they rumored him to have been devoured by a beast, or rather they wondered that they could not find even a relic of him, and having him walking with them and seeing him conversing, they instilled a thing of unspeakable pleasure into the parents and an ineffable sweetness into their own hearts. [CLXXIX] Thus is the common Lord of all, Christ, accustomed to hold in honor those who have suffered for his sake and have undertaken such great danger, by such preeminence of miracles and such splendors; may we also happen upon these, by the grace and humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father be glory, together with the Holy Spirit, unto ages of ages. Amen.
LITURGY OF SAINT CLEMENT OF ROME
(RENAUDOT, *Liturgiarum Orientalium Collectio*, 2nd ed., Frankfurt, 1847, in-4°, vol. II, p. 186.)NOTICE
Besides this one, no other Liturgy ascribed to Clement is found among the Orientals in manuscript codices, which indeed might seem strange, since an integral form of it exists, described in book VIII of the Clementine Constitutions. However, although many versions and epitomes of those Constitutions, which the Syrians and Arabs are accustomed to call *Dascalia* (by a shortened name for *Didaskalia*), are found in the Arabic Collections of Canons, they have only fragments of that last book, and that book does not exist in the very ancient Syriac version of the Florentine codex. Nor is there any memory among the Greeks, from whom the Syrians and others received the Apostolic Constitutions, of a Liturgy that is attributed to Clement, because, namely, in no celebrated Church—and one which could provide a law or example to others—was a unique form of rites and prayers, expressed from the Clementines, in use. The reason why the Jacobites composed this and attributed it to Clement would be sought in vain, were it not for the dignity which they attempted to procure for this office from the name of an apostolic man, whose memory they have inserted at times into their diptychs, as also in the confession which the Medicean Pontifical orders to be read to those being ordained as priests; and whose testimony some cite in support of their own opinion in the *Collectanea*, about which it has often been said that it is not published in the Chaldean Missal, nor did Gabriel Sionita in his letter to Nihusius, or Abraham Echellensis in his notes to Hebed-Jesu, make mention of it, and few codices represent it. The version was made according to a codex of good standing, the Colbertine 3921.
To prove that this Liturgy is not the work of Clement of Rome, there is no need of many words, since it does not have even the slightest mark of such antiquity, but not a few of a more recent age, among which the chief one seems to be that style degenerating from the original simplicity, and being truly an Asiatic collection of synonyms, epithets, and metaphors, through which the Orientals deem that the supreme pinnacle of elegance is reached. This is also proven by the addition of a few words in the form of consecrating the bread and the cup: in the first, "which is offered for many faithful"; in the second, "my blood which confirms the testament of my death": which formulas are more similar to more recent ones than to the ancient Greek and Syriac ones, whose meaning approaches more closely to the simplicity of the evangelical words. In the invocation of the Holy Spirit, it must be observed that the prayer which follows the words of Christ is, contrary to the custom of others, prolix beyond measure, so that there is an altogether greater interval between them and the invocation. Nor, however, does a deacon’s interlocution occur, as it does in the later Greek ones, for the Oriental Churches are ignorant of those additions used by the Greeks.
