Commontide

Preparation for Personal Prayer

Holy Spirit, breath of God and fire of love, I cannot pray without your aid: Kindle in me the fire of your love, and illumine me with your light; that with a steadfast will and holy thoughts I may approach the Father in spirit and in truth; through Jesus Christ my Lord, who reigns with you and the Father in eternal union. Amen.

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Commontide
Collect
Prayers

A Collect for Peace (Evening)

Monday — Evening Prayer

O God, the source of all holy desires, all good counsels, and all just works: Give to your servants that peace which the world cannot give, that our hearts may be set to obey your commandments, and that we, being defended from the fear of our enemies, may pass our time in rest and quietness; through the merits of Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

Deus, a quo sancta desideria, recta consilia, et justa sunt opera: da servis tuis illam, quam mundus dare non potest, pacem: ut et corda nostra mandatis tuis dedita, et hostium sublata formidine, tempora sint tua protectione tranquilla.

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Original-language source · public domain

Provenance

Gelasian, c. 750 / Cranmer 1549

Draft — AI-assisted research under editorial review.

One of the oldest prayers in the Anglican evening office, this collect has been said at Vespers and Evening Prayer for well over a thousand years. Its Latin original sits in the Gelasian Sacramentary, compiled around 750 CE from earlier Roman prayer material; Cranmer translated it for the very first English prayer book in 1549, and it has remained in every major prayer book since.