PART I
At the Holy Communion

The following Collect, Epistle and Gospel are authorized for occasional use at celebrations of the Holy Communion.

One or more of the special Prayers may be said before the Blessing.

 

The Collect

 

We beseech thee, Almighty God, look upon the hearty desires of thy humble servants, and stretch forth the right hand of thy Majesty, to be our defence against all our enemies;  through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

The Epistle. St. James iv: 1.

 

The Gospel. St. Matthew xxiv: 3.

 

Additional Collect at the Holy Communion

 

O Lord Jesus Christ who saidst unto thine Apostles, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you,” regard not our sins but the faith of thy Church, and grant to all the world that peace which is agreeable to thy will, who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.

 

PART II

The Litany

 

In the Litany between the petition That it may please thee to bless and keep all thy people and the petition That it may please thee to give to all nations unity, peace and concord, may be inserted the following:

 

That it may please thee to give wisdom, guidance, and courage to our President and all his counselors;

We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.

 

That it may please thee to uphold and protect those who are in command by land or sea;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.

 

That it may please thee to inspire the soldiers and sailors of our Country with courage, endurance and mercy whether in victory or defeat;

We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.

 

That it may please thee to support and comfort all those who suffer; the sick, the wounded, and the dying;

We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.

 

That it may please thee to support and save the weak, the helpless and all who are suffering privation;

We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.

 

That it may please thee to grant endurance, skill and gentleness to all those who have gone forth to minister to soul or body;

We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.

 

That it may please thee to give spiritual strength and forgiveness in their last hour to the dying, and that thou wouldst receive their souls into thy holy keeping and grant them a merciful judgment at the last day;

We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.

 

That it may please thee to establish the right and speedily to restore a lasting peace to all the world on the unshakeable foundation of righteousness and brotherhood;

We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.

 

NOTE: That the Penitential Office may most appropriately be used either in connection with the Litany or the Holy Communion, or by itself with such additional special prayers as are herein authorized, as a service of Intercession in time of war.

 

NOTE ALSO: It is recommended that the Litany be said in full, the optional portion beginning O Christ hear us, being especially appropriate in time of war.

 

PART III

Prayers and Special Intercessions

 

Before any of these prayers may be said the following:

 

Priest. Let us pray for the Restoration of Peace throughout the World (or some appropriate Bidding).

 

Lord, have mercy upon us.

People. Christ, have mercy upon us.

Priest. Lord, have mercy upon us.

 

Lord, hear our prayer.

 

People. And let our cry come unto thee.

Priest. Give peace in our time, O Lord.

People. For it is thou, Lord, only that makest us dwell in safety.

 

In Time of War and Tumults

 

O Almighty God, the supreme Governor of all things, whose power no creature is able to resist, to whom it belongeth justly to punish sinners, and to be merciful to them that truly repent: Save and deliver us, we humbly beseech thee, from the hands of our enemies; that, we, being armed with thy defence, may be preserved evermore from all perils, to glorify thee, who art the only giver of all victory; through the merits of thy only Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

For Ourselves and Our Allies

 

O Almighty Lord, who art a most strong tower to all those that put their trust in thee, to whom all things in heaven, in earth, and under the earth, do bow and obey: Be now and evermore our defence; prosper the forces of our Country and of our Allies; decide the issues of this war according to righteousness; have mercy on all the wounded, our own and of the enemy; succour the dying; comfort the bereaved; cheer the anxious; uphold the faith of thy servants, and give peace and lasting concord. Hear us, O Lord, from heaven thy dwelling-place, and when thou hearest, forgive; through the mediation of thy Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

For Our Country

 

Priest. Let us pray for our Country.

 

O Lord, save the State.

People. And mercifully hear us when we call upon thee.

 

MOST gracious God, we humbly beseech thee, as for the people of these United States in general, so especially for our President and his Counsellors; that thou wouldest be pleased to direct and prosper all their consultations to the advancement of thy glory, the good of thy Church, the safety, honor and welfare of our people; that all things may be so ordered and settled by their endeavors, upon the best and surest foundations, that peace and happiness, truth and justice, religion and piety, may be established among us for all generations. These and all other necessaries, for them, for us, and thy whole Church, we humbly beg in the Name and mediation of Jesus Christ, our most blessed Lord and Saviour. Amen.

 

Or this

 

ALMIGHTY God, who in the former time didst lead our fathers forth into a wealthy place and set their feet in a large room; Give thy grace, we humbly beseech thee, to us their children, that we may always approve ourselves a people mindful of thy favor and glad to do thy will. Bless our land with honorable industry, sound learning and pure manners. Defend our liberties; preserve our unity. Save us from lawlessness and violence; from discord and confusion; from pride and arrogancy, and from every evil way. Fashion into one godly people the multitude brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues. Endue with the spirit of wisdom those whom we entrust in thy Name with the authority of governance, to the end that there may be good government at home and peace with all the world. In the time of prosperity, fill our hearts with thankfulness; and in the day of trouble suffer not our trust in thee to fail. All which we ask for Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen.

