We pray you, Master, be our help and protection.
Save the afflicted among us, have mercy on the lowly.
Raise up the fallen, show yourself to those in need.
Heal the sick and bring back those who have strayed.
Fill the hungry, give freedom to prisoners.
Raise up the weak, console the fainthearted.
Let all peoples acknowledge that you alone are God,
and Jesus Christ is your Child,
that we are your people, the sheep to whom you give pasture.
—Clement of Rome, from The Great Prayer (ca. AD 95–96)
