The Brotherhood Prayer Book: A Hymn for the Holy Innocents
Audio: Listen to A Hymn for the Holy Innocents chanted
Sweet flowerets of the martyr band,
Plucked by the tyrant’s ruthless hand
Upon the threshold of the morn,
Like rosebuds by a tempest torn;
First victims for the incarnate Lord,
A tender flock to feel the sword;
Beside the very altar, gay,
With palm and crown, ye seemed to play.
Ah, what availed King Herod’s wrath?
He could not stop the Savior’s path.
Alone, while others murdered lay,
In safety Christ is borne away.
O Lord, the Virgin-born, to Thee
Eternal praise and glory be,
Whom with the Father we adore
And Holy Ghost forevermore. Amen.
Salvete, flores martyrum by Aurelius C. Prudentius, d. 413, trans. by H.W. Baker, alt.
From The Brotherhood Prayer Book
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Collect: O God, whose martyred innocents showed forth Thy praise not by speaking but by dying: mortify all vices within us, that our lives may in deed confess Thy faith which our tongue uttereth; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.
The picture a 19th-century fresco from the Imperial Cathedral of Speyer, Germany. Find similiar pictures here. Many thanks to Pr. Sean Daenzer for chanting.
New: A review of An Explanation of the Common Service
“The answer, ‘that’s the way we’ve always done it,’ to the question of, ‘why do we do what we do in worship?’ is not only unhelpful, but it’s also false. We do know ‘why we do what we do in worship.’ Sometimes we just don’t know where to find the answer to the question. An Explanation of the Common Service helps give concrete answers to questions that would otherwise be left in abstract thought and speculation. What would seem to be a daunting number of questions and answers (250) is eased by the reality that the book is just 120 pages in length, which includes a history of Christian hymnody; liturgical colors and their significance; and index and glossary.”
Many thanks to Pr. Mike Grieve for an excellent and thorough review. It is well worth reading in its entirety at Lutheran Treasures of the Old Missouri Synod.
Today Only! Spend $25, Earn $5.
Today is Small Business Saturday, which started several years ago as a sort of counterpart to Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The idea is to encourage people across the country to shop at local, small businesses. Well, Fort Wayne may not be local for you, but we are definitely a small business, and we greatly appreciate all of our customers! To show our appreciation, we are offering a special one-day promotion. Until midnight tonight, you will earn $5 for every $25 you spend.*
Maybe you’ve had your eye on Ceremony and Celebration as a resource on Lutheran liturgical worship, or Didache, which teaches doctrine using the Holy Scriptures, Luther’s Small Catechism, and the hymnal. Or perhaps you’re looking for Christmas cards that combine beauty with substance.
Whether you’re shopping for yourself or for a gift, browse around our selection of books and greeting cards, and earn $5 for every $25 you spend.
*Total used to figure gift certificate excludes shipping. Gift certificate may only be used in a future order.
Three days: Get a signed copy of God With Us
Starting today and ending Friday, November 20, all purchases of God With Us by David H. Petersen will be signed by the author. With Advent just 11 days away, now is the time to pick up a copy just in time for the start of the season.
Many customers tell us that they’ve given God With Us in bulk to family members and friends, since these 59 brief sermons serve well for daily devotions. As Pr. Larry Beane writes, “This book is a treasure trove for private or family devotions, as well as a solid source of homiletical material for daily chapel or Divine Services. If you are looking for some additional spiritual refreshment this Advent through Epiphany seasons, this is a perfect combination of brevity and potency, of meditation and instruction, but most of all, of our Lord Jesus Christ who has come to save us from our sins!”
Read the reviews, learn how we developed the lectionary for this book, take a look at the Table of Contents and Scripture Index, and find excerpts throughout the site. Better yet, sign up for occasional emails on the right sidebar or follow us on Facebook, where we post more frequent excerpts.
*Be sure to peruse our Christmas cards while you’re here. Reasonably priced, unique, gorgeous artwork…combined with a clear confession of our Savior’s birth.
Our new Christmas cards are now available!
This year we collaborated with local artist Meghan Schultz to create three beautiful new designs. Meghan’s background is in graphic design and advertising with a special interest in fine art and calligraphy. While busy as a homeschooling mother, she finds time to pursue art as a personal hobby and also to create liturgical artwork for her home congregation, Redeemer Lutheran Church – Fort Wayne. Meghan recently designed a coat of arms for Redeemer, which was then rendered in hand-carved wood, and she’s currently working on several custom projects.
Working with such a versatile artist led to some unique details in “Magnificat” (left). We paired the depiction of Mary and Jesus (from “The Virgin of the Lilies” by 19th-century artist William-Adolphe Bouguereau) with hand-lettered words from the Song of Mary. We also added hand-drawn fleur-de-lis in the corners as a nod to Bouguereau’s French heritage and the lilies in his original piece, symbolic of Mary. The text inside features a verse from the beloved hymn, “Of the Father’s Love Begotten.” 
