The Reign of Christ
Let us pray (in silence) [that the reign of Christ may live in our hearts and come to our world]
Pause
Almighty ever-living God, [or Sovereign God]
it is your will to gather up all things
in your beloved one,
reigning in the universe
in the power that is love,
mercifully grant
that the whole of creation,
freed from slavery,
may serve and praise you
through Jesus Christ
who is alive with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
Once again, we have a collect shared by Anglicans (Episcopalians) and Roman Catholics on the same day. The commentary is here. The above is my rendering in my Book of Prayers in Common.
Prayer after Communion
Stir up, O Lord, [or Stir up, O God]
the wills of your faithful people;
that they, richly bearing the fruit of good works,
may by you be richly rewarded;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
The Feast of Christ the King/the Reign of Christ is obviously a feast day, celebrated on the Sunday. The collect, hence, is not used on the weekdays following. The following collect is suggested for the weekdays following:
Let us pray (in silence) [that we may be prepared]
pause
Stir up, O Lord, [or Stir up, O God]
the wills of your faithful people;
that they, richly bearing the fruit of good works,
may by you be richly rewarded;
through Jesus Christ
who is alive with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God now and for ever.
Amen.
commentary on the ancient Stir Up collect
Textweek resources (off this site)
If you appreciated this post, consider liking the liturgy facebook page, using the RSS feed, and/or signing up for a not-very-often email, …
image: The Crown of Thorns by Matthias Stom (1615–1649).
Amen. Happy Thanksgiving Bosco.
As I listened to the Gospel reading last Sunday about Jesus standing in the Temple complex and the disciple marveling to him about the wonderous buildings, I was impressed with a thought when hearing the last line of the reading, “These are but the beginning of the birth pangs.”
I don’t know if I have the words to explain my thoughts, but I will try. The primitive Saints expected the coming of God’s realm in their lifetimes and yet it has now been 2 thousand years. Jesus spoke of the calamities that would always befall us, both natural and human-caused. I was impressed with the thought that until we are capable of responding to these as Christ taught us, to love God and to love others as ourselves, that the Commonwealth can’t/won’t come, because we bring it about ourselves through our response. The human response has been inadequate for 2 thousand years, so we can look upon those calamities as false labor pangs. It may yet be 2 thousand more years until we, as all humanity, learn to respond to the labor pangs as Christ would have us to.
A fascinating thought, thanks, David. Blessings.