Hear our prayer, O Lord, and give ear unto our cry: We are strangers with thee, and sojourners, as all our fathers were: bondmen whom thou leddest out of oppression through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm. Grant us, therefore, the meekness of heart to preserve the stranger, as thou hast done, and to relieve the fatherless and widows. Send us thy Holy Spirit to inspire us to feed the hungry, and give drink to the thirsty; to take in the stranger; to clothe the naked; and to visit the sick and the prisoner. For only as we do unto the least of these our brethren do we show forth the love of Jesus Christ to all unbelievers; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with the and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.
As “original” collects go, this collect is fairly unoriginal, being as it is cribbed largely from Holy Scripture—specifically Psalm 39:12, Deuteronomy 5:15, Psalm 145:9, and Matthew 25:36–37.
Works of Mercy by the Master of Alkmaar (fl. early 16th century). From left to right, the works of mercy are shown in this order: feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, bury the dead, shelter the traveler, comfort the sick, and free the imprisoned.
