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

At the Burial of a Child

The Burial of the Dead — Opening Collect

O God, whose beloved Son took children into his arms and blessed them: Give us grace to entrust N. to your never-failing care and love, and bring us all to your heavenly kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Found in the Prayer Book

  • Burial Of The DeadThe Burial of the Dead

Provenance

Episcopal 1928

Draft — AI-assisted research under editorial review.

A prayer composed for the 1928 American Episcopal prayer book, which introduced a distinct service for the burial of a child – the first such provision in the American Episcopal succession. Its central image, Christ taking children into his arms and blessing them, comes directly from the Gospel of Mark. The 1979 prayer book modernized the language; ACNA carried that form into the 2019 book.