Litany of Christ the King

I have just written a litany to use on Sunday for the feast of Christ the King, please feel free to use it in your worship if you find it helpful, or amend to suit your own needs. 

 

Eternal Father, Creator of all:

Have mercy upon us.

Jesus Christ, King of the Nations:

Have mercy upon us.

Lifegiving Spirit, Advocate and Comforter:

Have mercy upon us.

Everlasting Trinity in the beauty of Your Unity:

Have mercy upon us.

 

Our Beginning and End, our Past and our Future:

Reign over our lives.

Arrested and beaten, tortured and killed:

Reign over our lives.

Firstborn From the Dead, alive evermore:

Reign over our lives.

Great Wounded-Healer, and Servant of all:

Reign over our lives.

Lion of Judah, and Spotless Pure Lamb:

Reign over our lives.

Bedrock Once-Rejected, now True-Cornerstone:

Reign over our lives.

 

Eternal High-Priest, Bridge-Builder to heaven:

Reign over the Church.

Gateway to Life, the Way and the Truth:

Reign over the Church.

True-Living Bread, who satisfies our hunger:

Reign over the Church.

Life-giving Vine, graft our lives into Yours:

Reign over the Church.

Trustworthy and true, our unfailing help

Reign over the Church.

Great Key of David, unlock our potential:

Reign over the Church.

 

 

Overlord of Presidents, and King of all Kings:

Reign over our world.

Reign over the nations, in justice and love:

Reign over our world.

In Bethlehem and Israel, in Lebanon and Gaza:

Reign over our world.

In Russia, Ukraine, in Syria and Iran:

Reign over our world.

In Africa and America, in Myanmar and Mexico:

Reign over our world.

Where drug-wars are wrecking young homes and young lives:

Reign over our world.

Where knife crime is scarring both bodies and towns:

Reign over our world.

Where landmines are laid and missiles are poised:

Reign over our world.

Bright Morning-Star, bring Your guidance and light:

Reign over our world.

Pour out your mercy, and heal all our wounds: 

Reign over our world.

 

Eternal God,in whose perfect realm no sword is drawn but the sword of justice, and no strength is known but the strength of love; guide and inspire all who seek Your kingdom, that peoples and nations may find their security in the love which casts out fear; through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen

 

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all, evermore. Amen. 

 

 

A Eucharistic Preface for Safeguarding Sunday

Last week's review by Keith Makin into the Church of England's handling of allegations of serious abuse by the late John Smyth made horrific reading . As church leaders we felt that this was too important just to ignore, and Dean Simon made an important statement at the start of Sundays Choral Eucharist in Truro Cathedral yesterday (Sunday 17th November 2024). But it is important to take all our horror and pain and mess and bring it to God in prayer. In yesterday's service we used previously published resources and used them within our intercessions, but no Eucharistic preface had been provided, and for me it was important to take this pain and bring it to the altar. 

With that in mind here is my offering of the preface that I wrote for us to use in the cathedral on Safeguarding Sunday. We used it with Eucharistic prayer E. I have run it past some survivors I know before publishing it here. A couple of things to note: Although I am keen on using Father within prayer on most occasions (as God self-identifies as Father) I feel that in this context it could be a source of further pain for those abused by their fathers, so instead I used the "rock" imagery of the psalms. I also referenced the "casting down" promised in the Magnificat. 

Feel free, as ever, to use or amend as feels appropriate for your context. 

The Lord be with you

and also with you.

Lift up your hearts.

We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

It is right to give thanks and praise.

It is indeed right, our duty and our joy

always and everywhere to give you thanks:

You are the God who makes beauty from our ashes;

the Rock that we can cling to when faith’s foundations crumble:

You are the God who pours down light into the world’s dark corners

revealing painful truths and casting down abusers.

You took the worst of human nature and nailed it to the cross,

rising from the grave to bring healing to the broken. 

Therefore with angels and archangels, 

and the souls of the righteous martyrs 

we sing for ever the song of your glory. 

Holy, holy, holy Lord...