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.
__________
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
Strodach on Liturgy
“The minister will study the liturgy of the Church in order to know its antecedents, its history, meaning and harmony, its symbolism, spiritual power, and eloquence. He will study it as the means to an end of worship, in the spirit of devotion: that he may rightly and sensibly guide his people in their devotions. He will seek to teach his people so that they know its story, its meaning, the richness of its treasures, and how to use it unto edification and make it, as it must be to him, the expression of sacred moments and the means to spiritual enrichment. The forms themselves are inspiring, but how much more this all is enhanced when one realizes, that through these, through these very prayers, these selfsame canticles, the actual words that we are using, countless throngs of men and women through the long centuried past have lifted up their hearts to God, and I am uniting mine with theirs in these latter days…. ‘I believe in the Communion of Saints’…!”
-Paul Z. Strodach, A Manual on Worship
New download: Church Father excerpts formatted as bulletin inserts
Click on the Downloads tab above to find a new (free!) download of Church Father excerpts formatted as bulletin inserts for Easter through Pentecost.
New download: Church Father excerpts formatted as bulletin inserts
Click on the Downloads tab above to find a new (free!) download of Church Father excerpts formatted as bulletin inserts for Pre-Lent (Septuagesima, Sexagesima, Quinquagesima) through Palm Sunday.
The Brotherhood Prayer Book: New Music for Advent 3 and Ember Days
We are pleased to make newly composed and newly recorded music available for Advent 3 and Ember Days. Using Reformation-era resources, Mr. Matthew Carver composed antiphons for the Benedictus of each week of Advent. Rev. Sean Daenzer then sang and recorded the antiphons and other propers. We thank them for their contribution to the music of the BPB!
*Please refer back to the first post for recordings of the Invitatory of the Venite, the Venite, and Responsory for Advent.
Antiphon for the Benedictus (p. 393), pdf:
Antiphon for the Magnificat (p. 394):
Listen to a sample of how to move between the parts of the Canticle – from the Antiphon to the first verse of the Magnificat to the Gloria Patri, back to the Antiphon (Advent 3):
A pdf of the Benedictus for Ember Wednesday (p. 394), Ember Friday (p. 395), and Ember Saturday (p. 396). At the end of each antiphon, the last part of the canticle tone (see p. 106) is printed above the letters “Oioeae,” which are the vowels in “world without end. Amen.”
Antiphon for the Benedictus of Ember Wednesday (p. 394):
Antiphon for the Magnificat of Ember Wednesday (p. 394):
Listen to the entire Magnificat with Antiphon for Ember Wednesday (p. 394):
Antiphon for the Magnificat of Ember Friday (p. 395):
Listen to a sample of how to move between the parts of the Canticle – from the Antiphon to the first verse of the Magnificat to the Gloria Patri, back to the Antiphon (Ember Friday):
The Brotherhood Prayer Book: New Music for Advent 2
Last week, we introduced new music for The Brotherhood Prayer Book for Advent 1. Now, we are pleased to make this newly composed and newly recorded music available for Advent 2. Using Reformation-era resources, Mr. Matthew Carver composed antiphons for the Benedictus of each week of Advent. Rev. Sean Daenzer then sang and recorded the antiphons and other propers. We thank them for their contribution to the music of the BPB!
*Please refer back to the first post for recordings of the Invitatory of the Venite, the Venite, and Responsory for Advent.
Advent 2:
Antiphon for Benedictus (p. 393); pdf of newly-composed music:
Antiphon for the Magnificat (p. 393):
Magnificat sung to Canticle Tone VIII:
Listen to a sample of how to move between the parts of the Canticle – from the Antiphon to the first verse of the Magnificat to the Gloria Patri, back to the Antiphon: