Sunday between 10 February and 16 February
Let us pray (in silence) [that God enables us to live in God’s love]
Pause
O God,
you promise to abide with those who are just and pure in heart;
give us your grace to live in such a way
that we are a dwelling pleasing to you;
through Jesus Christ
who is alive with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
From the Gelasian Sacramentary for the Sunday after Ascension Thursday. This explains the stress on God’s dwelling with us:
Deus, qui te in rectis et sinceris manere pectoribus asseris, da nobis tua gratia tales exsistere, in quibus habitare digneris.
manere: to remain, stay, dwell, abide
pectoribus: literally the breast-bone, chest, stomach; can be understood as the soul, spirit, mind, character, heart
rectis: morally just, virtuous, upright, righteous
sinceris: pure, sound, whole; genuine
exsistere: to become, turned into, to step out, emerge, to manifest
ICEL 1973 had it as:
God our Father, you have promised to remain for ever with those who do what is just and right. Help us to live in your presence.
Failed 1998 English Missal translation:
O God,
you promise to remain with those
whose hearts are faithful and just.
By the gift of your grace
make our lives worthy of your abiding presence.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever.
ICEL 2011:
O God, who teach us that you abide in hearts that are just and true, grant that we may be so fashioned by your grace as to become a dwelling pleasing to you.
I am unaware of an Anglican usage of this collect.