LITURGY OF ST. CLEMENT OF ROME
*First Prayer before the Peace.*
God, who art the ineffable sea of charity and an inscrutable abyss of peace, fountain of all good, and bestower of love, who sendest peace even to those who receive [it]: open to us at this time the sea of thy charity and irrigate us with the richest streams from the abundance of thy grace and the most sweet fountains of thy kindness. Make us children of tranquility and heirs of peace; kindle in us the fire of thy charity and the fervor of thy love. Sow in us thy fear and confirm our infirmity with thy truth. Bind us to thyself and to one another in one firm and indissoluble concord. Grant also that, void of guile and pure from all malice, we may greet one another with the kiss and embrace of peace and unfeigned charity, so that with a pure heart and clean soul we may here mingle the pledge of life with our members, and be invited there in the future age to that perpetual banquet and most abundant delights; and that we may triumphantly celebrate thee, O blessed One, in thy kingdom which remains forever, and thine only-begotten Son, and thy holy Spirit. *People.* Amen. *Priest.* Peace. *People.* And with thy spirit. *Deacon.* Let each one give the peace. *People.* All. *Deacon.* Afterward, etc. *People.* Before thee, O Lord. A of our thoughts. Clothe us with the new stole, interwoven with the adornment of honest habits; and through thy holy Spirit who perfects all things, and who dwells in all pure minds and makes his seat in clean souls, sanctify us through the grace, mercy, and love toward mankind of thine only-begotten Son, through whom and with whom glory is due to thee, etc. *People.* Amen. *Deacon.* Let us stand decently. *People.* Mercy. *Priest.* Charity. *People.* And with thy spirit. *Priest.* Lift up your hearts. *People.* We lift them up unto the Lord. *Priest.* Let us give thanks to the Lord. *People.* It is meet and right. *Priest.* For to thee glory is due, and to thee praise is owed; to thee is due hymn and exaltation at every time—to the Father, the Son, and the holy Spirit, the true God, of one exalted nature, of one substance, who art worshipped and praised in three Persons by all things which thou hast created and ordained through [thy] wisdom. *Priest lifting his voice.* We bless thee, the Maker of the ages and Creator of natures, the bestower of life and Lord of visible and invisible creatures. The heaven of heavens and whatsoever is in them, together with the fiery and spiritual natures, glorify thee. The sun and moon revere thee in their courses: the stars proclaim thee by their splendor: the thunders terrify with their sounds, and at thy command the movements in the air signify thy power: the waters in the clouds are gathered together by thy nod: the earth and whatsoever things are upon it hang from thee and are sustained by thee: rational natures and those devoid of reason—those that are endowed with intelligence and those with only sense—live through thee and obey the authority of thy kingdom. Thou hast, O Lord, in that exalted heaven which is the footstool under thy feet, innumerable ministers and an infinite number of those praising thee, who, in regions devoid of matter, are wholly addicted to the praise of thy majesty and to thy ministry—persons, namely, who were created from fire and spirit: who, with the clamor of songs of every musical kind, celebrate thy praises, thousand thousands and ten thousand times ten thousand, who from eternity offer to thee the fruits of praise, troops and orders of spiritual beings distributed into their ranks, who offer to thee delightful hymns: the gatherings of angels and the orders of archangels who render to thee alone, the one God, praise, new and incessant: the Thrones and Dominions, established in the firmest and most unperturbable security, who sing to thee triumphant songs, with exceeding great fear. Archangels and virtues, and the princes of the Powers, who are adorned with the glory of the Thrones, direct to the lowest steps of thy throne the praises and most worthy encomiums, as is fitting. The spiritual Principalities, who stand before thee with fear, incessantly sanctify the thunder of the
A heavenly glory, while the swarms of Cherubim, endowed with many eyes, lift up in circle voices of benediction toward thy hidden region; the Seraphim, furnished with many wings, who shield their faces with those same wings from thy splendor and cover their feet also with their own feathers, so that they are not scorched by the heat of thy inaccessible fire, and flying from every side they offer praise, and flapping their wings at one another they bless, and each being fashioned like the other they glorify: and receiving the hymn one from another, with fiery mouths and flaming tongues, with one voice they praise the threefold sanctification; they cry out, they roar, and they say: Populus. Holy, holy, holy. Sacerdos inclinatus. Holy art thou, God the Father; holy art thou, God the Son; holy art thou, the Holy Spirit; O Holy and undivided Trinity, thou art one God alone and holy, in nature: who art adored in three Persons, and art glorified in the unity of substance. In whatsoever places and parts of the world, they do not suffice to extol the virtue of thy majesty. Who formedst man to the image of thy majesty, and didst instill reason into him, and didst prescribe as a limit established by the Lord, that he should not transgress thy precept: who when he had wandered and had despised thy law, incurred the sentence of death, and was thrust into the exile of infirmity. Thou indeed, his creator, good and merciful, didst not cast off the care of him which thou hadst, but didst appoint all things for his salvation, even to the point that thou didst send thy eternal and only-begotten Son into the world, who for him fulfilled his salutary dispensation.
Elevans vocem. When, therefore, he was prepared, according to his own will, to taste of his passions, to ascend the cross and the gallows, and to undergo death for the life of the whole world, on that evening when he accomplished the consummation of the mysteries and miracles, he took bread in his pure and holy hands, and giving thanks, † he blessed, † he sanctified, † he broke, and gave it to the initiates of this his mystery, to his holy apostles, saying: Take, and eat of it, for this is my body, which for you is broken and given, for the pardon of all the many faithful for whom it is immolated, and is divided for the propitiation of offenses, the remission of sins, and life eternal. Populus. Amen. Sacerdos. After that mystical supper, he mixed the cup of life of wine and water and, lifting his eyes to thee, God the Father, he gave thanks, † he blessed, † he sanctified, and gave it to the crowd of his chosen disciples and holy apostles and said: Take, drink of it, all of you: This is my blood, B which confirms the testament of my death, which is poured out for you and for many, and is given and divided for the propitiation of offenses, the remission of sins, and life eternal. Populus. Amen. Sacerdos. But when you shall communicate of this bread, and shall use this cup of life, you shall make a commemoration of my death, and you shall fulfill the memory of my resurrection until I come. Populus. We make the memory of thy death, O Lord. Sacerdos elevans vocem. With the intellectual eye of the heart we describe the period of thy most wise dispensation, O Christ our Lord, and we commemorate all those things which thou hast wrought through thy salutary incarnation for our salvation: thy generation from the hidden Father; thy birth from the Virgin, ineffable; thy coming forth, transcendent and glorious; thy elevation on the cross, salutary and B admirable; thy advent to the world, providing life; thy awakening, full of miracle: thy resurrection, glorious and full of all joy: thy elevation into the heights and the excellence of thy session at the right hand of thy begetter; furthermore also the revelation of thy glorious kingdom, which is to be in thy second advent: when thou shalt rise with ineffable glory, and being carried about in fiery clouds and flaming legions, as lightning, terrible and mighty, thou shalt come forth from the height of thy glory: when the terrible throne of thy majesty shall be set, and the seats for thy elect shall be placed: when peoples and nations shall be gathered together, and shall be brought to the place of judgment, that each may receive according to his work and it shall be recompensed to each according to his actions, when the books shall be opened, and works, words, and actions shall be discussed: when crimes shall be recited, and as the brilliant sun, things hidden shall be made manifest, most clearly: when the sea of fire shall overflow, and the smoke of the flames shall boil, and a river of burning fire shall descend, for the probation and examination of all flesh; when most bitter anguish shall be for the wicked: and good things and delights shall be prepared for the just: C when mercy shall be taken away, and the impious shall be delivered to Gehenna, and the pious shall inherit a new life unto eternity. When the strong voice shall be heard which shall separate one part from the other, and shall transfer the lambs to the right, and the goats to the left. We entreat thee, full of mercy, O Lord, in that decisive hour, multiply thy clemency toward thy worshipers, in that time so terrible and full of sadness. Be propitious toward the souls of thy servants; D in that hour of terror, pour out thy mercy upon them, who have been saved through thy cross. In that time of fear, have mercy on those who confess thy passions: let the care of them touch thee, who have confidence in thy love toward men, and spare their sins; let thy benignity be moved toward those who invoke thy holy name, and remit their offenses. Let not thy mercies be taken away through thy anger, nor let thy grace fail us, through the multitude of our malice. Do not exclude thy clemency, because of our iniquity: let not thy nature be changed, because of the magnitude of our foolishness. Let not thy holy angels judge us.
