Song of Songs
Fifth Week
First Meditation (Fifth Sunday of Lent or Easter; Song 6:4-9)
Beloved
4 You are beautiful, my love, as Tirzah,
lovely as Jerusalem,
awesome as an army with banners.
5 Turn away your eyes from me,
for they have overcome me.
Your hair is like a flock of goats,
that lie along the side of Gilead.
6 Your teeth are like a flock of ewes,
which have come up from the washing;
of which every one has twins;
no one is bereaved among them.
7 Your temples are like a piece of a pomegranate behind your veil.
8 There are sixty queens, eighty concubines,
and virgins without number.
9 My dove, my perfect one, is unique.
She is her mother’s only daughter.
She is the favorite one of her who bore her.
The daughters saw her, and called her blessed;
the queens and the concubines, and they praised her.
Commentary
Separated from the world, to which they were once conformed, they pass over into the members of the church. And rightly therefore are they, through whom such things are done, called teeth like to shorn sheep; for they have laid aside the burdens of earthly cares, and coming up from the bath, from the washing away of the filth of the world by the sacrament of baptism, every one bears twins. For they fulfill the two commandments, of which it is said, “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets”: loving God with all their heart, and with all their soul and with all their mind, and their neighbor as themselves. (St. Augustine of Hippo)
Of this church which keeps the faith of Christ entire, hear what the Holy Spirit says in the Canticles, “My dove is one; the perfect one of her mother is one.” He then who receives this faith in the church let him not turn aside in the council of vanity, and let him not enter in with those who practice iniquity. (Rufinus of Aquileia)
“My dove, my perfect one, is one.” The Lord’s words in the gospel explain this more clearly … that in the diversity of their lives’ activities, they should not be divided in their choices of the good. Rather, they should all be one, united into a single good through the unity of the Holy Spirit.… All will look to the same goal, and every evil will be destroyed. God will be all in all, and all persons will be united together in fellowship of the Good, Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and power forever and ever. (St. Gregory of Nyssa)
Musical Selection (Palestrina)
Pulchra es amica mea suavis et decora sicut Hierusalem terribilis ut castrorum acies ordinate. Averte oculos tuos a me quia ipsi me avolare fecerunt.
Thou art beautiful, O my love, sweet and comely as Jerusalem: terrible as an army set in array. 4 Turn away thy eyes from me, for they have made me flee away.
Collect (Easter)
God of unfailing mercy,
who redeemed us and adopted us as your children,
look upon us with tender love,
that we who believe in Christ
may enjoy true freedom
and enter our promised inheritance.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever. Amen.
Collect (Lent)
God of power,
God of mercy,
you bring forth springs in the wasteland
and turn despair into hope.
Look not upon the sins of our past,
but lift from our hearts
the failures that weigh us down,
that we may find refreshment and life
in Christ, our liberator from sin,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
holy and mighty God for ever and ever. Amen.
Second Meditation (Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent or Easter; Song 6:10)
Beloved
10 Who is she who looks out as the morning,
beautiful as the moon,
clear as the sun,
and awesome as an army with banners?
