ANZAC Day and Easter
Special texts are provided for the Opening Prayer, Prayer over the Gifts, Prayer after Communion and Solemn Blessing for Mass on Anzac Day.
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**Note: the 1998 Sacramentary Texts are reproduced at the end of this article**
Next week Australians celebrate Anzac Day. Anzac day is a deep and complex event in the Australian psyche. Civic rituals and prayers occur in every town and suburb in the land. We also pick up the themes, nuances and mood in our Mass for the day. Anzac Day carries multiple overtones: It is a martyr’s day when we commemorate the sacrifice of the fallen and honour those who gave their life that we might live. It is a commemoration of the dead when we commend those who have died in war to the Lord, especially members of our own families. It is a prayer for peace, because all war is horrible no matter what heroism it reveals. It is a day of national identity, an Australian ‘coming of age’ a decade and a half after the formation of the commonwealth. It is a story of victory in defeat, survival and life in the face of overwhelming odds. Special texts are provided for Mass on Anzac Day (2011 Roman Missal): Collect Let us pray. Almighty everlasting God, who sent your Son to die that we might live, grant, we pray, eternal rest to those who gave themselves in service and sacrifice for their country. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Prayer over the Offerings Pray, brethren (brothers and sisters), that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God, the almighty Father. May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands for the praise and glory of his name, for our good and the good of all his holy Church. Grant, O heavenly Father, that the sacrifice of Christ, who laid down his life for his friends, may raise all those who have died in war to the victory of eternal life. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. Communion Antiphon Greater love has no one than to lay down his life for his friends, says the Lord. Prayer after Communion Let us pray. By our communion with this Sacrament, O Lord, grant us, we pray, fortitude in the cause of right, and may our remembrance of those who have died in war make us ardent defenders of your peace. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. Anzac Day always occurs close to Easter. One cannot but be impressed by the Easter symbolism which permeates all the interwoven themes of Anzac Day. It is deeply moving to recognise that at the heart of the Australian psyche is the mystery which we understand to be paschal, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Adapted from Elizabeth Harrington's Liturgy Lines 1998 Sacramentary Texts:
The following are the original texts from the unused 1998 Sacramentary for ANZAC DAY. (Provided by Liturgy Brisbane.) Anzac Day is a deep and complex event in the Australian psyche. It carries overtones of a martyrs' day, a commemoration of the dead, a prayer for peace, a day of national identity, a victory in defeat. Civic rituals and prayers occur in every town and suburb in the land. It is most important that the liturgical texts for this day pick up the right nuances and mood. For these reasons, the Australian bishops present two sets of texts, one focusing on the sacrifice of the fallen, the second on the blessing of peace upon the nation. A Opening Prayer We commend to you, O God those who gave themselves in service and sacrifice for their country. Inspire us to spend ourselves for the common good that we may build up the harmony and peace for which they fought and died. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Prayer over the Gifts Bouteous God, you bring from buried grain a rich harvest. May the love and sacrafice of Christ who laid down his life for his friends raise the fallen to the victory of eternal life. We ask this though Jesus Christ our Lord. Prayer after Communion Lord God, by our communion in the body broken and the blood poured out bind us together in the spirit of sacrifice that our remembrance of the fallen may make us ardent defenders of peace. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. B Opening Prayer God of wisdom and power. you made the cross of suffering into a glorious banner of victory; so now, in the spirit of Anzac, transform all human pain and defeat into a noble triumph of goodness. We ask this through Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit God for ever and ever. Prayer over the Gifts United at this altar to praise you, Lord we ask that the one sacrifice of Christ may bring peace and unity to our land. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Prayer after communion God of love, you make us one in the body and blood of Christ. Let the Eucharist we celebrate today turn us from all violence and direct us to seek your kingdom of peace. We ask this though Jesus Christ our Lord. Prayer over the people Lord, bless your people and all who labour in the cause of peace that through them your Spirit may renew the face of the earth. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. May almighty God bless you... |