A and as bundles of weeds, cast us into the fire. Do not rebuke the ministers of thy kingdom for the filthiness of their garments, nor cast us into the outer darkness like those who despise thy majesty. Let not the light of our lamps be extinguished, so that we remain outside the doors of thy bridal chamber. Let not thy justice be set against us, nor let us be cast into the outer darkness and the gnashing of teeth to be tormented. Show the aid of thy grace against our malice: pour out the sea of thy compassion upon our iniquity, and wash away our crimes. Send forth the abundance of thy clemency and thy love toward men, and blot out what is hateful in us: restrain, O Lord, thy strength, and through a gentle appearance toward us, may thy indignation be changed; and show us the serenity of thy countenance, that we may appear as victors in the cause of our sins before the seat of thy majesty B; may we be numbered also among those called to thy kingdom, and be placed among the invited reclining with thee, and may we delight with pleasure in the radiance of thy excellent light. Therefore thy Church prays, and thy flock makes supplication, and in triumphal voices calls upon thee, and begs from thee mercy and clemency, and beseeches thee, saying: People. Have mercy. Deacon. How fearful is this hour. Priest. We also. Priest bowing says the prayer of the Invocation of the Holy Spirit. We beseech thee, most holy God, send down upon us from the dwelling of thy eternal kingdom, and from the region of thy exalted presence, thy holy Spirit, consubstantial with thee and equal in operation, who proceeds from thee without beginning, through thy only-begotten Son, and who at any time is given to those who are acceptable to thee, and makes perfect and complete those who see and understand thee: that descending and resting, he may dwell upon these oblations: which being sanctified by the power of thy grace, he may make perfect these mysteries, and those who are to receive them. Priest. Hear me, O Lord. People. Amen. Priest raising his voice. That through the communion of these life-giving sacraments, we may have access to the delights of the heavenly life, and may merit to escape the second death: nor be prepared as guilty ones to undergo judgment before the throne of thy glory: but may we receive that blessedness announced by the angels to the shepherds, namely the spiritual one, in the heavenly land, in that region where the tabernacles of light are fixed in the adorned bridal house, and in the banquet of spiritual life, with those victors who celebrate the feast there, may we happily celebrate thee, and among their hosts, may we sing to thee glory and praise. People. Amen. Priest bowing. Remember, O Lord, thy holy Church, confirm its foundations in the right faith, and preserve it in perpetual tranquility, and in abundant peace. Adorn with the chastity of morals the orthodox pastors and teachers who preside over it: especially indeed our lord N. the patriarch, and our lord N. our bishop, and grant them that with seemliness they may feed it. Remember also, O Lord, the priests of thy Church, and the deacons of thy temple, and all the orders that have been set apart for thy ministry. Remember also, O Lord, me the foolish pastor, and thy poor servant, I mean me, thy sinful servant, whom dark clouds of offenses surround. Through the sprinkling of thy hyssop, cleanse me, and whiten me like snow, purged from the spots and stains of sin. Remember, also, O Lord, all the faithful who are in exile, C and those who sustain the struggle for the orthodox faith; our body, that of the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ, for the propitiation of offenses, the remission of sins, and eternal life for those receiving it. People. Amen. Priest raising his voice. In like manner also, may that which is mixed in this chalice cause it to be a purifying and sanctifying blood, a life-giving and saving blood, a blood saving our souls and bodies, the blood of our same great God and Savior Jesus Christ, for the propitiation of offenses, the remission of sins, and eternal life for those receiving it. People. Amen. Priest raising his voice. And this bread, indeed, may he make it a life-giving body, a heavenly and saving body, a body saving our souls and bodies D and of the rest of the Syrian [Liturgies], none of which represent that reading which the editors of the Chaldean Missal chose: and if we have seen some codices, which from the commemoration of St. Maron and other indications, it was established were those of the orthodox Maronites, which contained the form ancient and common to all Liturgies. The Holy Spirit is invoked that he may descend from heaven: that he may rest, that he may dwell upon the gifts proposed, and by those words the prayer is expressed, the force of which we have already explained above, when they are applied to signify the descent and overshadowing of the Holy Spirit upon the Virgin Mary. The Liturgy expresses the effect by two words perficiat et faciat (perfect and make): to which the Greeks respond, τελειώσῃ and ποιήσῃ. That is more worthy of observation, that in that very invocation concerning the Holy Spirit it is said, who from thee without beginning proceeds through thy only-begotten Son: which is not easily found in other Liturgies, nay, not even in prayers of a different kind. In the Syriac [Liturgy] of James and in certain others it is said, "who from thee proceeds and from thy Son," which pertain to the essence, or receive [the doctrine] of the *ousia*: which so express the correct doctrine concerning the procession of the Holy Spirit, that they are rejected by the schismatic Greeks. This testimony is certainly not to be despised, whatever that Liturgy may be: for it is most certain that it has suffered nothing from interpolators. And thus it is evident that the opinion concerning the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son, or through the Son, which the Greeks acknowledge to be the same, did not originate among the Latins, since in the midst of Syria, among those who are alien to the communion of the Roman Church, witnesses of it are found.