Commentary
A chorus of the companions of the Bridegroom are here admiring the beauty of His Bride. Who is she, say they, that cometh forth, rising gradually? For it must be understood that the soul, though in union with God, is raised by degrees, and perfected in this divine life until she arrives in the eternal mansions. She rises in God imperceptibly, like the day breaking, until she comes to the perfect day and brightness of noon, which is the glory of Heaven. But this everlasting day has its beginning in this life. She is fair as the moon, for she derives all her beauty from the sun. She is clear as the sun, because she is in union with Christ, being a partaker of His glory and lost with Him in God. But she is terrible and fearful to devils, to sin, to the world, and to self-love, as an army drawn up in order of battle and ready for the fight. (Madame Guyon)
You [the Church] are rightly compared with this figure since you raise your precious head over all races, and you transmit the souls of the just like resplendent stars to the kingdom above. You are a pyramid full of heavenly corn, the blessed gathering of saintly people from diverse nations, the shining assembly of bright minds, a structure that cannot be dismantled since it is fashioned from living stones, the eternal happiness of all who are blessed, brighter than the sun, whiter than snow, without spot or wrinkle. Of you it is written in the Song of Songs: “Who is she that comes forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in array?” (Cassiodorus)
There is no one save the most blessed Virgin our Lady, who has perfectly arrived at this height of excellence in the love of her dearly beloved: for she is a dove so singularly singular in love, that all the rest being compared to her are rather to be termed daws than doves. But leaving this peerless queen in her matchless eminence,—there have yet been other souls who have been in such estate of pure love that in comparison with others they might take the rank of queens, of only doves, of perfect friends of the spouse....No mortal creature, as I think, ever loved the heavenly lover solely with this perfectly pure love, except that Virgin who was his spouse and mother both together (St. Francis de Sales)
Musical Selection (Palestrina)
Quae est ista quae progreditur quasi aurora consurgens, pulchra ut luna, electa ut sol, terribilis ut castrorum acies ordinata?
Who is she that cometh forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in array?
Collect (Easter)
O God,
you inspire the hearts of the faithful
with a single longing.
Grant that your people
may love what you command
and desire what you promise,
so that, amid the uncertain things of this world,
our hearts may be fixed where true joys are found.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever.Amen.
Collect (Lent)
God of surpassing love,
you enrich us with every blessing;
grant that, by setting aside our former ways
for a life that is new,
we may be ready for the glory of your kingdom.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever. Amen.
Third Meditation (Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent or Easter; Song 6:11-13)
Beloved
11 I went down into the nut tree grove,
to see the green plants of the valley,
to see whether the vine budded,
and the pomegranates were in flower.
12 Without realizing it,
my desire set me with my royal people’s chariots.
Friends
13 Return, return, Shulammite!
Return, return, that we may gaze at you.
Lover
Why do you desire to gaze at the Shulammite,
as at the dance of Mahanaim?
Commentary
God's most deep wisdom makes the soul forget all the things of this world, and consider all its previous knowledge, and the knowledge of the whole world besides, as pure ignorance in comparison with this knowledge. For a clearer understanding of this, we must remember that the most regular cause of the soul's ignoring the things of the world, when it has ascended to this high state, is that it is informed by a supernatural knowledge, in the presence of which all natural and worldly knowledge is ignorance rather than knowledge. For the soul in possession of this knowledge, which is most profound, learns from it that all other knowledge not included in this knowledge is not knowledge, but ignorance, and worthless. We have this truth in the words of the Apostle when he said that “the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.” This is the reason why the soul says it knows nothing, now that it has drunk of the divine wisdom....When the soul is raised to this high wisdom of God, human wisdom is in its eyes the lowest ignorance: all natural science and the works of God, if accompanied by ignorance of Him, are as ignorance; for where He is not known, there nothing is known. (St. John of the Cross)
Just as a nut has sweet fruit on the inside but does not show it on the outside unless its hard shell can be broken, so in the same way do the righteous maintain the sweetness of spiritual grace in their inmost heart while they are in this present life. Its magnitude cannot be perceived by their neighbors until the time when the bodily dwelling is dissolved and the souls freed from it can gaze upon one another in heavenly light, and they individually shine so much with the grace of the Holy Spirit, and they are loved so much by one another, that absolutely nothing remains hidden. (St. Bede the Venerable)
One of the best marks of the goodness of all inspirations in general, and particularly of extraordinary ones, is the peace and tranquillity of the heart that receives them: for though indeed the Holy Spirit is violent, yet his violence is gentle, sweet and peaceful. He comes as a mighty wind, and as a heavenly thunder, but he does not overthrow the Apostles, he troubles them not; the fear which they had in hearing the sound was of no continuance, but was immediately followed by a sweet assurance. That is why this fire sits upon each of them, taking and causing a sacred repose; and as our Saviour is called a peaceful or pacific Solomon, so is his spouse called Sulamitess, calm and daughter of peace: and the voice, that is, the inspiration, of the bridegroom does not in any sort disquiet or trouble her, but draws her so sweetly that he makes her soul deliciously melt and, as it were, flow out into him: My soul, says she, melted when my beloved spoke. (St. Francis de Sales)
Musical Selection (Cipriano de Rore)
Descendi in hortum meum ut viderem poma convallium et inspicerem si floruisset vinea et germinassent mala punica. Revertere, revertere, Sulamitis, revertere ut intueamur te.
