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

Week Starting July 3-9

Proper 9

Grant us, O Lord, we pray, the spirit to think and do always those things that are right, that we, who can do no good thing apart from you, may by you be enabled to live according to your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

Largire nobis, quaesumus, Domine, semper spiritum cogitandi quae recta sunt, propitius et agendi: ut, qui sine te esse non possumus, secundum te vivere valeamus.

Turn your device sideways to read the texts side by side.

Original-language source · public domain

BCP 2019, p. 617

Provenance

Leonine, c. 5th-6th c.

Draft — AI-assisted research under editorial review.

This collect has been prayed at the heart of Anglican worship since Cranmer's first prayer book in 1549, and its Latin source is older still, from an ancient Roman service book compiled no later than the sixth century. It asks God for the very spirit needed to think and do what is right, on the frank acknowledgment that without God we cannot even exist, let alone live well.