All Saints Litany
The All Saints Litany ( Latin Litania Sanctorum ) or Great Litany is a great supplication of the Roman Catholic and Old Catholic Churches, in which the saints are invoked for their intercession before God in alternating chant between cantor or Schola and community .
The litany in the liturgy
The litany is sung especially at the solemn dispensing of some sacraments and sacramentals , e.g. B. at sacred orders (Diakonen-, Priests, Bishop ordination) Abtsbenediktion , ceremonial profession , virgin Weihe , Kirchweihe and altar ordination and in the dedication of the baptismal water in the Easter Eve . The supplication processions on the days of supplication began with the singing of the litany of All Saints, from which the name litaniae for these days was derived. When accompanying the dying, the All Saints litany can be spoken as “ litany of death” ( litania pro agonizantibus ).
Everyone kneels to the litany, except during Easter . Unless the litany is sung in a consecration service or perpetual profession, prosternieren the candidates or professed in the traditional way in the sanctuary .
Outside the liturgy , for example during devotions or on the days of prayer , the litany can also be spoken alternately.
Emergence
The invocation of saints has its models in Asia Minor around the year 400. This form of prayer was also taken up in Celtic piety and can be found in the early medieval Laudes regiae . The hybrid form of invocation and concern litany emerged in the 7th century.
In 1601, Pope Clement VIII severely restricted the use of a large number of litanies in the liturgy and, in addition to the Lauretanian litany, only allowed the All Saints litany expressly for worship.
construction
- Part 1: Invocation Litany
The first part of the All Saints' Litany is an invocation litany. First, God is invoked for his mercy in the Kyrie litany , with which almost all Christian litanies begin . This is followed by the invocation of saints who are asked to intercede with God.
The litany can contain over 100 invocations. Usually, however, a selection of different saints is chosen, including those of local or special importance for the occasion (e.g. patron saints , church patrons , diocese saints, holy virgins ). A shorter version is part of the consecration of baptismal water on Easter Vigil, the litany of death was also shortened. Invocations, requests and orations can be varied according to the occasion.
In the invocations of the saints a certain hierarchy is observed: Mary - angels - patriarchs and prophets - apostles and evangelists - martyrs and martyrs - bishops, confessors and doctors of the church - priests and Levites - monks and hermits - virgins and widows - holy men and women.
- Part 2: litany of concerns
The second part is followed by the requests for the aversion of evil, the naming of God's saving act and finally a series of intercessions . In their broad subject matter, these are reminiscent of the great intercessions of the Good Friday liturgy and the oldest surviving forms of general prayer from the 4th century.
As in other litanies, the end of the litany is formed by the threefold Agnus Dei and, outside of consecration services, an oration . Up until the Second Vatican Council , the Agnus Dei was followed by extensive other prayers: a series of calls to Christ with renewed Kyrie eleison , the Pater noster , Psalm 70 , a responsory with verses and further intercessions for the Pope, the benefactors, the deceased and the “absent brothers”, after the acclamation Dominus vobiscum ten oration-like prayers and a final verse with a wish to be heard, at the very end a wish for peace for the deceased.
Text of the litany
introduction
if necessary, invitation to prayer by the celebrating bishop or priest . Deacon : Bend your knees.
Schola | All |
---|---|
Lord, have mercy | Lord, have mercy. |
Christ have mercy | Christ have mercy |
Lord, have mercy | Lord, have mercy. |
Christ hear us | Christ hear us. |
God the Father in Heaven | Have mercy on us. |
God the Son, Redeemer of the world | Have mercy on us. |
God Holy Spirit | Have mercy on us. |
Holy Triune God | Have mercy on us. |
Invocation of the saints
Schola | All |
---|---|
Holy Mary , Mother of God | please for us. |
Holy Virgin above all virgins | please for us. |
Saint Michael | please for us. |
Holy angels of God | pray for us. |
Holy Abraham | please for us. |
Saint moses | please for us. |
Saint John the Baptist | please for us. |
Saint Joseph | please for us. |
Holy Patriarchs and Prophets | pray for us. |
Saint Peter | please for us. |
Saint Paul | please for us. |
Saint Andrew | please for us. |
Saint James | please for us. |
Saint John | please for us. |
Holy Apostles and Evangelists | pray for us. |
Saint Stephen | please for us. |
Saint Lawrence | please for us. |
Saint Agnes | please for us. |
Saint Perpetua and Saint Felicitas | pray for us. |
Saint Lucia | please for us. |
Holy Agatha | please for us. |
Saint Anastasia | please for us. |
Saint Catherine | please for us. |
Saint Cosmas and Saint Damian | pray for us. |
Saint Teresa Benedicta from the cross | please for us. |
You holy martyrs | pray for us. |
Saint Gregory | please for us. |
Saint Ambrose | please for us. |
