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:
Can’t decide? Choose an assortment of Christmas cards!
New this year, we are offering an assortment of our 
eight Christmas card designs. Each set includes two of each design, including our newest cards pictured here. Visit our Christmas cards page for more details and pictures!
The Brotherhood Prayer Book: New Music for Advent 1
While there are more than 450 mp3 files available on The Brotherhood Prayer Book CD, there still remain propers without musical composition and yet to be recorded. Now, we are pleased to make available newly composed and newly recorded propers for Advent. 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!
Advent 1:
Invitatory for the Venite (p. 389):
The Venite (p. 31):
Responsory for Advent (p. 390):
Hymn at Morning Prayer (p. 391):
Antiphon for Benedictus (p. 391), pdf of newly-composed music:
Hymn at Evening Prayer (p. 392):
Antiphon for the Magnificat (p. 392):
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:
God With Us: How we developed the lectionary
If you’ve taken a look at the Table of Contents link for God With Us, you may be curious to know how we chose texts for the daily sermons in Advent. At Redeemer Lutheran Church, we follow the historic one-year series, and it is our custom to preach on the Gospel text for Sunday’s Divine Service. We have simply carried the theme from Sunday’s propers to the rest of the week, with the week’s Introit, Old Testament, or Epistle text forming the basis of the weekday sermon. There is also a series on the Lucan canticles: the Benedictus, the Magnificat, and the Nunc Dimittis. The remaining days of Advent are comprised of the unique Epistles and Gospels for the Wednesdays and Fridays in Advent and also the saints’ days that fall in December. Thereafter come sermons for the twelve days of Christmas, Sundays in Epiphany up to the Transfiguration, and other saints’ days that fall in January and February.
New free download!
Click on the Downloads tab above to find a new download of Church Father excerpts formatted as bulletin inserts for Advent 1 through Epiphany 6.
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