Commontide
Morning & Evening Prayer
Almighty and most merciful Father, we have erred and strayed from your ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against your holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done, and we have done those things which we ought not to have done; and apart from your grace, there is no health in us. O Lord, have mercy upon us. Spare all those who confess their faults. Restore all those who are penitent, according to your promises declared to all people in Christ Jesus our Lord. And grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake, that we may now live a godly, righteous, and sober life, to the glory of your holy Name. Amen.
Draft — AI-assisted research under editorial review.
One of the most influential prayers of the English Reformation, this general confession of sin was composed – almost certainly by Thomas Cranmer – for the 1552 Book of Common Prayer and has been said morning and evening in Anglican churches for nearly five centuries. Its cadences are drawn from Isaiah, the Penitential Psalms, and the Pauline epistles.