Second edition 1997

© Liturgical Commission of the Catholic Diocese of the Old Catholics in Germany 1995

The present publication is the official altar book of the Old Catholic diocese in Germany; this church has been in full communion with the Anglican Communion since the 1931 Bonn Agreement. It is therefore fitting that the book which is used in the parishes of this diocese – and in many a Roman Catholic or Lutheran parish in Germany, in convents, and in Old Catholic parishes in other countries – should be made available in an English version to bishops, liturgists, and other interested people in the Anglican Communion and beyond.

The aim of this English version is to allow those who are interested and unable to use the original German book a look into the heart of this part of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. The original intention had been to present a form which would lend itself to being instantly used in a liturgical setting. For reasons quite beyond the justification of anyone involved in this endeavour, a thorough revision of the draft translation has proved not to be possible without a delay which would be intolerable. It is for this motive that this present version is made available.

The texts do not exactly correspond to a Cranmerian style. This is not only due to the virtual impossibility to revise them, as outlined above, but also in order to offer a glimpse into the spirituality and thinking at present alive in this church. It may serve as an invitation to receive some inspiration when it comes to the contents of a particular day or season. This is also the reason why, although the entire book has been copyrighted by the Liturgical Commission, permission has been given freely and officially to use the texts contained in this publication as a resource. After all, official liturgical texts are not the property of any one body or church, let alone any individual, but the vehicle for the entire people of God to worship God. If anyone desires to use a text from this collection, the Liturgical Commission appreciates a reference to the altar book of this diocese, but does not restrict the use otherwise or will make it dependent upon prior inquiry and approval. It is satisfied if any one text should indeed serve its purpose of bringing the voice of the people of God to the One whom to worship is our primary task and glory.

As should be the normal case among sister churches, some Anglican churches, in particular The Anglican Church of Canada, have graciously given permission to use some of their texts in a German translation for being included among the prayers contained in the German altar book. In case an English text has been used as a source in its entirety, the original place has been indicated; in most instances, the original English version appears here, too. In other cases, the version presented here is an English rendering of what the Liturgical Commission has made of the original text. Those reading and using the English version should therefore always consult their Anglican sources for a particular text, should it look even remotely familiar. In case the English version (at least literally) corresponds to the Anglican source, the copyright is still held by the respective authority, and the text re-translated into English is in this case not in the public domain.

A history of the origins of this book and a broad interpretation of its contents can be found in an article by Thaddeus A. Schnitker, "Die Feier der Eucharistie: Das neue alt-katholische Eucharistiebuch", in Liturgisches Jahrbuch, 45 (1995), 238-249.

Inquiries, comments or any correspondence about this book may be addressed to The Chaplain to the Bishop, Catholic Diocese of the Old Catholics in Germany, Gregor-Mendel-Strasse 28, 53115 Bonn, Germany.

God, our Father, whatever we are and have comes from you. Accept our prayers and gifts as signs that we are yours through Christ, our Lord.

Living and life-giving God, you have again fed us at the table of your Son. May we, in the power of this food, go to meet your Son who will lead us to you, Jesus Christ, our brother and Lord.

Good God, we bring our gifts and pray: come and help us in our helplessness and limits through Christ, our Lord.

Father, we thank you for your word and for the meal which me received. Teach us who joined in this celebration to see the world with your eyes and to love what remains more than what passes away

through Christ, our Lord.

God, our Father, it is through your mercy that we have become a new creation in Christ. Do not turn your eyes from us. Heal all the wounds of our guilt by the coming of your Son, who in the unity of the Holy Spirit lives and works with you now and for ever.

Gracious God, may your grace precede our efforts and follow our works, that we may obtain help for our lives and with great desire expect the coming of your Son, who in the unity of the Holy Spirit lives and works with you now and for ever.

God of light, let your glory shine in our hearts and take the shadows of death of our sins away, that we may be revealed as children of light when your Son comes, who in the unity of the Holy Spirit lives and works with you now and for ever.

God of our lives, we come before you with prayers and gifts. Whatever we have comes from you. We ask you to call us to your table in the coming kingdom of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

God, our Father, you have given us new strength by your word and the bread of life. Lead us through this dark age and turn our eyes to the coming of your Son, Jesus Christ, our brother and Lord.