The Priest raising his voice: And bless Thy Church, O Lord, which Thou hast possessed from the beginning, and hast redeemed through the blood of Thine Only-begotten Son, and drive away from her the conflicts of pernicious heresies, which are stirred up by the spirits of sin, and are excited to sink her into the abyss of impiety. Drive away from her, O Lord, scandals and quarrels, and preserve her from Thy rods and scourges, and from temptations by which she might succumb through infirmity. Free her from bitter famine, from captivity, and from mortality. Grant her also tranquil times, and abundance, and a brilliant tempering of the air, and a yield of crops and fruits, with an accumulation of all good things: because Thou art good, and lavishly pourest out Thy gifts above all, and dispensest Thy grace, and to Thee we offer glory and thanksgiving.
The People: Amen.
The Priest bowing: Remember, O Lord, those who live purely in virginity, chaste married persons, orphans and widows, the poor and the needy, and those who assist Thy Church. Also those who are devoted to the ministry of the saints, and assist those suffering need: who offer oblations, and work excellently.
The People: Kyrie eleison.
The Priest raising his voice: And assist by Thy powerful right hand, and confirm with Thy strong arm, all those who in Thy holy catholic Church offer oblations perpetually, and communicate in the memory of Thy saints; who abundantly sustain the needy with the fruits of almsgiving, and satisfy the destitution of the poor. Grant them an abundance of goods, according to the disposition of their hearts: and for temporal gifts, grant them an affluence of blessings, most rich and inamissible, and for non-permanent possessions, prepare for them blessed delights, and an exhaustless reward, and the gifts of Thy love toward man, and the most abundant goods of Thy inheritance: because Thou art good, and rich in gifts, and generous with Thy bestowals: and to Thee we offer glory and thanksgiving.
The People: Amen.
The Priest bowing: Remember, O Lord, the orthodox kings 28, grant them victory over their enemies, and by Thy omnipotent power strengthen them, and provide them with arms.
Raising his voice: Also the ranks of the soldiery, the martial forces, and the strengths of kingdoms, which are inclined under the yoke of the servitude of Thy victorious Cross, and hold the sign of Thine Only-begotten Son as weapons of salvation, assist and save, O Lord. Disperse and dissipate the conspiracies of hostile nations: and suppress impious kingdoms and heresies with Thy powerful right hand: blunt the sharp sword, lest it hang over the necks of Thy flock: restrain captivities, slaughters, and wars from the peoples and from Thine inheritance: and look not upon the iniquity of those who divide Thine Only-begotten Son: but remember the rest, who retain the orthodox faith, and grant to them and to us insuperable virtue, and grant to us and to them times of quiet, and the tranquility of salvation, through the grace and mercy and love toward man of Thine Only-begotten Son, through whom and with whom to Thee is due glory and honor, etc.
The People: Amen.
The Priest bowing: Make also a good memory, O Lord, at this time, of all those who have pleased Thee by their labors, and have obtained the highest glory by their characters: of the patriarchs, prophets, apostles, preachers, announcers, evangelists, John the Baptist, Stephen the deacon, and the Mother of God Mary, with all the saints.
Raising his voice: Of those who were perfected by their athlete-like struggle, and who were finished in the contest of righteousness. Remember also, O Lord, those who, in every region and city, have pleased Thee, who having had an blameless exit of life, have departed out of this world, and have come to Thee, and have been raised to celestial homes: the ancient fathers and patriarchs, princes of families, who saw mysteries and penetrated revelations, spiritual stewards, glorious preachers, and those beloved of Thee who entreat Thee, and who are acceptable to Thee, and the stewards of Thy house. Be propitious, O Lord, to our iniquities, through their prayers. Grant us that with the orthodox faith, according to their exact doctrine, we may follow their footsteps, and be heirs of the promises which were made to them, and participants of their reward; and with them may we rejoice, having obtained the crowns of victory, and among their hosts may we sing to Thee glory and praise and to Thine Only-begotten Son.
