We are here to help people love and worship God. We aim to be, and encourage others to become, committed and active disciples of Jesus,
who love God and worship him, who know the power of the Holy Spirit and who show God’s love in every part of their lives.
Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
The Sanctus Prayer (from the Latin for ‘Holy’) is said or sung at every celebration of the Eucharist. It is found in both the modern Communion service (Common Worship) and also in the Book of Common Prayer of 1662. Its use though, goes back long before the Church of England.
Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury and author of the Prayer Book took the Sanctus, along with much of the BCP Communion Service from the Pre-Reformation Church.
It is thought to have been part of the Communion Service since about the Fifth Century, and its use in Christian worship more generally is thought to go back to the Second Century.
The text of the prayer is Biblical and comes from the prophet Isaiah’s vision of heaven (Isaiah chapter 6) and from the vision of heaven in Revelation (chapter 4). The phrase, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest” comes from Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem as its true King on Palm Sunday (see Matthew 21:9). The prayer then unites the worship of earth and heaven.
When I say or sing these words as part of our celebration of the Eucharist, it reminds me that our worship is offered as part of the worship of the whole Church across the world, indeed of the whole Church stretching across time. More than this it reminds us that our worship is part of the worship of eternity, of heaven.
We worship and we pray, as the Communion Prayer says, “With angels and Archangels, and all the company of heaven” including those members of the Church who have passed from this world into God’s eternity.
As I stand behind the altar and we pray this prayer, my vision rises from the gathered congregation to the window above the West Doors which depicts another ancient prayer, the Te Deum. The prayer and the window show heaven and earth united as one in worshipping and service Christ who sits on the throne of heaven.
In the times when prayer is hard and words do not come easily, when my faith feels weak and inadequate; this prayer reminds me that it isn’t about me. That I am part of a communion which crosses time and space; creation and eternity; heaven and earth. My feeble thoughts and words are part of a rich and vast offering; my prayers are part of a river whose origins are in Jesus Himself who offered prayer and worship during His days on earth.
This prayer reminds us that in the Eucharist we are united in deep communion with God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; and also with the Church throughout time and space as well as with the heavenly orders. Our voices are only a tiny part of that worship; but they are not lost; they are not insignificant. The worship and prayer of heaven and earth magnify our prayers and our worship.
God bless, Tim
St Mary's Church, Priory Road, Ecclesfield, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S35 9XZ, United Kingdom
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