 

For Our Army and Navy

 

O Eternal Lord God, who alone spreadest out the heavens, and rulest land and sea; Be please to receive into thy almighty and most gracious protection, thy servants, the soldiers and sailors of the United States of America. Preserve them from the dangers by which they are encompassed, and from the violence of the enemy; that they may be a safeguard to our Country, and a security for such as pass by land or sea upon their lawful occasions; that the inhabitants of our land may in peace and quietness serve thee our God; and that these thy servants may return in safety to enjoy the blessings of home, with a thankful remembrance of thy mercies, to praise and glorify thy holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

For Restoration

 

O Almighty God, the refuge of all them that put their trust in thee: We turn to thee in this time of trouble; direct the course of this world, we humbly beseech thee, in accordance with thy holy will; take away whatsoever hinders the nations from unity and concord; prosper all counsels which make for the restoration of a rightful and abiding peace. And this we ask for thy mercy’s sake, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

O Almighty God, who canst bring good out of evil, and makest even the wrath of man to turn to thy praise: We beseech thee so to order and dispose the issue of this war, that we may be brought through strife to a lasting peace; and that the nations of the world may be united in a firmer fellowship for the promotion of thy glory and the good of all mankind; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

For the Sick and Wounded

 

ALMIGHTY God, who dost look down in fatherly love upon all who suffer: We beseech thee to hear our humble prayers for the wounded and the sick: Give to each one of them thy help, in spirit and in body, according to his need; sanctify him, cheer him, and if it be thy will, restore him; and in thy redeeming love have mercy on the fallen. All this we ask through the mediation of thy Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

For Those Who Minister to the Sick and Wounded.

 

O Merciful God, whose blessed Son went about doing good: Uphold with thy strength and grace those who do service to the wounded and the sick; grant to the ministers of thy gospel faithfulness and love, to the physicians and surgeons wisdom and skill, to the nurses sympathy and patience; and we beseech thee to protect and bless them in all dangers, anxieties, and labours; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

For Peace

 

UNTO thee, O Lord, we cry, in the night of the world’s darkness, for the coming of the dawn of peace. Is not the earth thine? Are not the hearts of all men in thy keeping? Remember the desolated homes, the long suspense of waiting, the sorrows of the exiled and the poor, the growth of hate, the hindrance of good and make an end of war. By the love we bear towards fathers, brothers, lovers, sons; by the long agony of trench and battlefield and hospital; by the woe brought home to the hearts of mothers, and by the orphaned children’s need; hasten though the coming of the ages of good-will. Raise up leaders for the work of peace. Show us our part in this redemption of the world from cruelty and hate and make us faithful and courageous. In the name of Him whose kingdom is our heart’s desire and whose will for men is love, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

 

For the Departed

 

Priest. Let us pray for the Dead in Christ, victims of War.

May the souls of the faithful, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Eternal rest, grant unto them O Lord.

People. And let light perpetual shine upon them.

 

GRANT, we beseech thee, Almighty God that the souls of these, thy servants, now delivered from the disquietude of this world, may be permitted to behold the King in his beauty, who with thee O Father, and thee O Holy Ghost, liveth and reigneth, one God, world without end. Amen.

 

Or this

 

O Almighty God, with whom do live the spirits of just men made perfect, after they are delivered from their earthly prisons: We humbly commend the souls of these thy servants, our brethren, into thy hands, as into the hands of a faithful Creator, and most merciful Saviour; most humbly beseeching thee, that they may be precious in thy sight. Wash them we pray thee, in the blood of that immaculate Lamb, that was slain to take away the sins of the world; that whatsoever defilements they may have contracted in the midst of this miserable and naughty world, through the lusts of the flesh, or the wiles of Satan, being purged and done away, they may be presented pure and without spot before thee; through the merits of Jesus Christ thine only Son our Lord. Amen.

 

Additional Prayers

 

ALMIGHTY God and Governor of all things, whose power no creature is able to resist, to whom it belongeth to heal by punishment and by thy pardon to establish; Deliver us, we beseech thee, from the hand of our enemies, that being armed by thy defence, we may be preserved to a just and lasting peace, for them and for us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

O God, who lookest down in thy fatherly love upon all the nations of the earth; Assuage the pains of warfare, restore the sick and wounded, relieve those that are in anxiety and comfort the bereaved, and in thy mercy forgive the sins of all, both living and departed; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

PARDON, O Lord, the sins by which the nations have become embroiled in this unhappy struggle, and grant that none make seek his private gain to the injury of his brethren, but that all may do their part with loyalty and good courage until peace with liberty and justice be established throughout the world, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

O Almighty Lord God, that sittest on thy Throne judging right; We commend to thy Fatherly goodness the men serving our nation at this time of peril, beseeching thee to take into thine own hand both them and the cause which they uphold. Be thou their tower of strength and give them courage in peril and danger. Make them bold through life or death to put their trust in thee, who art the giver of all victory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

O Lord God of hosts, strengthen and  guide this Nation, that we may labour with valour for the establishment on earth of thy reign of law and love, of freedom and righteousness, and crown our endeavours with speedy victory and lasting peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

O Lord God Almighty, overrule, we beseech thee, the present evils to the blessed issue, beyond mere earthly peace, of restored brotherhood among nations, the enlargement of the Redeemer’s Kingdom, and the reunion of Christendom in one faith and love. All this we ask, O Heavenly Father, for Jesus Christ’s sake, thy Son, our Lord. Amen