Let us pray (in silence) [that we may follow the Good Shepherd]
pause
O God,
you shine the light of your truth
so that any who stray into error
may be able to return to the right path,
grant that all who profess the Christian faith
may reject whatever is contrary to the name of Christ
and eagerly follow the way that leads to you;
through Jesus Christ
who is alive with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
The above prayer has been revised in the light of the comment below. The pre-updated prayer is at the bottom.
It is used by Roman Catholics (on this coming Sunday), and is in the Sarum Missal, and is used in the Church of England; and in the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia – but on other Sundays.
I intend this collect to be added to my Book of Prayers in Common. I am considering that it could be in that book for both Easter 4 and Ordinary Sunday 15, and would be interested in any argument against using a good collect twice in a year.
Click on this link to find my history, commentary, and reflection on this collect: Ordinary 15.
Some other celebrations this coming week:
Further resources: TextWeek
Pre-updated prayer:
O God,
you shine the light of your truth for those who stray into error,
so that they may be able to return to the right path,
grant that all who profess the Christian faith
may reject whatever is contrary to the name of Christ
and eagerly follow the way that leads to you;
through Jesus Christ
who is alive with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
If you appreciated this post, do remember to like the liturgy facebook page, use the RSS feed, and sign up for a not-very-often email, …
image source for Jesus Mafa The parable of the sower
To make it less about judging others and more about embracing our own complicity in the world’s woes, I would modify this prayer as follows:
O God,
you shine the light of your truth for those OF US who stray into error,
so that WE may be able to return to the right path,
grant that WE who profess the Christian faith
may reject whatever is contrary to the name of Christ
and eagerly follow the way that leads to you;
through Jesus Christ
who is alive with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
Thanks SO much, Jonathan, for these points. I will think them through – especially the first suggested change – that we don’t end up with a God who is just there for us (rather than all). Blessings.
You’ll see above, Jonathan, that I’ve tried to incorporate the point of your modifications into an updated version of the prayer (without tending to the other end of the spectrum where WE (not they/all) are the ones who profess the Christian faith. Blessings.