God, giver of all good things, we bring these gifts before you as your Son has commanded us. Give to all the world the salvation which you have promised through Christ, our Lord.

God of mercy, we have experienced in this holy meal how good you are to us. You free us from all guilt. Approaching the coming feast with much joy we thank and praise you through Christ, our Lord.

God, our Father in heaven, what we bring is your gift. Accept these gifts and bless them. We praise you through Christ, our Lord.

God, source of all joy, we thank you for having given us, in this meal, a share in your life now already. Make us expect the coming of your Son in joy and be the more eager in your service the more the feast of his birth is at hand, of Christ, our Lord.

O Father, you alone are God. In Jesus Christ, your Son you come to us helpless and yet, you are stronger than all powers of this world. We ask you in these days: Strengthen us by your Word and Sacrament until he comes again, your Son Jesus Christ, who in the unity of the Holy Spirit lives and works with you now and for ever.

Father in heaven, we pray: In these days prepare our hearts to be a home for your Son that we may receive him with us and praise and magnify you in joy through him who with you and the Holy Spirit lives among us now and for ever.

God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, in joy and thanksgiving we offer our gifts and pray: Let us grow into the likeness of your Son whom you have given us, Christ, our Lord.

God, close to us, we rejoice over the birth of our Saviour. Grant that we follow him in all the ways of our lives und come to your eternal joy through him, Christ, our Lord.

God of peace, fill these gifts of the earth with your blessing. Unite us in this holy meal with your Son and grant us your loving-kindness through him, Christ, our Lord.

Merciful God, we give you thanks. As you have given us your Son and united us with him in this meal, so preserve our joy and our gratitude through him, Christ, our Lord.

Collect BAS *

God, you wonderfully created us in your image and likeness and yet more wonderfully restored us. May we share the divine life of your Son who humbled himself to share our humanity. This we ask you, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and gives life now and for ever.

Good God, accept our prayers and offers and this whole world with its weal and woe for which, out of love, you gave your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

God, our Father in heaven, we thank you that you have made us glad by the birth of your Son and nourished us in this meal. Yours is the glory for ever.

First Sunday after Christmas (Sunday in the Octave)

God, our Father, your Son has become like us in every respect and shown us the way of life. Make us share his mind and pass on his mercy and loving-kindness. We ask you this through him, Jesus Christ, our Lord and brother, who in the unity of the Holy Spirit lives and works with you now and for ever.

Octave Day of Christmas (1 January)

God and creator, you care for the work of your hands and meet us in Jesus Christ, our brother, who brings your salvation to the poor, release to the captives and joy to those who mourn. Open us, we ask you, to the mystery of his birth, give us faith and bless our lives, so that the world may know what you began among us in Jesus Christ, your Son, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and gives life now and for ever.

Second Sunday after Christmas

God of light, you illumine all who believe in you. Reveal yourself to us that we may know you and turn our hearts to you. This we ask you through Jesus Christ, our Lord and brother, who in the unity of the Holy Spirit lives and works with you now and for ever.

God, source of all life, you made your Son take our flesh that he may set the world free from the powers of evil. Give us a share, we ask you, in the freedom of your children through Jesus Christ, your Son and our brother, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives among us now and for ever.

Our God, you sanctify the world by the incarnation of your Son. Accept our gifts and make us perceive what you have prepared for those who love you, through Christ, our Lord.

God and Father, rejoicing over the birth of our Saviour we have celebrated his meal. For his sake give us the power to offer you our whole life through him, Christ, our Lord.

Father of all light, like the wise men we bring our worship and our gifts to you. Accept us, with all we are and have, by him who appeared today, Christ, our Lord.

We thank you, great God, for the gifts of your love. Illumine, we pray, all the ways of our lives with your light which has shone on us in Christ, our Lord.

God, our Father, you show yourself to all who seek you. Give us an experience of the life of your Son in the fellowship and communion of this bread and this cup until you gather us into your kingdom through him, Christ, our Lord.

God of never-ending love, we thank you for the bread of life and the cup of salvation. Strengthen us by this meal on our way to you through Christ, our Lord.

God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, accept our gifts and grant us your Holy Spirit who came down on Jesus at his baptism. We ask this through him, Christ, our Lord.

Proper Preface

Good God, you have given us your word, the bread of life and the cup of salvation. Help us to listen to your Son that we may not only be called your children but are in truth through him, Christ, our Lord. we thank you for the bread of life and the cup of salvation. Strengthen us by this meal on our way to you through Christ, our Lord.

God, our creator, this bread and this wine are tokens of our love to you. Accept them through Christ, our Lord.

Merciful God, your Son has commanded us this celebration as a memorial to him. Preserve in us the longing for this meal and make us live from it, until you bring the world and times to fulfilment through Christ, our Lord.

God of life, the gifts which we have prepared are tokens of our dedication to you. As bread and wine are sanctified in the power of the Spirit, so sanctify us also according to the image of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Proper Preface

Good God, we thank you for your life-giving Word and for the fellowship with your Son. Make us one of heart and soul by your Spirit, and lead us, in the strength of this food, to the marriage banquet of eternal life through Christ, our Lord.

God and Father, the bread and the wine on this altar are tokens of our dedication. Be in our midst when we celebrate the meal of your Son until he comes again, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

God, giver of all good gifts, in the bread which we broke, and in the cup which we shared, you have given us a sign of your coming kingdom. May the gift which we have received bear fruit in our lives through Christ, our Lord.

Faithful God, we begin this period of remembrance and of preparation for Easter, putting our trust in you. We ask you: Be with us and lead us in these forty days, that we turn to you, listen to your word and serve you in our fellow humans through your Son Jesus Christ, our Lord and brother, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives in our midst, now and for ever.

God of mercy and forgiveness, do not leave us in these days of penitence. Assist us with you healing Spirit, that with ready hearts we may walk on the way which your Son has shown us, Jesus Christ, who in the unity of the Holy Spirit lives and works with you now and for ever.

Christ is our saviour and intercedes for us with the Father. Let us pray to him that he may forgive our sins and cleanse us from all that is wrong.

You have been sent to bring the good news to the poor and to lift up those who are bowed down. Christ, hear us.

Christ, graciously hear us.

You have come to call sinners, not the just. Christ, hear us.

Christ, graciously hear us.

You have forgiven the sins of the sinful woman because she has shown great love to you. Christ, hear us.

Christ, graciously hear us.

You did not refrain from sharing with tax collectors and sinners. Christ, hear us.

Christ, graciously hear us.

You carried back the lost sheep to the flock on your shoulders. Christ, hear us.

Christ, graciously hear us.

You did not judge the woman caught in adultery, but made her go her way in peace. Christ, hear us.

Christ, graciously hear us.

You called Zacchaeus the tax collector to penitence and to new life. Christ, hear us.

Christ, graciously hear us.

You promised Paradise to the penitent criminal when you hung on the cross. Christ, hear us.

Christ, graciously hear us.

Litany of Penitence, I (BAS *)

Most holy and merciful Father, we confess to you, to one another, and to the whole communion of saints in heaven and on earth, that we have sinned by our own fault in thought, word, and deed; by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.

Reader:

We have not loved you with our whole heart, and mind, and strength. We have not loved our neighbours as ourselves. We have not forgiven others, as we have been forgiven. Have mercy on us sinners, O God.

Have mercy on us sinners, O God.

We have been deaf to your call to serve as Christ served us. We have not been true to the mind of Christ. We have grieved your Holy Spirit. Have mercy on us sinners, O God.

Have mercy on us sinners, O God.

We confess to you, O God, all our unfaithfulness: the pride, hypocrisy, and impatience of our lives. Have mercy on us sinners, O God.

Have mercy on us sinners, O God.

We confess to you our self-indulgent appetites and ways, and our exploitation of other people. Have mercy on us sinners, O God.

Have mercy on us sinners, O God.

We confess to you our anger at our own frustration, and our envy of those more fortunate than ourselves. Have mercy on us sinners, O God.

Have mercy on us sinners, O God.

We confess to you our intemperate love of worldly goods and comforts, and our dishonesty in daily life and work. Have mercy on us sinners, O God.

Have mercy on us sinners, O God.

We confess to you our negligence in prayer and worship, and our failure to commend the faith that is in us. Have mercy on us sinners, O God.

Have mercy on us sinners, O God.