The illuminated artwork for “A Child is Born” (right) is from a 14th-century choir book from a monastery in Italy. The words on the manuscript in Latin are from Isaiah 9:6, which is also quoted in the inside greeting: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given…” You can view the inside text in its entirety on our Christmas cards page.
Finally, we decided to redesign one of the very first Christmas cards that we introduced back in 2011. The 
artwork for “Nativity” (left) is a fresco from the Imperial Cathedral in Speyer, Germany. This Nazarene-style fresco was painted in the cathedral’s interior walls in the mid-1800s by Johann von Schraudolph at the behest of King Ludwig I of Bavaria. The city of Speyer is significant in Reformation history; adherents of the Reformation were first called Protestants when they protested the Holy Roman Empire’s ban against Martin Luther and his teachings at an Imperial Diet in Speyer in 1529. This year, we updated the card to give it a beautiful linen-textured background and words proclaiming Christ’s birth.
Visit our Christmas cards page to have a closer look at the covers and view the inside greetings. If you send out a lot of Christmas cards or want to stock up for future years, take advantage of our bulk discount, which begins with orders of 15 sets. Contact us for more details before placing your order so that we can create a customized invoice.
Coming soon: New Christmas Cards for 2015
More details very soon….Subscribe to our email updates or like us on Facebook (see the right sidebar) for the latest news! In the meantime, visit our Christmas Cards page to see our current selection.
A Hymn for St. Michael and All Angels’ Day
Thee, O Christ, the Father’s splendor,
Life and virtue of the heart,
In the presence of the angels
Sing we now with tuneful art,
Mostly in alternate chorus
Bearing our responsive part.
Thus we praise with due thanksgiving
All the armies of the sky;
Chiefly him, the warrior primate,
Of celestial chivalry,
Michael, who in princely virtue
Cast Abaddon from on high.
By whose watchful care repelling —
King of everlasting grace–
Every ghostly adversary,
All things evil, all things base,
Grant us of Thine only goodness
In Thy paradise a place.
Laud and honor to the Father,
Laud and honor to the Son,
Laud and honor to the Spirit,
Ever Three and ever One,
Consubstantial, coeternal,
While unending ages run. Amen.
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Tibi, Christe, splendor Patris, Rabanus Maurus, 9th cent., trans. by J.M. Neale
As found in The Brotherhood Prayer Book
NEW: Psalm 23 Greeting Card
Browsing the internet and various bookstores, it can be difficult to find greeting cards with substance and a clear Christian confession. Our conversations with friends and customers helped us to realize that we were not the only ones facing this dilemma. So, five years ago, we at Emmanuel Press began offering ecclesiastical greeting cards as an alternative to the usual fluff of mediocre art and cliché sayings.
Our newest card, Psalm 23 (left), is the first in a planned series of greeting cards combining sacred artwork with the prayerful, comforting words of the Psalms. This particular stained glass is located behind the altar at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It depicts Jesus, our Good Shepherd, in vibrant stained glass on a light gray background. Psalm 23 is printed on the inside left side, leaving the right side blank for personal correspondence for any occasion. Visit the Psalm 23 page to have a closer look at the artwork and to see the inside text.
We are always on the lookout for beautiful sacred artwork! If you know of stained glass or have other artwork or card ideas to share, please contact us.
Seed Grains of Prayer: Prayer for Cleansing of the Soul
“Righteous God, turn my desire and thoughts, that I may fear and serve Thee in love with all my soul. Sanctify me wholly, and turn away from me all that is not purely Thine. So sink my life in Thyself that my will may ever yield to Thine, to be governed by Thee; for neither mine own nor the help of any creature can give me counsel. Grant that I neither fall into nor remain in sin. Quench my thirst for things temporal. Uproot in me all self-love and selfishness. Banish evil passions and covetous desires. Destroy all lusting and cleaving unto the things of this world. Gather my soul unto Thee, and retain in me a pure and peaceful conscience unto my latest breath. Praise, glory, wisdom, thanks, honor, power, and majesty be unto thee, O God, forevermore. Amen.”
Wilhelm Loehe, Seed Grains of Prayer, #200
Seed-Grains of Prayer: For Grace to Pray Aright
“Merciful God, we do indeed not know what we should pray, neither how we should present our petitions unto Thee. We are by nature negligent and indifferent to pray, and our little earthly occupations do so easily keep us away from, or at least hinder us in our prayers. To all this come the manifold temptations of the devil, ever ready to make us err on all sides in our prayers. Therefore, I pray Thee, O Lord, my God, pour out upon me abundantly the Spirit of grace and prayer, that I may boldly surmount every hindrance and pray unto Thee diligently according to Thy will, and obtain all those things that are salutary and needful for me both in soul and body, now and evermore, through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, my only Savior. Amen.”
Wilhelm Loehe, Seed-Grains of Prayer, #3