Prayer of Humble Access
Encyclopedia
The Prayer of Humble Access is the name traditionally given to a prayer contained in many Anglican and Protestant eucharistic liturgies.
The prayer was an integral part of the early Books of Common Prayer
of the Church of England
and has continued to be used throughout much of the Anglican Communion
. Its name is derived from the heading above the prayer in the Scottish Book of Common Prayer 1637. This book was a moderate revision of the English Book of Common Prayer of that time, with influences and changes to concede to the Scottish Presbyterians. One change was the inclusion of the Prayer of Humble Access. The prayer finds its roots in a prayer of worthy reception, which appeared in the Order for Communion in 1548,and was retained in the so-called "First Prayer Book of Edward VI" published in 1549. The prayer was not apparently a translation of a pre-existing prayer found in the Sarum
liturgy - but was a unique combination of several sources, including phrases or concepts from Mark 7:28, the Liturgy of St. Basil, a Gregorian collect, John 6:56, and the writings of Thomas Aquinas.
In its earliest appearance the prayer followed the confession and absolution and "comfortable words" which were inserted after the Roman Canon of the Mass. It remained there with the coming of the prayer book the next year.
In the revision of 1552 the prayer appears immediately after the proper preface of the Eucharistic Prayer. In subsequent revisions by various national churches, and in the proposed 1928 English BCP revision, the prayer was moved to after the Lord's Prayer
and before the Agnus Dei, after which the consecrated elements are administered.
The version of 1548 and 1549 appear below with modernised spelling:
The 1662 revision reads as follows:
The 1928 prayer book of the American church, the official book of the American Continuing Anglican churches, retains the 1662 wording. Many contemporary Anglican liturgies, however, have revised it to varying degrees. The American 1979 prayer book and English ASB 1980 versions omit the phrase "that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his body, and our souls washed through his most precious blood", due to the cultural and theological emphases in the 1970s. The phrase has been restored in the Common Worship version. Some Anglican eucharistic liturgies omit the prayer entirely. In the 1979 Prayer Book of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America the Prayer of Humble Access is an option in the Rite I (traditional language) eucharistic rite but not in the contemporary-language Rite II service. There is some similarity with the prayer immediately prior to communion in the Roman Rite
Mass
: (translated: "Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed" or "Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word, and my soul shall be healed".
The version of the prayer used in The Book of Common Worship of 1993
of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
uses contemporary English:
We do not presume to come to your table, merciful Lord,trusting in our own goodness,but in your all-embracing love and mercy. We are not worthy even to gather up the crumbs under your table, but it is your nature always to have mercy. So feed us with the body and blood of Jesus Christ, your Son,that we may forever live in him and he in us. Amen.
This prayer is based on two passages from the New Testament. One is St Matthew 8:8
: "The centurion replied, 'Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.'"
The other is found in St Mark 7:28
. It is a reply from a woman in speaking to Jesus regarding her unworthiness, who said, "but even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs."
The prayer was an integral part of the early Books of Common Prayer
Book of Common Prayer
The Book of Common Prayer is the short title of a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion, as well as by the Continuing Anglican, "Anglican realignment" and other Anglican churches. The original book, published in 1549 , in the reign of Edward VI, was a product of the English...
of the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
and has continued to be used throughout much of the Anglican Communion
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
. Its name is derived from the heading above the prayer in the Scottish Book of Common Prayer 1637. This book was a moderate revision of the English Book of Common Prayer of that time, with influences and changes to concede to the Scottish Presbyterians. One change was the inclusion of the Prayer of Humble Access. The prayer finds its roots in a prayer of worthy reception, which appeared in the Order for Communion in 1548,and was retained in the so-called "First Prayer Book of Edward VI" published in 1549. The prayer was not apparently a translation of a pre-existing prayer found in the Sarum
Sarum Rite
The Sarum Rite was a variant of the Roman Rite widely used for the ordering of Christian public worship, including the Mass and the Divine Office...
liturgy - but was a unique combination of several sources, including phrases or concepts from Mark 7:28, the Liturgy of St. Basil, a Gregorian collect, John 6:56, and the writings of Thomas Aquinas.