Saint Augustine | please for us. |
Saint Jerome | please for us. |
Saint Martinus | please for us. |
Saint Nicholas | please for us. |
Holy Popes and Bishops | pray for us. |
Holy Teachers of the Church | pray for us. |
Saint Mary Magdalene | please for us. |
Saint Anthony | please for us. |
Saint Benedict | please for us. |
Saint Bernard | please for us. |
Saint Dominic and Saint Francis | pray for us. |
Holy Clare | please for us. |
Saint Ignatius | please for us. |
Holy Pastor of Ars | please for us. |
You holy deacons and priests | pray for us. |
You holy virgins and monks | pray for us. |
Saint Thomas More | please for us. |
Saint Monica | please for us. |
Holy fathers and mothers | pray for us. |
You saints of our land | pray for us. |
All saints of God | pray for us. |
Ask for redemption
Schola | All |
---|---|
Jesus, have mercy on us | Lord, set us free. |
Of all evil | Lord, set us free. |
From all sin | Lord, set us free. |
From eternal damnation | Lord, set us free. |
Through your incarnation and your sacred suffering | Lord, set us free. |
Through your death and resurrection | Lord, set us free. |
Through the sending of the Holy Spirit | Lord, set us free. |
Various invocations and requests
Schola | All |
---|---|
We poor sinners | we ask you, listen to us. |
Protect and lead your church | we ask you, listen to us. |
Enlighten the Pope, our Bishop and all pastors | we ask you, listen to us. |
Fill all the members of the Church with the power of the Holy Spirit | we ask you, listen to us. |
Renew your church in faith, hope and love | we ask you, listen to us. |
(if baptized persons are present) Give new life to these elect in the water of baptism |
we ask you, listen to us. |
Strengthen the Church in adversity and confusion | we ask you, listen to us. |
Give insight and repentance to their enemies | we ask you, listen to us. |
Lead your people to unity | we ask you, listen to us. |
Give peace and freedom to the peoples of the earth | we ask you, listen to us. |
Protect them from abuse of power and all wrong | we ask you, listen to us. |
Strengthen and keep us in your holy service | we ask you, listen to us. |
Let all people participate in the goods of the earth | we ask you, listen to us |
Fill us with love and compassion | we ask you, listen to us. |
Bless all who do us good | we ask you, listen to us. |
That the couple remain faithful | we ask you, listen to us. |
That parents and children understand each other | we ask you, listen to us. |
Prepare us for repentance and conversion | we ask you, listen to us. |
That we remain in your service | we ask you, listen to us. |
That you will find us awake when you come | we ask you, listen to us. |
Give eternal life to the dead | we ask you, listen to us. |
Schola | All |
---|---|
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world | Lord spare us. |
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world | Lord hear us. |
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world | Lord, have mercy. |
Christ hear us | Christ hear us. |
Oration
V | All |
---|---|
Let us pray. Merciful God, you help your servants in their need and answer their requests. We thank you for showing us mercy. Protect us from harm and give us joy in your service. Through Christ our Lord. | Amen. |
See also
literature
- To use beautiful prayers from the holy four toe helpers in need, including a beautiful litany, in peculiar needs, so to Anger in Unter = Steyer they are singularly venerated; Along with a litany on the bitter suffering and death of Jesus Christ . With the permission of the superiors. Grätz [dihd. Graz] printed by Widmannstätterischen Erben, 1775.
- Heinrich Samson: The All Saints Litany explained historically, liturgically and ascetically. Bonifacius, Paderborn 1894.
- Carl Kammer: The Litany of All Saints. Rauch, Innsbruck 1962.
Web links
- Litany of the Saints in the Catholic Encyclopedia (English)
- All Saints' Litany at a priestly ordination 2010 in Cologne Cathedral (10 minutes) on Youtube
Individual evidence
- ^ Liber Usualis , Parisii, Tornaci, Romae 1954, pp. 835ff.
- ↑ Balthasar Fischer : Litany. I. Liturgical . In: Walter Kasper (Ed.): Lexicon for Theology and Church . 3. Edition. tape 6 . Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 1997, Sp. 955 .
- ↑ Balthasar Fischer : Litany. I.3 Invocation Litanies . In: Walter Kasper (Ed.): Lexicon for Theology and Church . 3. Edition. tape 6 . Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 1997, Sp. 955 .
- ↑ Pontificals for the Catholic dioceses of the German-speaking area, hand edition with pastoral liturgical references, ed. from the Liturgical Institutes, Freiburg - Basel - Vienna
- ↑ Apostolic Constitutions , Eighth Book; see: Wetzer and Welte's Church Lexicon or Encyclopedia of Catholic Theology and its auxiliary sciences. Second edition, in a new version, Freiburg im Breisgau 1881–1903, Art. Litany 3. [1]
- ↑ p. 7f. ( II. The history of the All Saints' Litany ) is almost verbatim, but without reference to the source, taken from: Wetzer and Welte's Church Lexicon or Encyclopedia of Catholic Theology and its auxiliary sciences. Second edition, in a new version, Freiburg im Breisgau 1881–1903, Art. Litany 3. [2]