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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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Collect
Prayers

Good Friday — The Solemn Collects

Almighty and everlasting God, you multiply your Church in every generation: Grant the gifts of faith and understanding to those being instructed in your holy Word; that being washed in the waters of Baptism, they may be born again and numbered among your adopted children; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, qui Ecclesiam tuam nova semper prole fecundas: auge fidem et intellectum catechumenis nostris; ut, renati fonte baptismatis, adoptionis tuae filiis aggregentur.

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Original-language source · public domain

Found in the Prayer Book

  • Good FridayLent & Holy Week

Provenance

Gelasian, c.750

Draft — AI-assisted research under editorial review.

This prayer for those preparing for baptism is one of five Good Friday "Solemn Collects," ancient bidding prayers for the whole Church, its ministers, catechumens, and the world. Cranmer dropped them in 1549; this close translation of the old Latin first appears in an Anglican book in the ACNA's 2019 BCP.