In support of the form of the Ave Maria in Rosaries compiled for Use in the English Church, I should point out that the prayer only came to be accepted in the West around 1050, and at that time included just the first sentence, the greetings to Mary from Gabriel and Elizabeth.  Prior to that, the sentences had been included as offertory antiphons on three occasions, the Feast of the Annunciation, Ember Wednesday of December, and the Fourth Sunday of Advent.

In the West, Pope Urban IV added the name Jesus Christ to the end of the sentences from Luke in 1263; “Christ” was later dropped.  By the fourteenth century, two forms of supplication had been added in different places, different forms of similar petitions: (1) “Pray for us sinners.  Amen” vis-a-vis (2) “Pray for us now and at the hour or our death.  Amen”.  Pope Pius V officially added the petitions as they are now in 1566.

In the Sarum Missal, the Ave Maria formed part of the opening prayers of the Canon of the Mass, following the Veni Creator Spiritus, the Collect for Purity, Psalm 43, the Kyrie, and the Paternoster.  However, in the texts that exist, the passages from Luke form the whole prayer, even the names “Mary” and “Jesus” included as no more than rubrics within the prayer as optional additions.  At least that was the case in 1504.  A Sarum Breviary printed in Paris in 1531 gave the full Ave Maria as we have it today, but a Primer published in England in 1556 gave just the Lucan verses.

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In the East, the two sentences from Luke were used in various forms of the Eucharist as a regular prayer as early as the fifth century.  Nearly all Eastern translations into English render the first word as “Rejoice!” rather than “Hail!”.  The phrase, “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners”, was added in the East, at least in the Patriarchate of Alexandria bu the mid-seventh century.  Elsewhere in the East, the prepositional phrase “Because you have borne the Savior of our souls” was added in the sixth or seventh century, and this became the most common form used.  The name Mary and the title Virgin Mother of God (Theotokos Parthenos) were added later to the beginning. 

A Brief History of the Rosary in the Roman Catholic Church

The Rosary of the Roman Catholic Church as we have it today originated in the mid- to late fifteenth century, though legend has it that the form first arose from St. Dominic in the early thirteenth century then fell into disuse.  The form was based on prayer traditions using multiple repetitions of the same prayer, at first the Lord’s Prayer then the Hail Mary, using knots on a rope to keep count. 

Peasants began using a knotted rope, later a rope with beads, to keep count of the one hundred fifty Our Fathers they said to mirror the number of Psalms said by regular clergy in the Divine Office.  The form was called “Our Lady’s Psalter” even then.  After some time, the Our Fathers became Hail Marys.

Toward the end of the fourteenth century, a Carthusian monk named Henry Kalkar divided the 150 prayers into fifteen decades, to be said on a chaplet of five decades.  Elsewhere, another Carthusian monk, Dominic of Prussia, assigned a verse of Scripture to each bead of the entire chaplet, making fifty Mysteries in all.

In 1483, an anonymous Dominican friar published a booklet called Our Dear Lady’s Psalter, which reduced the number of mysteries to fifteen, the same as those of the Joyous, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries, except for the last two, which in this case were “The Assumption and Coronation of Our Lady” and “The Last Judgment”.

In 1521, another Dominican, Alberto de Costello, assigned a major Mystery to each decade while retaining individual meditations for each bead.  Around the same time, the Gloria Patri was added to the end of each decade.

The Rosary’s Joyous, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries were formalized by the Vatican in 1559, a quarter century after the separation of the Church of England from the Church of Rome. 

The Fatima Prayer (“O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, and lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of your mercy.  Amen.”) became part of the recitation common across the world after 1917.  When used, it follows the Gloria Patri at the end of each decade.  It is not, however, an officially instituted part of the Rosary; the Jesuits, for example, always omit it.

In the Roman Church, the recitation of the Rosary always concludes with the Salve Regina, with the collect after its versicle and response in form presented above replaced by the following:

“O GOD, whose only begotten Son, by his life, death, and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal life, grant, we beseech thee, that meditating upon these mysteries of the most holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise, through the same Christ our Lord.  Amen.”

In 2002, Pope John Paul II issued an encyclical instituting the Luminous Mysteries as part of the Rosary in order to have a chaplet, as a single five-decade set is called, focused on the earthly revelatory ministry of Jesus.

A Brief History of the Rosary in the Anglican Communion

That devotees used a form of the Rosary is demonstrated by manuals for private devotion such as The Encheiridion, published from 1528 to 1530.  The last devotion before the appendix is "The Rosary of the Blessed Virgin".  This Rosary follows the older formula of having separate meditations not for each decade but for every small bead.  After the meditation is read on each bead, devotees said the Hail Mary thus:  "Hail Mary! full of grace, the Lord is with thee!  Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus Christ!".  At the end of the decade, devotee said the Our Father, the Apostle's Creed, and another Hail Mary.  There were no closing prayers.

The practice of saying the Rosary as we know it today came (back) to the Anglican Communion via the Church of England during the Oxford Movement that began in the 1830’s.  It wasn’t until 1853, however, that one of its adherents published a devotional manual for Anglicans which included the Dominican Rosary, called Rosaries compiled for the use of the English Church. 

In this 1853 manual the last two of the Glorious Mysteries—the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary—were changed to the Triumph of the Church in the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Saints (Church Triumphant for short) and the Consummation of the Bliss of the Saints (Beatific Vision for short), respectively. 