I went down into my garden to see the fruit of the valleys, to see if the vine was in bloom and the pomegranate in bud. Return, return, o Shulamite, return that we may look upon you.
Collect (Easter)
God ever-faithful,
by the resurrection of Christ your Son
you restore your people to eternal life.
Grant us a constant faith and a certain hope,
that we may never doubt that you will fulfil
the promises you have made.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever. Amen.
Collect (Lent)
God of mercy and compassion,
grant that your household, the Church,
may persevere in obeying your will,
so that in our own day
those who offer you true service
may grow in number and holiness.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever. Amen.
Fourth Meditation (Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent or Easter; Song 7:1-2)
(CHAPTER 7)
Lover
1 How beautiful are your feet in sandals, prince’s daughter!
Your rounded thighs are like jewels,
the work of the hands of a skillful workman.
2 Your body is like a round goblet,
no mixed wine is wanting.
Your waist is like a heap of wheat,
set about with lilies.
Commentary
When beauty and brightness has filled the inmost part of the heart, it must become outwardly visible, and not be like a lamp hidden under a bushel, but be a light shining in darkness, which cannot be hidden. It shines out, and by the brightness of its rays it makes the body a mirror of the mind, spreading through the limbs and senses so that every action, every word, look, movement and even laugh, if there should be laughter, radiates gravity and honor. So when the movements of the limbs and senses, its gestures and habits, are seen to be resolute, pure, restrained, free from all presumption and license, with no sign of triviality and idleness, but given to just dealing, zealous in piety, then the beauty of the soul will be seen openly, that is, if there is no guilt in the spirit, for these qualities can be counterfeited, and not spring from the heart’s abundance. Now let us elucidate what we mean by honor and wherein it may be found, so that the soul’s beauty may shine forth even more. It is integrity of mind which is concerned to keep the innocent reputation with a good conscience, and not only, as the Apostle says, to provide things good in the sight of God, but in the sight of men also. Happy the mind which has clothed itself in the beauty of holiness and the brightness of innocence, by which it manifests its glorious likeness, not to the world, but to the Word, of whom we read that he is the brightness of eternal life, the splendor and image of the being of God. (St. Bernard of Clairvaux)
Who, then, will be able to express your experience, O happy soul, since you know that you are so loved and with such esteem exalted? Your belly, which is your will, is like the bride's, similar to a bundle of wheat, covered and surrounded with lilies. For while you are enjoying together the grains of the bread of life, the lilies, or virtues, surrounding you provide you with delight. These are the king's daughters mentioned by David, who will delight you with myrrh, aloes, and other aromatic spices [Ps. 45:8-9]; for the knowledge of his graces and virtues, which the Beloved communicates to you, are his daughters. You so overflow with these and are so engulfed in them that you are likewise the well of living waters that flow impetuously from Mount Lebanon [Sg. 4:15], that is, from God. You were made wonderfully joyful according to the whole harmonious composite of your soul and even your body, converted completely into a paradise divinely irrigated, so the psalmist's affirmation might also be fulfilled in you: The impetus of the river makes the city of God joyful [Ps. 46:4]. (St. John of the Cross)
By the navel is intended the capacity of the soul to receive or the passive disposition which is extended and increased to an infinite degree, since she has been received into God; not solely for her own reception of divine communications, but also that she may conceive and bring forth many children to Jesus Christ. It is round, because it receives much but can contain nothing, receiving only to disperse. It is at the same time both fitted to receive and prompt in distributing, herein partaking of the qualities of the Bridegroom. It is continually full of liquor derived from the fountain head of Divinity, and the choicest graces are bestowed upon her for the benefit of others. (Madame Guyon)
Musical Selection (Palestrina)
Quam pulchri sunt gressus tui in calciamentis filia principis, iunctura feminum tuorum sicut monilia quae fabricata sunt manu artificis, umbilicus tuus crater tornatilis numquam indigens poculis, venter tuus sicut acervus tritici vallatus liliis.
How beautiful are thy steps in sandals, O prince's daughter! The joints of thy thighs are like jewels, that are made by the hand of a skillful workman. Thy navel is like a round bowl never wanting cups. Thy belly is like a heap of wheat, set about with lilies.
Collect (Easter)
O God,
you love innocence
and restore it in those afflicted by sin.
Direct the hearts of your servants toward you,
that those you have freed from the darkness of unbelief
may never abandon the light of your truth.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever.Amen.
Collect (Lent)
God of loving-kindness,
enlighten the hearts of your children,
who are cleansed by Lenten penance.
Be not deaf to our prayer,
for it is you who awaken within us
the very desire to serve you.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever. Amen.
Fifth Meditation (Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent or Easter; Song 7:3-5)
Lover
3 Your two breasts are like two fawns,
that are twins of a roe.
4 Your neck is like an ivory tower.
Your eyes are like the pools in Heshbon by the gate of Bathrabbim.
Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon which looks toward Damascus.
5 Your head on you is like Carmel.
The hair of your head like purple.
The king is held captive in its tresses.
Commentary
A soul which in the eyes of God is thus exalted in grace, honourable and lovely, is for that reason an object of His unutterable love. If He loved that soul before it was in a state of grace, for His own sake, He loves it now, when in a state of grace, not only for His own sake, but also for itself. Thus enamoured of its beauty, through its affections and good works, now that it is never without them, He bestows upon it continually further grace and love, and the more honourable and exalted He renders that soul, the more is He captivated by it, and the greater His love for it. (St. John of the Cross)
The neck signifies strength; it is of ivory, because the purity of strength consists in being in God, and for this reason the strength of the Spouse is absolutely pure. Her strength is a tower where the soul is sheltered from every danger, and whence she discovers the approach of her enemies. The understanding is referred to as the eyes, and when this faculty is lost in God it is become a fish-pool, a source of every blessing and a remedy for every ill. God employs the mind which has been willingly given up for His sake, in a thousand great undertakings that are useful for the good of the neighbor. These pools are at the gate of the daughters of the multitude. This child of the multitude is no other than the imagination and fancy, which disturb and injure the clearness of the mind before the mystical division is effected. But now this is no longer the case, for she is no longer inconvenienced by the frivolous and impertinent intrusion of the senses; God having, as it were, set up a door between the spirit and the senses. The nose is the symbol of prudence, which is become like the tower of Lebanon, because it is strong and impregnable, being the very providence and prudence of God, bestowed upon the soul in consideration of its simplicity, by which it has lost all human prudence. This celestial prudence looks but one way: it sees nothing but the divine movement of Providence, and all its foresight consists in receiving what comes from moment to moment. (Madame Guyon)
In [Mary’s] courage and generosity in suffering she is, as compared with the Apostles, fittingly imaged as a tower. But towers, it may be said, are huge, rough, heavy, obtrusive, graceless structures, for the purposes of war, not of peace; with nothing of the beauty, refinement, and finish which are conspicuous in Mary. It is true: Therefore she is called the Tower of Ivory, to suggest to us, by the brightness, purity, and exquisiteness of that material, how transcendent is the loveliness and the gentleness of the Mother of God. (St. John Henry Newman)
Musical Selection (Palestrina)
Duo ubera tua sicut duo hinnuli, gemelli capreae; collum tuum sicut turris eburnea; oculi tui sicut piscinae in Hesebon quae sunt in porta filiae multitudinis; nasus tuus sicut turris Libani quae respicit contra Damascum; caput tuum ut Carmelus et comae capitis tui sicut purpura regis iuncta canalibus.
Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins. Thy neck as a tower of ivory. Thy eyes like the fishpools in Hesebon, which are in the gate of the daughter of the multitude. Thy nose is as the tower of Libanus, that looketh toward Damascus. Thy head is like Carmel: and the hairs of thy head as the purple of the king bound in the channels.
Collect (Easter)
Most holy God,
your grace has brought us from sin to righteousness
and turned our wretchedness to joy.
Stay with us, Lord,
and do not forget the gifts you have bestowed,
that we who are justified by faith
may have the courage to persevere until the end.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever. Amen.
Collect (Lent)
Do not withhold your presence, Lord our God,
from those who call upon you,
but look with tender care
on all who hope in your mercy.
Cleanse them from the stain of sin,
that they may persevere in holiness of life
and receive the inheritance you have promised.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever. Amen.
Sixth Meditation (Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent or Easter; Song7:6-7)
Lover
6 How beautiful and how pleasant you are,
love, for delights!
7 This, your stature, is like a palm tree,
your breasts like its fruit.
Commentary
Turn again to the words of this marriage-song from its beginning to this point and see whether in all their trysts and colloquies such tenderness has ever been shown to the Bride, and whether she has ever heard so many delightful words from his mouth....This is no betrothal or union of equals here. Who could lay claim to any clear knowledge of the nature of this token of love in which she glories, bestowed upon her and repaid again by her? Who indeed, except one worthy himself of a like experience, being pure in soul and holy in body? Its reality is in the affections; it is not to be attained by reason but by affections, by conformity. (St. Bernard of Clairvaux)
“Let us so act, that, by the practice of this love, we may come to see ourselves in Thy beauty in everlasting life.” That is: “Let me be so transformed in Thy beauty, that, being alike in beauty, we may see ourselves both in Thy beauty; having Thy beauty, so that, one beholding the other, each may see his own beauty in the other, the beauty of both being Thine only, and mine absorbed in it. And thus I shall see Thee in Thy beauty, and myself in Thy beauty, and Thou shalt see me in Thy beauty; and I shall see myself in Thee in Thy beauty, and Thou Thyself in me in Thy beauty; so shall I seem to be Thyself in Thy beauty, and Thou myself in Thy beauty; my beauty shall be Thine, Thine shall be mine, and I shall be Thou in it, and Thou myself in Thine own beauty; for Thy beauty will be my beauty, and so we shall see, each the other, in Thy beauty.” (St. John of the Cross)
God beholding in His Spouse His own perfections (reflected as in a faithful mirror), is enchanted with His own beauty contemplated in her, and exclaims, How fair and how pleasant art thou in My beauty, and how glorious is My beauty in thee! Thou art all My delight as I am the delight of My Father. For, representing Me to the life, as in a costly mirror, which produces no distortion in the objects held before it, thou givest Me an infinite pleasure. Thou art fair and enchanting, for thou art clothed with all My perfections. But if thou art My delight, I am also thine, and our pleasures are common to both. (Madame Guyon)
Musical Selection (Palestrina)
Quam pulchra es et quam decora, carissima, in deliciis! Statura tua adsimilata est palmæ, et ubera tua botris. Dixi: Ascendam in palmam et apprehendam fructus eius; et erunt ubera tua sicut botri vineæ et odor oris tui sicut malorum.
How fair and pleasant you are, O loved one, in delights! This your stature is as a palm tree, and your breasts are like its clusters. I say I will climb the palm tree and lay hold of its branches. O may your breasts be like clusters of the vine, and the scent of your breath like apples.
Collect (Easter)
Fashion our lives, Lord God,
in the image of the paschal mystery,
so that this joyful celebration of Christ’s death and resurrection
may save and protect us with its unfailing power.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever. Amen.
Collect (Lent)
Pardon, merciful Lord, the offences of your people,
and in your goodness
release us from the bonds of sin
which in our human weakness
we have fashioned for ourselves.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever. Amen.