Accept our repentance for the wrong we have done; for our blindness to human need and suffering, and our indifference to injustice and cruelty. Have mercy on us sinners, O God.

Have mercy on us sinners, O God.

Accept our repentance for all false judgements, for uncharitable thoughts towards our neighbours and for our prejudice and contempt toward those who differ from us. Have mercy on us sinners, O God.

Have mercy on us sinners, O God.

Accept our repentance for our waste and pollution of your creation, and our lack of concern for those who come after us. Have mercy on us sinners, O God.

Have mercy on us sinners, O God.

Restore us, O God of mercy. Have mercy on us sinners, O God.

Have mercy on us sinners, O God.

God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, you are close to the lowly and rejoice over all who turn around. Incline your ears to our prayers and bless all who will carry the sign of + these ashes. Help us to spend the forty days of penitence in the mind of Jesus Christ. Forgive us our sins, renew us in the image of your Son and grant us life eternal through his resurrection. We ask this through Christ, our Lord.

Amen.

The ashes are sprinkled with holy water. Then the priest applies the ashes to all who come forward, speaking to each:

Repent, and believe in the good news. (Cf. Mk 1.15)

Remember that you are dust,

and to dust you shall return. (Cf. Gen 3.19)

God, look upon these gifts, signs of our readiness to turn around. Give us love toward each other without which we cannot exist before you. We ask this through Christ, our Lord.

God, our salvation, give us an ever deeper experience of what this meal means for our lives, and let the forty days until Easter become for us an acceptable time through Christ, our Lord.

We thank you, our God, for all that you have entrusted to us. Bless these gifts and grant us to serve our sisters and brothers in the power of your love through Christ, our Lord.

God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, in Jesus you have given us the bread that gives life to the world. We thank you for it and ask: Repel self-indulgence and lack of love from our midst and lead us by your love to eternal salvation in him, Christ, our Lord.

Gracious God, for the sake of your Son you forgive the sinners their sins and grant the just their reward. We acknowledge our failure; have pity on us in our weakness and forgive us what we have done wrong. We ask this through him, Jesus Christ, your Son and our brother, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives in our midst now and for ever.

Or:

Lord Jesus Christ, you resisted temptation. Forgive us when we are weak, and send us your Spirit that we may know and overcome what separates us from you, who with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit are with us all the days and for ever.

Good Father and eternal God, you have gathered us at the table of your Son and strengthened us with your gifts. Grant us as everlasting salvation what we have celebrated under this hidden sign, the fellowship in your Spirit with Christ, who is praised now and for ever.

Blessed are you, Lord, creator of the world. Yours is all that we are and have. Accept these signs of our thanks to your honour through Christ, our Lord.

God of light and life, you have given us a share in the glory of your Son. We thank you that we may experience now already what you have prepared for us in the life eternal through Christ, our Lord.

Lord Jesus Christ, you gave your life to death. But we want to stick to our lives and keep them. We ask you: Take us with you on your way that we may find the true life with you. To you be glory for ever.

God, our Father, you have strengthened us at the table of your Son with the word and the bread of life. You have given us a share in his life and in his glory. We thank you and ask: Be with us with your Spirit, and strengthen our hope in the eternal fulfilment with you through Christ, our Lord.

We ask you, O God, to look on our gifts, signs of our devotion. Accept them and give us strength to care for each other in love through Christ, our Lord.

God, Father of the poor and needy, you have strengthened us with the bread of life and the cup of salvation. You want to be with us on all our ways through this time. We thank and praise you through Christ, our Lord.

Lord Jesus Christ, you gave your life for the life of the world. Make us partakers of your mystery that only whose life is given will find life. To you be blessing, praise and glory now and for ever.

God, our Father, as you have given us your word and the bread of life, we thank you for your goodness and pray: be with us throughout these forty days of preparation and help us to live from the gospel through Christ, our Lord.

God, friend of life, we offer you our gifts in joyful expectation of Easter. Grant that this joy may become visible also in our lives through Christ, our Lord.

We thank you, God, our salvation, for this food and for your word, the true light enlightening every human being. Heal the blindness of our hearts that we may know what is right before you, and sincerely love you through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Lord Jesus Christ, you gather your church on earth and have the word of reconciliation proclaimed in it. Send us your Spirit that we may receive the good news in our hearts and live together as children of our Father in heaven. To you be glory for ever.

