What is the Litany, and why pray it?
The Litany’s repeated responses help us pray for a world larger than our own concerns. Here is how to follow its movement in the 1662 Prayer Book.
A litany is a prayer with repeated responses. In the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, the Litany gives the congregation words to answer while a minister leads petitions ranging from our own failings to the needs of the world.
If it feels long at first, listen for the responses. They help you hear what the prayer is doing.
Listen for the change
The opening calls upon God the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost for mercy. The prayer then asks for deliverance: from sin and danger, from destructive desires and from hardness of heart. The recurring response is Good Lord, deliver us.
Later, the petitions turn towards the Church, those who govern, and people in particular need. We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
Here, beseech means ask earnestly. The repeated words let the whole congregation share requests that no one person could easily hold together.
People we might leave out
The Prayer Book Litany remembers people who are ill, prisoners, children without parents and those who have lost a spouse. It also asks God to forgive our enemies and turn their hearts.
That last petition may be difficult to say. It does not require us to call harm harmless. It places even those we struggle to pray for before God, asking for change rather than feeding our desire for revenge.
The prayer also asks for a change in us: true repentance, forgiveness and grace to amend our lives. We are among the people who need mercy.
Joining in
Follow the responses in the order of service. You do not need to summon a separate feeling for every petition. Attend to the words, and let the congregation carry the prayer when your own attention falters. A request that seems remote today may matter deeply to someone beside you.
For the Litany at Christ Church North Adelaide, consult Services and Liturgy.