Seventh Meditation (Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent or Easter; Song 7:8-10)
Lover
8 I said, “I will climb up into the palm tree.
I will take hold of its fruit.”
Let your breasts be like clusters of the vine,
the smell of your breath like apples,
Commentary
Imitate the palm, so that it may be said also to you, “Your stature is like a palm tree.” Preserve the verdure of your childhood and of that natural innocence of youth which you have received from the beginning, and may you possess the fruits, prepared in due time, of what was planted along the course of the waters—and may there be no fall to your leaf!… Remain, therefore, planted in the house of the Lord so as to flourish like a palm in his halls, whence the grace of the church may ascend for you and “the odor of your mouth may be like apples and your throat like the best wine,” so that you may be inebriated in Christ. (St. Ambrose of Milan)
Within the cross is life
And consolation.
It alone is the road
Leading to heaven.
The Lord of heaven and earth
Is on the cross.
On it, too, delight in peace.
Though war may rage,
It banishes all evil
Dwelling here on earth.
It alone is the road
Leading to heaven.
From the cross the bride
To her Beloved says
This is a precious palm
Upon which she has climbed,
Its fruit tasting
Like the God of paradise:
It alone is the road
Leading to heaven.
This sacred cross,
An olive tree so dear,
With its oil anoints us
Giving us light.
My soul, take up this cross
Rich with consolations great.
It alone is the road
Leading to heaven.
This cross is the verdant tree
Desired by the bride.
In its cool shade
Now she is resting,
Delighting in her Beloved,
Heaven’s King:
It alone is the road
Leading to heaven.
The soul to God
Is wholly surrendered,
From all the world
Now truly free,
The cross is at last
Her “Tree of Life” and consolation:
It alone is the road
Leading to heaven.
After our Saviour
Upon the cross placed Himself,
Now in this cross is
Both glory and honour.
In suffering pain
There is life and comfort,
And the safest road
Leading to heaven. (St. Teresa of Avila)
The spiritual marriage of the soul and the Son of God now remains to be accomplished. This is, beyond all comparison, a far higher state than that of betrothal, because it is a complete transformation into the Beloved; whereby they surrender each to the other the entire possession of themselves in the perfect union of love, wherein the soul becomes divine, and, by participation, God, so far as it is in this life. I believe that no soul ever attains to this state without being confirmed in grace, for the faithfulness of both is confirmed; that of God being confirmed in the soul. Hence it follows, that this is the very highest state possible in this life. As by natural marriage there are “two in one flesh,” so also in the spiritual marriage between God and the soul there are two natures in one spirit and love, as we learn from St. Paul, who made use of the same metaphor, saying, “He that cleaveth to the Lord is one spirit.” So, when the light of a star, or of a candle, is united to that of the sun, the light is not that of the star, nor of the candle, but of the sun itself, which absorbs all other light in its own. (St. John of the Cross)
Musical Selection (Francisco Guerrero)
Ego flos campi et lilium convallium. Sicut lilium inter spinas, sic amica mea inter filias. Sicut malus inter ligna silvarum, sic dilectus meus inter filios. Sub umbra illius quem desiraveram sedi, et fructus eius dulcis gutturi meo. Introduxit me rex in cellam vinariam; ordinavit in me charitatem. Fulcite me floribus, stipate me malis, quia amore langueo.
I am the flower of the field and the lily of the valley. As the lily among the thorns, so is my love among the daughters. As the apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under the shadow of him I desire and his fruit was sweet to my taste. The king hath brought me into his wine cellar and filled me with love. Stay me with flowers, comfort me with apples, for I am sick of love.
Collect (Easter)
All-powerful and ever-living God,
by our rebirth in baptism
you have blessed us with divine life.
Grant that we who are called to immortality by grace
may through your continued care
come to the fullness of glory.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever. Amen.
Collect (Lent)
Most holy God,
your saving grace extends to every season,
but in this time of Lent you gladden your Church
with a still greater outpouring of love.
Look kindly upon your elect,
that those about to enter the waters of baptism
and those already baptised
may know the power of your mighty arm.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever. Amen.