Good God, your word which we heard and the meal which we celebrated render your mighty acts alive in our midst. We thank you and we ask you to complete what you have begun in us through Christ, our brother and Lord.

God, giver of all good gifts, we offer you bread and wine, the signs of your goodness with which you feed us. We thank and praise you through Christ, our Lord.

Great God, in the celebration of the eucharist you give us communion with you and with each other. Make us living members of the body of your Son who has become one with us in this meal, Christ, our Lord.

Lord Jesus Christ, you gave your life for the life of the world. Make us partakers of your mystery that only whose life is given will find life. To you be blessing, praise and glory now and for ever.

Lord Jesus Christ, you have strengthened us with your word and sacrament. Let your power be strong in us that we may serve you and each other in joy and patience, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit live and work now and for ever.

Opening acclamation

Liturgical Greeting

Prayer over the Congregation and the Branches

God, our Father, we confess our adherence to Jesus, your Son, our only Lord. Bless us and these branches with which we intend to show that we belong to Jesus, and make us ready to follow him with our cross in steadfast faithfulness, today and all days of our lives until the end of eternity.

Gospel of the Entrance of Jesus

Procession

At the procession and the entrance, the traditional anthem Gloria, laus et honor is sung.

God, great and incomprehensible, in obedience to your will your Son, our redeemer, took our flesh. He humbled himself and accepted the shame of the cross. Give us the strength to follow him on the way of passion that we may get a share in his resurrection. We ask this through Jesus Christ, your Son, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and gives life for ever and ever.

God of mercy, through the passion of your Son you grant us the forgiveness which we do not deserve for our deeds. Accept these gifts as signs of our trust in your mercy through Christ, our Lord.

God of heaven and earth, you have strengthened your congregation with your word and sacrament. We ask you: let your power be strong in us that we worthily serve you in our lives and bear fruit in patience. To you be glory for ever.

Lord Jesus Christ, many people acclaimed you when you entered Jerusalem and yet abandoned you afterwards. We ask you: make us stay with you and confess that we are yours when there is protest and temptation. To you be glory for ever.

Holy God, in this meal we have celebrated the memorial of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus. Strengthen us through the power of this food in our anxieties and temptations, and lead us through the death to the life that remains, through Christ, our Lord.

Today especially, the Gloria in excelsis should be sung with its full text and not substituted by a paraphrase.

At the washing of the feet, Ubi caritas may be sung.

God of mercy and consolation, on the evening before he suffered your dear Son instituted the meal of his love as the symbol of the new and everlasting covenant with you. Give us the fullness of your compassion and love, and make us extend it to the sisters and brothers through your Son Jesus Christ, our Lord and brother, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives in our midst, now and for ever.

Great God, our Father, we share the bread and receive the body of Jesus Christ, your Son. Make us live in love and peace from its power, for we are his body in this world. To you be glory for ever.

Good Father, on this day your Son gave us an example of his serving love. Let our gifts be a sign of our readiness to accept each other as you have accepted us in Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord and brother.

We thank you, good God, that today we have been strengthened for our own way in the supper of your Son. Continue to gather us for the fellowship with him, until, at the heavenly supper of eternal life, we praise and magnify you for ever.

The passion may be read with several roles. It may be interrupted at suitable places by verses of the hymn O sacred head, sore wounded.

God, our Father, you did not abandon us to the power of darkness but in your mercy redeemed us. Protect, free and sanctify us by your Son who suffered and died for us and whom you drew out of death, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who in the unity of the Holy Sprit lives and works now and for ever.

Lord Jesus Christ, grain of wheat falling into the earth and dying that we might have life, we call upon you.

For all who call themselves Christians, after you, for the churches in their divisions and separation, and for their work for fellowship and unity; for all men and women to whom a special ministry has been given; for our diocese and our parishes.

Draw us all to you. Help us to live according to your gospel and to be one in you.

Let us pray to the Lord.

[Lord, have mercy; or Kyrie, eleison]

For the peoples of this earth and their governments, for the Council of Europe, the United Nations and all parliaments, for the authorities in politics, economy and society, for all suffering from war and the consequences of war, for the persecuted and all who live in lack of freedom and in oppression.

Grant to the peoples the spirit of reconciliation and guide their feet into the way of justice and peace.

