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Welsh prayer before communion

Lord Jesus Christ,
you draw and welcome us,
emptied of pride and hungry for your grace,
to this your kingdom’s feast.
Nowhere can we find food for which our souls cry out,
but here, Lord, at your table.
Invigorate and nourish us, good Lord,
that in and through this bread and wine
your love may meet us
and your life complete us in the power and glory of your kingdom.
Amen.

An alternative to the Prayer of Humble Access; page 33.

From AN ORDER FOR THE HOLY EUCHARIST
The Church in Wales
Canterbury, 208pp, 1 85311 617 3

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11 thoughts on “Welsh prayer before communion”

  1. this is quite lovely indeed! it is such a heartfelt recognition of the satisfaction i find at the Lord’s table

  2. This is only brilliant – I shall be using it this morning – ties in so well with the sermon from Luke 13.

  3. What a fabulous prayer. Having been brought up in the Church of England, although I am drawn to the Evangelical bent, I have such an appreciation of liturgy as the words can express things I can’t always articulate myself.

    Thank you for this.

  4. It is quite good indeed, but the repetition of ‘us’ can be somewhat annoying after a year of use. I prefer the:

    We do not presume
    to come to this your table, merciful Lord,
    trusting in our own righteousness,
    but in your manifold and great mercies.
    We are not worthy
    so much as to gather up the crumbs under your table.
    But you are the same Lord
    whose nature is always to have mercy.
    Grant us, therefore, gracious Lord,
    so to eat the flesh of your dear Son Jesus Christ
    and to drink his blood,
    that we may evermore dwell in him
    and he in us.
    Amen.

    Found here:

    http://crucix.com/welsh/communion/cinw-hc-english.pdf

    Also you may find this PDF file interesting it concerns the liturgy’s development:

    http://www.churchinwales.org.uk/resources/liturgy/docs/L03.pdf

    retrieved here: http://www.churchinwales.org.uk/resources/liturgy/

    Mark

  5. The rubric for the prayer and its, “We do not presume…” alternative, is: One of the following prayers may then be said
    Either… Or
    My usual advice, especially to worship leaders starting out, to prevent the cluttering of the liturgy, is if it says “may” – leave it out.
    “We do not presume…” could be an option used during Lent, for example.
    The Welsh prayer could be appropriate on other occasions.
    Mostly neither could be used aloud.
    If a person particularly appreciates either prayer, they are very good for individual devotion.
    IMO.

  6. David, sorry I was a bit vague. I was referring specifically to the “that in and through this bread and wine, your love may meet us and your life complete us”. The rhythm of these words often ends up making them sound like a half-hearted attempt at a rhyme.

    But I am sounding more negative than I mean to.

    We use this prayer (virtually) every Sunday, but that does not reflect the pattern of the whole of the CiW.

  7. So glad to have found an acceptable alternative to the Prayer of Humble Access, which has troubled me for some time now and which I cannot, in all honesty, pray or lead others in saying.

    This Welsh prayer strikes just the right note of humility without labouring a persons unworthiness, for whose sins they have already had a chance to confess, and received absolution. Thanks for posting, albeit some time ago.

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