Monday
Evening
Prayer – Christmas Day
Yours is the day, O God, yours also the night; you established the moon and the sun. You fixed all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter. Psalm 74:15,16
O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.
Glory to the
Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit
As it was in the
beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia.
O gracious
light,
pure brightness of the everliving Father in heaven,
O
Jesus Christ, holy and blessed!
Now as we come to the setting of
the sun,
and our eyes behold the vesper light,
we sing your
praises, O God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
You are worthy at
all times to be praised by happy voices,
O Son of God, O Giver of
Life,
and to be glorified through all the worlds.
Psalms
110
Dixit
Dominus
1
The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, *
until I
make your enemies your footstool."
2 The Lord will send
the scepter of your power out of Zion, *
saying, "Rule over
your enemies round about you.
3 Princely state has been yours
from the day of your birth; *
in the beauty of holiness have I
begotten you,
like dew from the womb of the morning."
4
The Lord has sworn and he will not recant: *
"You are a
priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek."
5 The
Lord who is at your right hand
will smite kings in the day of his
wrath; *
he will rule over the nations.
(6 He will heap high the
corpses; *
he will smash heads over the wide earth.
7 He
will drink from the brook beside the road; *
therefore he will
lift high his head.)
116 Dilexi,
quoniam
1 I love the Lord, because he has heard the voice
of
my supplication, *
because he has inclined his ear to me
whenever
I called upon him.
2 The cords of death entangled
me;
the grip of the grave took hold of me; *
I came to grief
and sorrow.
3 Then I called upon the Name of the Lord: *
"O
Lord, I pray you, save my life."
4 Gracious is the Lord
and righteous; *
our God is full of compassion.
5 The Lord
watches over the innocent; *
I was brought very low, and he helped
me.
1 O Lord, remember in David’s favour
all
the hardships he endured;
2 how he swore to the Lord
and
vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,
3 ‘I will not enter my
house
or get into my bed;
4 I will not give
sleep to my eyes
or slumber to my eyelids,
5
until I find a place for the Lord,
a
dwelling-place for the Mighty One of Jacob.’
6 We heard of it in Ephrathah;
we found
it in the fields of Jaar.
7 ‘Let us go to his
dwelling-place;
let us worship at his
footstool.’
8 Rise up, O Lord, and go to your resting-place,
you
and the ark of your might.
9 Let your priests be clothed with
righteousness,
and let your faithful shout
for joy.
10 For your servant David’s sake
do
not turn away the face of your anointed one.
11 The Lord swore to David a sure oath
from
which he will not turn back:
‘One of the sons of your
body
I will set on your throne.
12 If your
sons keep my covenant
and my decrees that I
shall teach them,
their sons also, for evermore,
shall
sit on your throne.’
13 For the Lord has chosen Zion;
he has
desired it for his habitation:
14 ‘This is my resting-place
for ever;
here I will reside, for I have desired
it.
15 I will abundantly bless its provisions;
I
will satisfy its poor with bread.
16 Its priests I will clothe
with salvation,
and its faithful will shout for
joy.
17 There I will cause a horn to sprout up for David;
I
have prepared a lamp for my anointed one.
18 His enemies I will
clothe with disgrace,
but on him, his crown will
gleam.’
Glory to the Father, and
to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit
as it was in the beginning, is
now, and will be for ever. Amen.
Reading
Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.
By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Saviour of the world. God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. So we have known and believe the love that God has for us.
God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
My
soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in
God my Savior; *
for he has looked with favor on his lowly
servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed: *
the
Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He
has mercy on those who fear him *
in every generation.
He has
shown the strength of his arm, *
he has scattered the proud in
their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
*
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with
good things, *
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come
to the help of his servant Israel, *
for he has remembered his
promise of mercy,
The promise he made to our fathers, *
to
Abraham and his children for ever.
Glory to the Father, and to
the Son, and to the Holy Spirit
as it was in the beginning, is
now, and will be for ever. Amen.
I
believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I
believe in Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord.
He was conceived
by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was
buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose
again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right
hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the
dead.
I
believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the
communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection
of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
The
Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray.
Our
Father in heaven,
hallowed be your Name,
your kingdom
come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give
us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive
those
who sin against us.
Save
us from the time of trial,
and deliver us from evil.
For
the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours,
now and for
ever. Amen.
That this evening may be holy, good, and peaceful,
We entreat you, O Lord.
That your holy angels may lead us in paths of peace and goodwill,
We entreat you, O Lord.
That we may be pardoned and forgiven for our sins and offenses,
We entreat you, O Lord.
That there may be peace to your Church and to the whole world,
We entreat you, O Lord.
That
we may depart this life in your faith and fear,
and not be
condemned before the great judgment seat of Christ,
We entreat you, O Lord.
That
we may be bound together by your Holy Spirit in
the communion of
all your saints,
entrusting one another and all our life to
Christ,
We entreat you, O Lord.
Collect of the Day: Christmas Day
O God, you make us glad by the yearly festival of the birth of your only Son Jesus Christ: Grant that we, who joyfully receive him as our Redeemer, may with sure confidence behold him when he comes to be our Judge; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
For Protection
O God, the life of all who live, the light of the faithful, the strength of those who labor, and the repose of the dead: We thank you for the blessings of the day that is past, and humbly ask for your protection through the coming night. Bring us in safety to the morning hours; through him who died and rose again for us, your Son our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
For Mission
Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love's sake. Amen.
Let us pray now for our own needs and those of others.
A Prayer of St. Chrysostom
Almighty God, you have given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplication to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will be in the midst of them: Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen.
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen. 2 Corinthians 13:14