Let us pray to the Lord.

[Lord, have mercy; or Kyrie, eleison]

For all who have lost their faith, and for all who do not find faith because we are in their way of seeing you.

Make the light of your gospel shine, and make us faithful witnesses of your salvation.

Let us pray to the Lord.

[Lord, have mercy; or Kyrie, eleison]

For the young people in our parish, in the churches and in the world.

Give them confidence. Let us shape our society in a way that they may grow into a world and a church which enable them to have life and a future.

Let us pray to the Lord.

[Lord, have mercy; or Kyrie, eleison]

For all who are in the shadow side of life: for the handicapped and sick, for the elderly and lonely, for the single parents and for the children without families, for the unemployed and for all who are disregarded, marginalised or excluded by us.

Be close to them and lead people to them who have open ears and hearts for their needs.

Let us pray to the Lord.

[Lord, have mercy; or Kyrie, eleison]

For all who do no longer see a road, for the desperate and helpless, for all who have been disappointed, exploited and betrayed by people, who have fled into stubbornness of heart or addiction, who have become caught in guilt, who see themselves abandoned by God.

Take them into your cry on the cross and give them a share in your new life.

Let us pray to the Lord.

[Lord, have mercy; or Kyrie, eleison]

For all who suffer from injustice, for the hungry and exploited people who by the work of their hands and with the fruits of their fields must create our abundance; and for ourselves being prisoners of our thoughtlessness and our claims.

Help us to respect the dignity of humans and their right to live and to share the gifts of the earth with each other.

Let us pray to the Lord.

[Lord, have mercy; or Kyrie, eleison]

For the whole creation groaning in labour pains and hoping for redemption; for all who care for its integrity and for all who suffer from its destruction.

Help us to experience that we are stewards only and that your good gift belongs to all, to the children and the children's children everywhere in the world.

Let us pray to the Lord.

[Lord, have mercy; or Kyrie, eleison]

For the dying and the dead, for all who have given us life and faith, for all in whose death we share in guilt by indifference, hardness of heart and our way of life.

Lead them through your death to unending life.

Let us pray to the Lord.

[Lord, have mercy; or Kyrie, eleison]

Lord Jesus Christ, the Father did not leave you in death. He raised you and exalted you to this right hand. Intercede for us and stay with us on all our ways. To you be glory and honour and praise now and for ever.

Instead of the silence for prayer between the intention and the collect, a sung acclamation may be the answer, e.g. a triple Lord, have mercy or Kyrie, eleison.

Let us pray, brothers and sisters, for the holy Church of God, that our Lord and God grant it peace in all the world, unite and protect it and grant us a life in quietness and safety, to the praise of his name.

Bent your knees.

Rise.

Almighty, eternal God, in Christ you revealed your glory to all peoples. Protect what your mercy has created, that your Church in all the world may persevere in steadfast faith. We ask this through Christ, our Lord.

Let us pray for our Bishop N., the fellowship of bishops, all men and women in the apostolic ministry and for all the people of God.

Bent your knees.

Rise.

Almighty, everliving God, your Spirit sanctifies and governs the whole body of the Church. Hear our prayer for our Bishop and for all who minister in your Church. Give them the grace to serve you faithfully. We ask this through Christ, our Lord.

Let us also pray for all who prepare for baptism: Our God and Father may open their hearts for his word, he grant them the forgiveness of sins in baptism and receive them into his house that they may find life in Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Bent your knees.

Rise.

Almighty, everlasting God, you continue to lead people to your Church. Grant to all who prepare for baptism to grow in faith and in knowledge. Let them be born again from the spring of baptism and accept them as your children. We ask this through Christ, our Lord.

Let us pray for all brothers and sisters who believe in Christ, that our Lord and God may lead them on the way to truth and unity them in the unity of the holy Church.

Bent your knees.

Rise.

Almighty, everliving God, you alone can overcome the division and grant the unity. Have mercy on your Christian people, sanctified by the one baptism. Unite them in the faith in your Son and in the bond of love. We ask this through Christ, our Lord.

Let us pray for all who do not believe in Christ, that the Holy Spirit illumine them and lead them on the way of salvation.

Bent your knees.

Rise.

Almighty, everliving God, assist all who do not con