Prayers for Christian Unity
HYMN
Lord, who the night you were betrayed did pray
That all your Church might be forever one;
Help us at every Eucharist to say
With willing heart and soul, “Your will be done.”
That we may all one bread, one body be
Through this, your Sacrament of unity.
For all your Church on earth, we intercede;
Lord, make our sad divisions soon to cease;
Draw us all closer, each to each, we plead,
By drawing all to you, O Prince of Peace;
So may we all one bread, one body be,
Through this blest Sacrament of unity.
And hear our prayer for members of your flock;
Restore us all, Good Shepherd of the sheep,
In the one Faith your saints confessed of old,
In the one Church still pledged that faith to keep.
Soon may we all one bread, one body be,
Through this blest Sacrament of unity.
So, Lord, at length when sacraments shall cease,
May we be one with all your Church above—
One with your saints in one unbroken peace,
One as your bride in one unbounded love;
More blessèd still, in peace and love to be
One with the Trinity in unity.
Tune: Song 1 (Gibbons) 10.10.10. D
Music: Orlando Gibbons, 1623
Text: William H. Turton, 1881, alt.
Prayers from the Roman Missal [2011]
Almighty ever-living God,
who gather what is scattered
and keep together what you have gathered,
look kindly on the flock of your Son,
that those whom one Baptism has consecrated
may be joined together by integrity of faith
and united in the bond of charity.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.
Or:
We humbly ask you, Lord, lover of the human family,
to pour out more fully upon us the grace of your Spirit,
and grant that, walking worthily in the vocation
in which you have called us,
we may bear witness to the truth before others
and seek with confidence
the unity of all believers in the bond of peace.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.
Or:
O God, who have united many nations in confessing your name,
grant us, we pray,
the grace to will and to do what you command,
that the people called to your Kingdom
may be one in the faith of their hearts
and the homage of their deeds.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.
Or:
Attend with favor to the prayers of your people,
we ask, O Lord,
and grant that the hearts of all believers
may be united in your praise and in repentance together,
so that, with division among Christians overcome,
we may hasten with joy to your eternal Kingdom
in the perfect communion of the Church.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.
Or:
Look with favor on your people, Lord, we pray,
and pour out upon them the gifts of your Spirit,
that they may grow constantly in love of the truth
and devote themselves with zeal
to perfect unity among Christians.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.
Prayer from the World Council of Churches:
Theme of the International Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, 18-25 January 2016
Called to Proclaim the Mighty Acts of the Lord. (cf. 1 Peter 2:9)
God of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of glory,
may you give to all Christians,
especially to those entrusted with leadership in your Church,
the spirit of wisdom and revelation.
With the eyes of our hearts
may we see the hope to which you have called us:
one body and one Spirit,
one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
one God and Father of all,
who is above and through all
and in all.
This we ask through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
– Amen.
Courtesy: Graymoor Ecumenical and Interreligious Institute [GEII]