Gracious Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world: Evermore give us this bread, that he may live in us, and we in him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Preface of Lent
You bid your faithful people cleanse their hearts, and prepare with joy for the Paschal feast; that, fervent in prayer and in works of mercy, and renewed by your Word and Sacraments, they may come to the fullness of grace which you have prepared for those who love you.
Draft — AI-assisted research under editorial review.
This Lenten collect is one of the few in the ACNA BCP 2019 that represents a clean break from the four-century Anglican tradition reaching back to Cranmer, having first appeared in the Episcopal Church's 1979 prayer book. Its imagery draws almost entirely from John 6, the Bread of Life Discourse.