Trinity

St. Patrick’s Creed

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St Patrick catechising, Lawrence OP, Flickr
 
 
There is no other God,
    and there never was another,
    nor will there be any after him
    except God the Father, without beginning.
From him is all beginning.
He upholds all things.
And his Son Jesus Christ
    whom together with the Father
    we testify to have always existed.
Before the beginning of the world
    he was spiritually present with the Father.
Begotten in an indescribable manner before all beginning.
By him all things visible and invisible were made.
He was made man,
    and having overcome death
    was received into heaven to the Father:
And the Father has bestowed on him
    the name that is above every name,
    so that at the name of Jesus
    every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
    and every tongue confess
    that Jesus Christ is Lord and God.
In him we believe,
    and we await his coming
    who before long shall judge the quick and dead.
He will render to everyone according to his deeds,
    and has poured out abundantly on us
    the gift of the Holy Spirit,
    even the pledge of immortality,
  who makes those that believe and obey
    to be the sons of God the Father
    and joint-heirs with Christ.
Him we confess and adore —
    one God in the Trinity of the sacred name.
 
St. Patrick, c.389-461, missionary and bishop in Ireland
 
_______________________________
 
 
 
But for us,
 There is one God, the Father,
    by whom all things were created,
    and for whom we live.
 And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ,
    through whom all things were created,
    and through whom we live.

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Let me sustain true faith

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Almighty and eternal God,
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
from my heart I ask that you through your Holy Spirit   
    would create and maintain in me a longing and love
    for your holy Word – 
        to pray and cry out to you always.
For I am certain of this:
    aside from your Word there is no comfort, faith, life or salvation,
    instead everything is only the way of sinners, the seat of scoffers,
    and it must, like chaff, be blown away by the wind!
 
Sanctify me in your truth; your Word is the truth.
Let me have and sustain true faith and a good, peaceful conscience,
    so that I would remain eternally green and fruitful 
        like a palm tree by water
  and that my leaves – either in this life or in eternal life –
    would not wither.
Lord God, hear me and let me be and remain yours.
Amen.
 
Nikolaus Selnecker, 1530 – 1592, German Protestant Reformer
 
__________________
 
 
Oh, the joys of those who do not
    follow the advice of the wicked,
    or stand around with sinners,
    or join in with mockers.
But they delight in the law of the Lord,
    meditating on it day and night.
They are like trees planted along the riverbank,
    bearing fruit each season.
Their leaves never wither,
    and they prosper in all they do.
But not the wicked!
    They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind.
 

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Prayer to close out a minister’s conference

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W. L. Ransome
 
Almighty God, we thank thee for the hours we have spent on this campus.
Every now and then when the way seems dark,
    you give us a little sample of what is better further along.
We have been encouraged this week by the fact that 
    what we have received is a sample of that which is waiting for those 
    who hold out and prove faithful to the end.
We are like the ox who is pulling the load up the hill,   
    and about to give out;
    when the driver gets out of the ox cart and carries a little food up the hill –
    and the oxen know the food is up there,
    by faith they pull harder.
We are gonna pull harder now.
We are gonna cut more deeply.
We are gonna believe more firmly.
We are gonna hold more assuredly,
    because one thing you told Peter,
    “that the gates of hell will not prevail against the church.”
Help us to go back now.
When Samson wanted to burn down the wheat fields of the Philistines,
    he got a hundred or so foxes and tied their tails together.
He struck one match and lighted all those fiery tails and
    turned them loose among the wheat fields of the Philistines.
When the foxes got through,
    the enemies of God didn’t have nothing to feed on.
We’ve been tied together here this week.
The Servant of God has lighted our hearts with the candle of Thy Word.
He’s turning us loose now! 
We’re going out into the world, 
    and we’re gonna burn down hell and the kingdom of Satan in this age!
May the grace of God 
  and the sweet communion of the Holy Spirit
  and the peace that passeth all understanding,
    abide with us until that same Jesus,
        who went into the first airship, manned by two pilots,
        ascended out of sight,
    and the angel said,” In like manner, He’s coming again.”
And when He comes, when He comes,
    all those looking for Him by faith will be with Him
    and shall never separate from that Holy Church.
Where the shadows never fall, calendars never bedeck the walls,
    funerals are never had, and parting is no more.
On the sea of glass, we will retire.
Palms of victory in our hands,
    we will waive to Him who shall reign forevermore.
 
prayer given by W. L. Ransome at the Hampton Ministers’ Conference 1973
 
_______________________________
 
 
Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, 
    for God can be trusted to keep his promise. 
Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 
And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, 
    but encourage one another, 
    especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

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Glory be to God on high

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image / Lawrence OP / Flickr
 
 
Glory be to God on high,
and on earth peace,
peace among those of good will.
We praise you, we bless you,
we give thanks for your great glory,
holy God, tender God, God our beloved creator.
 
Christ our desire 
only embodiment of God,
bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh,
foolishness of God, greater than human wisdom,
emptiness of God, full of redemption,
bearing away the sin of the world,
have mercy on us.
Holy one, bearing away the sin of the world,
have mercy on us.
Beloved one, bearing away the sin of the world,
receive our prayer.
 
For you alone are holy,
you alone our desire.
You alone, O Christ,
with the comforter of fire,
are radiant with the grace and glory of God most high.
 
