Along the lines of my last post, here is a collect for this day of commemoration of St. Polycarp taken from the LCMS's Treasury of Daily Prayer, page 1233:
O God, the Maker of heaven and earth, You gave boldness to confess Jesus Christ as King and Savior and steadfastness to die for the faith to Your venerable servant, the holy and gentle Polycarp.
Grant us grace to follow his example in sharing the cup of Christ's suffering so that we may also share in His glorious resurrection;
Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
A technical note for users of the TDP: since February 23 can fall either before or after Ash Wednesday (depending on the date of Easter), this prayer only appears when St. Polycarp (Feb 23) falls before Ash Wednesday (TDP page 1233) as part of the "Time of Christmas"). As St. Polycarp (Feb 23) falls within Lent this year ("Time of Easter"), the actual daily readings for today begin on page 42 (Tuesday of Lent 1) with a supplemental reading for St. Polycarp (Feb 23) on page 1282. Note that there is no collect for St. Polycarp in this section, only a biography and a reading taken from the Martyrdom of Polycarp.
Fr. H.,
ReplyDeleteIn the historic calendar, St. Polycarp is commemorated on January 26th.
If you are familiar with "Lesser Feasts and Fasts" which was published by The (Episcopal) Church Hymnal Corporation (Third Edition, 1980), Polycarp is reassigned to February 23. The Collect is is the same as is found in the TDP. In Lesser Feasts, however, the only adjustment as to before or after Ash Wednesday concerns the Psalm:
Before Ash Wednesday Ps. 116:10-17. After Ash Wednesday Ps. 34:1-8 or 121.
It seems that the TDP borrowed from Lesser Feasts.