The People: Amen.
The Priest bowing: We commemorate before Thee at this time, O Lord, true pastors and sincere teachers, all the elect and blessed Fathers, but especially Ignatius, Dionysius, with the rest of Thy beloved.
Raising his voice: Those who upon the unshaken rock of the apostolic confession have built, and have stabilized the faith, and have extended and dilated the tent of Thy Church, even from the ends to the ends of the earth: who have built Thy fold in the whole habitable earth: who in spiritual meadows, and 28 Remember, O Lord, the orthodox kings. In other formulas of this type, of which there are not a few occurrences, it is credible that some were drawn from ancient discipline: this one is not. For it contains a plain and clear prayer for Christian princes, that they may become superior to the enemies of the faith by divine aid, and for the destruction of the faithful, which, in what way it can agree with Christian manners, the ecclesiastical laws of those Orientals themselves, and examples, is not easy to explain. For to pray for princes... [the Latin text continues in the margin]...and the Christian religion commands many testimonies of the ancients, as the Alexandrian History and the Egyptian Liturgy also clearly show, to which see what we have noted. Nor have the Jacobites, since the Mohammedans gained power in the East, had such princes as are designated in this prayer, which Barsalibi noted in his Commentary on this place, who also testifies that for this reason the diptychs were abbreviated. This formula, therefore, seems to be relegated among those that are singular and unusual.
A and [for they] have pastured your rational sheep, and have led the lambs of your flock over the waters of rest: who before kings and tyrants have preached your Gospel, and before iniquitous judges have confirmed your religion: who have directed and enlightened the nations established in darkness, have taught them that they sat in the shadow of error, and have demonstrated to them the light of your science. Who have sown the good seeds of faith in the lands of souls, and have cleansed the fields from the forest of thorns and from the tares of sin: who by their own sufferings have led back from captivity the people of your fold from the power of the hard and malignant one, and by the blood of their necks have liberated it from the oppression of that rebel: That through their propitiatory deprecations, and through their supplications acceptable before you, you may grant us chaste and blameless morals, a faith right and incorrupt, a life chaste and not subject to perturbation, may give us things sublime and holy, liberation from harsh temptations, ready and insuperable exits, a good and immutable end, most ample and promised goods, permanent delights, an inheritance with the saints, confidence in standing before your terrible throne, because you are merciful, bountiful in gifts, and to you we shall refer glory and praise, etc. *People.* Amen. *The Priest raising his voice.* Take away, forgive, and blot out our sins, O God, which we have committed through B wandering thoughts, and which from our childhood even unto old age are open and known, O our God: voluntary or involuntary, especially those for which in the age without end, condemnation is prepared. Grant to us that when the just shall be carried into the barns of wheat, and the impious shall be burned like chaff, we may praise you among the hosts of your saints, and may sing with your angels saying: Blessed is he who comes for our salvation, and now comes for our renewal, that in this as in all things, your name, to be honored and blessed, may be glorified and praised by all, and together with that of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of your holy Spirit, now, etc. *People.* As it was. *The Priest inclined.* And at your spiritual and holy altar, O Lord, grant rest, a good memory, and happiness to all the souls, bodies, and spirits of all our fathers, brothers, and masters, whether corporal or spiritual, who in whatever regions, cities, or parts C have died, or been suffocated in the sea, or in rivers, or have died on a journey, and whose memory has not been made in the Churches established upon the earth. You, O Lord, grant them a good memory, who have died and migrated to you in the orthodox faith, together with those whose names are inscribed in your book of life. *Priest.* Peace. *People.* And with your spirit. *Priest.* May the mercies of God be, etc. *People.* And with your spirit. *Deacon.* The Angel, etc. *The Priest breaks the oblation. The Deacon says the Catholic.* *The Priest says the Prayer before the Our Father.* O God, who through your Spirit have spoken in the prophets, and have preached through the apostles a doctrine sufficient for inspiring wisdom into our minds, and through them have commended that which might purge the spiritual senses of the soul, and cleanse the open openings of our bodily head: we beseech and entreat your love toward man, and your extraordinary charity, that you may open the ears of our hearts to hear the Lord's Prayer, which itself is what our Lord and our God, your only-begotten Son, [handed down] to those initiated into his mystery and his intimates.