Janet Morely, British poet and theologian
 
_________________________________
 
 
For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
    and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
    there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
    to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
    from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
 

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Ignatian Litany of the Names of Jesus

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Christ Pantocrator 

 
Jesus, Son of the Virgin, . . . . . . . . Have mercy on us.
Jesus, our Creator and Lord, . . .
Jesus, eternal Lord of all things, . . . 
Jesus, who created and redeemed us, . . .
Jesus, who is to be our eternal judge, . . . 
Jesus, divine majesty, . . . 
Jesus, complete and perfect goodness, . . .
Jesus, infinite love, . . . 
Jesus, our kindly Lord, . . . 
Jesus, infinite wisdom, . . . 
Jesus, author and source of every blessing, . . .
Jesus, the giver of every gift, . . . 
Jesus, our perfect and eternal good, . . 
Jesus, our salvation, . . .
Jesus, our help and support, . . .
Jesus, our Mediator, . . .
Jesus, the power of God, . . .
Jesus, our supreme leader and Lord, . . .
Jesus, our food and companion in pilgrimage, . . .
Jesus, beautiful and lovable, . . .
Jesus, poor and humble, . . .
Jesus, made obedient for our sake, . . .
Jesus, plunged in sorrow, . . .
Jesus, overwhelmed by anguish and grief, . . .
Jesus, naked upon the cross, . . .
Jesus, who wished to be sold to redeem us, . . .
Jesus, who chose a painful death to give us eternal life, . . .
Jesus, now in glory, . . .
Jesus, full of happiness and joy, . . .
Jesus, our consoler, . . . 
Jesus, our peace, . . . 
Jesus, our joy, . . . 
Jesus, our hope, . . .
Jesus, our life, . . . 
Jesus, our reward exceedingly great, . . . 
Jesus, true life of the world, . . . 
Jesus, our model and guide, . . . 
Jesus, the head of your body the church, . . .
Jesus, the bridegroom of the church your spouse, . . .
Jesus, your Father has placed us with you, . . . 
Jesus, we have cast the anchor of our hope in you, . . . 
Jesus, move our hearts to follow you in complete poverty, . . . 
Jesus, help us conform to the will of the most Holy Trinity, . . . 
Jesus, be the means of our union with the most Holy Trinity, . . . 
Blessed be the name of Jesus, now and forever. 
Amen.
 
 
_______________________
 
 
Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness:

He was manifested in the flesh,
    vindicated by the Spirit,
        seen by angels,
proclaimed among the nations,
    believed on in the world,
        taken up in glory.
 

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What can I say to you, my God?

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Holy Trinity, Lawrence OP, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
 
What can I say to you, my God?
 
Shall I collect together all the words
    that praise your holy Name?
 
Shall I give you all the names of this world
    —you, the Unnameable?
 
Shall I call you
    “God of my life,
    meaning of my existence,
    hallowing of my acts,
    my journey’s end,
    bitterness of my bitter hours,
    home of my loneliness,
    you my most treasured happiness”?

Shall I say:
    “Creator, Sustainer, Pardoner,
    Near One, Distant One, Incomprehensible One,
    God both of flowers and stars,
    God of the gentle wind and of terrible battles,
    Wisdom, Power, Loyalty, and Truthfulness,
    Eternity and Infinity, you the All-merciful,
    you the Just One,
    you  – Love itself?”
 
Karl Rahner, 1904 – 1984, German Jesuit Priest
 
__________________________
 
 
Then Moses said to God, 
“If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, 
    ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ 
and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ 
what shall I say to them?
 

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send us, come with us, empower us

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Great Commission icon / Ted / Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0

 

God the Sender, send us.
God the Sent, come with us.
God the Strengthener of those who go, empower us,
    that we may go with you
    and find those who will call you
Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
 
Welsh prayer
 
__________________________
 
 
And Jesus came and said to them, 
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, 
    baptizing them 
    in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”

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Guide us to your will

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Photo by Paul Zoetemeijer on Unsplash
 
Almighty Lord God,
    your glory cannot be approached,
    your compassion knows no bounds,
    and your love for all mankind
    is beyond human expression;
    in your mercy look on us and all your people:
do not leave us to our sins
    but deal with us according to your goodness.
Guide us to the haven of your will
    and make us truly obedient to your commands,
    that we many not feel ashamed
    when we come before your Messiah’s
        dread judgement seat.
 
For you, O God,
    are good and ever-loving,
    and we glorify you,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
    now and for ever,
    to the ages of ages.    Amen.
 
from The Barberini Codex, 8th Century document of Byzantine prayers
 
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By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. 
We have received all of this by coming to know him, 
    the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.  
And because of his glory and excellence, 
    he has given us great and precious promises. 
These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature 
    and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.

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Glory to the Trinity

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Trinity image / Metropolitan Museum of Art / public domain
 
Grant, O God, of your mercy, that we may come to everlasting life,
    and there beholding your glory as it is, may equally say:
Glory to the Father who created us,
Glory to the Son who redeemed us,
Glory to the Holy Spirit who sanctified us.
Glory to the most high and undivided Trinity, 
    whose works are inseparable,
    whose kingdom without end abides,
    from age to age forever.
Amen.
 
St. Augustine of Hippo, 354 – 430 
 
__________________________
 
 
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, 
    and the love of God, 
    and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

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Pentecost prayer

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Pentecost mosaic / Pete Unseth, CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
 
Holy Spirit, almighty God,
  proceeding from the Father and the Son;
Jesus the eternal Son, our Redeemer,
  has promised that you will kindle in us the true knowledge and love of God.
Stir up in our hearts, we pray true fear, true faith,
  that we may acknowledge the mercy
  which the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ hast promised
  unto us for his sake.
Be our comforter in all difficulties and dangers,
  and kindle divine love in our hearts,
  so that by true obedience,
  we may offer perpetual praise to you
  and to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
  and to his blessed Son, our Saviour and Redeemer.
Amen.

Philipp Melanchthon, 1497 – 1560, German reformer with Martin Luther
 
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But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, 
    will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
 

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