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.

Touch screen to pause

Skip to main content
Commontide
Collect
Prayers

Holy Saturday

O God, Creator of heaven and earth: Grant that, as the crucified body of your dear Son was laid in the tomb and rested on this holy Sabbath, so we may await with him the coming of the third day, and rise with him to newness of life; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

BCP 2019, p. 608

Found in the Prayer Book

This prayer appears in more than one place in the 2019 Book of Common Prayer.

  • Collects of the Christian Year
  • Holy Saturday · as “O God, Creator of heaven and earth”Lent & Holy Week

Provenance

TEC BCP 1979

Draft — AI-assisted research under editorial review.

Written for the 1979 US Book of Common Prayer, this collect holds the stillness of Holy Saturday by imaging Christ's body resting in the sealed tomb as a sacred Sabbath, inviting the church to wait with him for the third day. The ACNA BCP 2019 carries the same prayer with a revised closing doxology.