[Elevans vocem.] To all those who, running the stadium of life, have appeared perfect and illustrious before you and, liberated from the ocean of faults, have arrived at you, to our fathers and brothers according to the flesh and spirit—to our brothers, I say, according to body and according to soul—grant rest, O Lord, in that spiritual and great bosom. Give them the spirit of joy in the habitations of light and gladness, D in the tabernacles of shadow and rest, and in the treasuries of delights, from which all sadness is far distant, where the souls of the pious await the firstfruits of life without labor, and the spirits of the just wait equally for the faith of the promised reward: in that region where the workers and the weary behold paradise, and, invited to the nuptials, desire the celestial bridegroom: where those called to the banquet wait to ascend, and ardently desire to receive that new stole of glory: whence sadnesses are absent, and where joys are found: for one only and alone has been seen not snared by the passions of sin, of those who were clothed with a human body, namely Jesus Christ our Lord, your only-begotten Son, through whom we also hope to obtain mercy, etc. *People.* Grant rest.
and in which have been inscribed the precepts and the norm for directing our life; and with confidence, such as befits beloved children, let us invoke you, the heavenly God and Father. Let us pray and say: Our Father, who art in heaven. *People.* Hallowed be thy name, etc. *Priest, raising his voice.* O Father of grace, from whom holiness proceeds and rises for the saints, may thy kingdom come, which surpasses all kingdoms, for our salvation; and lead us not into temptation, nor into confusion and affliction; but deliver us from the violence of the devil and of malignant spirits, and from the power of the deceiver: for thine is the empire, the glory, and the power, and that of your only-begotten Son, and of your Holy Spirit. *People.* Amen. *Priest.* Peace be unto you. *People.* And with your spirit. *Deacon.* Before, etc. *People.* Before you, O Lord. *Priest.* To you alone are bowed the necks of all in whom is the soul of life, and from you they ask the remission of all transgressions which have been committed through negligence. But you, by your constant mercy, blot out and take away all our iniquities, and spare us through your love toward mankind. Also grant to us that with cautious preparation of soul, and with purity of heart, we may communicate in your holy things, and that they may be to us a pledge of the pleasure that shall endure forever, through the grace and mercy and love toward mankind of your only-begotten Son, through whom, etc. A and the holy blood which are in them, may we be worthy to receive, and to communicate in them: and you have made us to be heirs of your saints; we pray, beseech, and entreat you, O merciful One, that you would not require of us that exact observance and purity concerning those mysteries, lest we be condemned with those who have not known you, to the torments of unquenchable fire: but by your grace, bid us to rest with the children of your bridal chamber, and make us recline with the clean lambs in paradise, that with them and among them we may offer to you glory and thanksgiving. *People.* Amen. *Priest.* Peace be unto you. *People.* And with your spirit. *Deacon.* After, etc. *People.* Before you, O Lord. *Priest.* Before you, O Lord our God, we bow the necks of our souls and bodies, because we are not sufficient to render thanksgiving to your majesty, such as we ought to give in return to offer you thanks; but only these, who have all the gifts whatsoever we possess, are from you. Give to us, O Lord, voices of speech animated by dignity, that they may suffice for a worthy and becoming praise of you. O merciful One, who, although we are unworthy even of the earth, have entrusted to us the keys of your treasure, and have set us with authority over your kingdom, grant us that in the whole course of our life, we may appear pure before you, and from worldly vanity, from earthly thoughts, from the movements of the passions, and from wandering thoughts, remove our secret and manifest senses: and through the fortitude of your power, extend over us your right hand that embraces all things, and bless your servants and adorers, who have attained salvation through your holy name; and make us temples of your habitation, and a place of the dwelling of your glory: that in that new and eternal day, we may rejoice in your kingdom, and be saved through you, and render to you glory and thanksgiving, and to your Father and to the Holy Spirit, now, etc. *People.* Amen. *Deacon.* Bless, O Lord, etc.