The first Rosary in the manual is called the Rosary of the Psalter, and was intended to be used for all fifteen Mysteries at once.  In place of the Ave Maria (Hail Mary), the manual here substituted the Pater Noster (Our Father).  Each decade was preceded with a scriptural passage relating to the Mystery in question and concluded with the Gloria Patri and a collect tailored to the mystery just meditated upon.

In addition to that rosary and the Rosary of the BVM or Rosary of St. Dominic, the Rosaries compiled for the use of the English Church also included rosaries of the Most Holy Trinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ, of our Lord’s Passion, of the Heart of Jesus, of the Faithful Departed (two of these), and two Eucharistic Chaplets.

In its introduction, the 1853 manual suggested the Roman Ave Maria may be substituted by the Eastern Orthodox version Theotokos Parthenos, giving the following version:  “Hail, Virgin Mary, Mother of God, full of grace, the Lord is with thee:  Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, which gave birth to the Savior of our souls.”  The text I provided above comes from Eastern Orthodox sources.

For its own version of the Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, however, the manual simply omits the petitionary second half of the Ave Maria.  Each of the three sets of Mysteries, called Chaplets by the 1853 manual, concludes with the Angelus.

The devotional manual The Encheiridion mentioned above was republished in 1860.

The Practice of Religion, first published in 1908 in London and New York City, follows the 1853 Rosaries in its listing of the Glorious Mysteries in its Catechism section, but in the section instructing the reader how to say the Rosary uses the Roman Catholic originals.  It offers no alternate form of the Hail Mary and concludes with the Salve Regina.

St. Augustine’s Prayer Book, first published in 1947,  gives no alternate to the names of the last two Glorious Mysteries anywhere.  It also adds the seasonal Marian Antiphons from the Daily Office in the Roman Church to the end of the Rosary.  The English translations here are those in current Roman use than the more archaic forms in the SAPB.

Notes on this Rosary

Candlemas is the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Presentation of Christ in the Temple.  The name comes from the medieval practice of blessing beeswax candles for home use on that day.

The point between the Joyful and Sorrowful Mysteries for Sundays used to be Septuagesima, three Sundays before Lent, rather than Transfiguration Sunday.  Septuagesima and the two after it, Sexagesima and Quinquagesima, once formed the preparatory period before Lent known as Pre-Lent or Shrovetide.  The Roman Catholic Church ceased observing Shrovetide in 1969, and the Episcopal Church followed suit in 1979.  Transfiguration Sunday gets that name because the gospel passage designated for that Sunday every year in the Revised Common Lectionary is the account of the Transfiguration, intentionally presaging Lent.

In the Roman Church, the Luminous Mysteries are used on Thursday only.  The Glorious Mysteries are said Sundays from Easter Day through Christ the King Sunday.  I read John Paul II’s encyclical, which gave his reason for instituting this addition to the Rosary as wanting to provide a chaplet (set of five decades) focusing on Jesus’ earthly ministry.  I thought that using the Sundays during what the Roman Church calls Ordinary Time would make that point even more clearly.

Speaking of Ordinary Time, at least Ordinary Time after Pentecost, that was once called the Season of Trinity in the Episcopal Church and Anglican Communion, with Sundays called Sundays after Trinity.  Now if a name for the period as a season is used, it is called Pentecost, which is really a reference to the fifty days between Easter and Pentecost Sunday.  The National Council of Churches recommended in 1937 that this period be called Kingdomtide, but no one took them up on that.  Some Methodist and Presbyterian denominations use the term, but for a much shorter period.  In the Church of England, the observance of Kingdomtide is optional from All Saints’ Day to the First Sunday of Advent.

I left out the Fatima Prayer in the text here because the Episcopal Church does not recognize the purported appearance there.  It is also not an official part of the Rosary even in the Roman Catholic Church; the Jesuits, for example, have never included it.

I included both names for the last two of the Glorious Mysteries and placed the designations published in Rosaries compiled for the use of the English Church because I prefer them since they follow the overall flow better and because I agree with the compiler of Rosaries that the Assumption and the Coronation are apocryphal even within a collection of stories and myths that are already mostly at best if not fully apocryphal themselves. 

The objection of the Roman Catholic journal The Rambler at the time Rosaries was published was that these title detract from Mary.  However, the fourth of the Joyous Mysteries has been officially designated “The Presentation in the Temple” since 1559 despite the fact that the main reason for the Holy Family being at the Temple was for the Purification of the BVM according to the Torah, which mandates a woman giving birth come before a priest for ritual purification forty days after the event.  That fact significantly weakens the strength of The Rambler’s argument on that point.

Still, I included the 1559 designations as optional and consider them acceptable.  It is a matter of preference.  Despite the weak attempt by the compiler of St. Augustine’s (the Rev. Loren Gavitt) to provide some scriptural basis for their use, there is none whatsoever.

I lifted the scripture passages for meditations on each Mystery mostly from Rosaries in the case of the Joyous, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries, with a couple from St. Augustine’s.  For the Luminous Mysteries, I used the passages from John Paul’s encyclical instituting them, though I substituted Luke’s account of the Institution of the Eucharist for the one from Matthew.  Luke is the only gospel that preserves the original tripartite form of benedictions from the chavurah meal upon which the first Eucharistic prayers were based.

The collects after each Mystery came from the Book of Common Prayer and from the Book of Occasional Services.

As is the case with Roman Catholic practice and that of most Anglo-Catholics, the form of the Rosary here concludes with the Salve Regina.  The seasonal versicles, responses, and collects for are those after the Marian Antiphons in St. Augustine’s, but are the current English translations in use by the Roman Church.

P.S.: The original posting of this on 8 December, the Feast of the Conception, was pure coincidence.