Commontide
The Holy Eucharist — Anglican Standard Text
Almighty and everliving God, we thank you for feeding us, in these holy mysteries, with the spiritual food of the most precious Body and Blood of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; and for assuring us, through this Sacrament, of your favor and goodness towards us: that we are true members of the mystical body of your Son, the blessed company of all faithful people; and are also heirs, through hope, of your everlasting kingdom. And we humbly ask you, heavenly Father, to assist us with your grace, that we may continue in that holy fellowship, and do all the good works that you have prepared for us to walk in; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be all honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen.
This prayer appears in more than one place in the 2019 Book of Common Prayer.
Draft — AI-assisted research under editorial review.
Written by Thomas Cranmer for the first Book of Common Prayer in 1549, this thanksgiving has been prayed by Anglican congregations after receiving communion for nearly five centuries. It is one of Cranmer's own English compositions – not translated from a Latin or Sarum original – and gathers into a single breath the whole arc of the sacrament: the feeding, the assurance of God's favor, the reality of the church as Christ's body, the hope of the kingdom, and the call to a life of good works.