In its earliest appearance the prayer followed the confession and absolution and "comfortable words" which were inserted after the Roman Canon of the Mass. It remained there with the coming of the prayer book the next year.
In the revision of 1552 the prayer appears immediately after the proper preface of the Eucharistic Prayer. In subsequent revisions by various national churches, and in the proposed 1928 English BCP revision, the prayer was moved to after the Lord's Prayer
Lord's Prayer
The Lord's Prayer is a central prayer in Christianity. In the New Testament of the Christian Bible, it appears in two forms: in the Gospel of Matthew as part of the discourse on ostentation in the Sermon on the Mount, and in the Gospel of Luke, which records Jesus being approached by "one of his...
and before the Agnus Dei, after which the consecrated elements are administered.
The version of 1548 and 1549 appear below with modernised spelling:
-
- We do not presume to come to this thy Table (O merciful Lord) trusting in our own righteousness, but in thy manifold and great mercies. We be not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy Table. But thou art the same Lord, whose property is always to have mercy: Grant us therefore, gracious Lord, so to eat the Flesh of thy dear Son Jesus Christ, and to drink his Blood, in these holy Mysteries, that we may continually dwell in him, and he in us, that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his Body, and our souls washed through his most precious Blood. Amen.
The 1662 revision reads as follows:
-
- We do not presume to come to this thy Table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in thy manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy Table. But thou art the same Lord, whose property is always to have mercy: Grant us therefore, gracious Lord, so to eat the flesh of thy dear Son Jesus Christ, and to drink his blood, that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his body, and our souls washed through his most precious blood, and that we may evermore dwell in him, and he in us. Amen.
The 1928 prayer book of the American church, the official book of the American Continuing Anglican churches, retains the 1662 wording. Many contemporary Anglican liturgies, however, have revised it to varying degrees. The American 1979 prayer book and English ASB 1980 versions omit the phrase "that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his body, and our souls washed through his most precious blood", due to the cultural and theological emphases in the 1970s. The phrase has been restored in the Common Worship version. Some Anglican eucharistic liturgies omit the prayer entirely. In the 1979 Prayer Book of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America the Prayer of Humble Access is an option in the Rite I (traditional language) eucharistic rite but not in the contemporary-language Rite II service. There is some similarity with the prayer immediately prior to communion in the Roman Rite
Roman Rite
The Roman Rite is the liturgical rite used in the Diocese of Rome in the Catholic Church. It is by far the most widespread of the Latin liturgical rites used within the Western or Latin autonomous particular Church, the particular Church that itself is also called the Latin Rite, and that is one of...
Mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
: (translated: "Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed" or "Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word, and my soul shall be healed".
The version of the prayer used in The Book of Common Worship of 1993
The Book of Common Worship of 1993
The Book of Common Worship of 1993 is the fifth liturgical book of the Presbyterian Church .With the reunion of the United Presbyterian Church and the Presbyterian Church , which took place in 1983, the need arose for a new liturgical book of the Presbyterian Church...
of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
The Presbyterian Church , or PC, is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States. Part of the Reformed tradition, it is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the U.S...
uses contemporary English:
We do not presume to come to your table, merciful Lord,trusting in our own goodness,but in your all-embracing love and mercy. We are not worthy even to gather up the crumbs under your table, but it is your nature always to have mercy. So feed us with the body and blood of Jesus Christ, your Son,that we may forever live in him and he in us. Amen.
This prayer is based on two passages from the New Testament. One is St Matthew 8:8
Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel According to Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the New Testament. It tells of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth...
: "The centurion replied, 'Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.'"
The other is found in St Mark 7:28
Gospel of Mark
The Gospel According to Mark , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Mark or simply Mark, is the second book of the New Testament. This canonical account of the life of Jesus of Nazareth is one of the three synoptic gospels. It was thought to be an epitome, which accounts for its place as the second...
. It is a reply from a woman in speaking to Jesus regarding her unworthiness, who said, "but even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs."