Jesus said, “I am the light of the world; whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
John 8:12
Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.
Silence may be kept.
Officiant and People together, all kneeling
Most merciful God,
we
confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and
deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We
have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our
neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly
repent.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us
and forgive us;
that we may delight in your will,
and walk in
your ways,
to the glory of your Name. Amen.
Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life. Amen.
All stand
Officiant O
God, make speed to save us.
People
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.
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.
Fight those who fight me, O LORD; *
attack those who
are attacking me.
Take up shield and armor *
and rise up to help me.
Draw the sword and bar the way against those who pursue
me; *
say to my soul, “I am your salvation.”
Let those who seek after my life be shamed and humbled;
*
let those who plot my ruin fall back and be dismayed.
Let them be like chaff before the wind, *
and let the
angel of the LORD drive them away.
Let their way be dark and slippery, *
and let the
angel of the LORD pursue them.
For they have secretly spread a net for me without a
cause; *
without a cause they have dug a pit to take me alive.
Let ruin come upon them unawares; *
let them be
caught in the net they hid;
let them fall into the pit they dug.
Then I will be joyful in the LORD; *
I will glory in
his victory.
My very bones will say, “LORD, who is like you?
*
You deliver the poor from those who are too strong for them,
the
poor and needy from those who rob them.”
Malicious witnesses rise up against me; *
they charge
me with matters I know nothing about.
They pay me evil in exchange for good; *
my soul is
full of despair.
But when they were sick I dressed in sack-cloth *
and
humbled myself by fasting.
I prayed with my whole heart,
as one would for a
friend or a brother; *
I behaved like one who mourns for his
mother,
bowed down and grieving.
But when I stumbled, they were glad and gathered
together;
they gathered against me; *
strangers whom I did not
know tore me to pieces and would not stop.
They put me to the test and mocked me; *
they gnashed
at me with their teeth.
O Lord, how long will you look on? *
rescue me from
the roaring beasts,
and my life from the young lions.
I will give you thanks in the great congregation; *
I
will praise you in the mighty throng.
Do not let my treacherous foes rejoice over me, *
nor
let those who hate me without a cause wink at each other.
For they do not plan for peace, *
but invent
deceitful schemes against the quiet in the land.
They opened their mouths at me and said, *
“Aha!
we saw it with our own eyes.”
You saw it, O LORD; do not be silent; *
O Lord, be
not far from me.
Awake, arise, to my cause! *
to my defense, my God
and my Lord!
Give me justice, O LORD my God,
according to your
righteousness; *
do not let them triumph over me.
Do not let them say in their hearts,
“Aha! just
what we want!” *
Do not let them say, “We have
swallowed him up.”
Let all who rejoice at my ruin be ashamed and disgraced;
*
let those who boast against me be clothed with dismay and shame.
Let those who favor my cause sing out with joy and be
glad; *
let them say always, “Great is the LORD,
who
desires the prosperity of his servant.”
And my tongue shall be talking of your righteousness
*
and of your praise all the day long.
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.
A Reading from the Letter to the Philippians.
Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved. I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion, help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life. Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.
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.
Officiant
The Lord be with you.
People
And also with you.
Officiant
Let us pray.
Our Father, who art in
heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be
done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily
bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who
trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but
deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power,
and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
V. Show
us your mercy, O Lord;
R. And
grant us your salvation.
V.
Clothe your ministers with righteousness;
R.
Let your people sing with joy.
V.
Give peace, O Lord, in all the world;
R.
For only in you can we live in safety.
V.
Lord, keep this nation under your care;
R.
And guide us in the way of justice and truth.
V.
Let your way be known upon earth;
R.
Your saving health among all nations.
V.
Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;
R.
Nor the hope of the poor be taken away.
V.
Create in us clean hearts, O God;
R.
And sustain us with your Holy Spirit.
Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Lord Jesus Christ, by your death you took away the sting of death: Grant to us your servants so to follow in faith where you have led the way, that we may at length fall asleep peacefully in you and wake up in your likeness; for your tender mercies’ sake. Amen.
O God and Father of all, whom the whole heavens adore: Let the whole earth also worship you, all nations obey you, all tongues confess and bless you, and men and women everywhere love you and serve you in peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Here may be sung a hymn or anthem.
Authorized intercessions and thanksgivings may follow.
Before the close of the Office one or both of the following may be used
Almighty God, Father of
all mercies,
we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks
for
all your goodness and loving-kindness
to us and to all whom you
have made.
We bless you for our creation, preservation,
and all
the blessings of this life;
but above all for your immeasurable
love
in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ;
for
the means of grace, and for the hope of glory.
And, we pray, give us such
an awareness of your mercies,
that with truly thankful hearts we
may show forth your praise,
not only with our lips, but in our
lives,
by giving up our selves to your service,
and by walking
before you
in holiness and righteousness all our days;
through
Jesus Christ our Lord,
to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit,
be
honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen.
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.
Then may be said
Let us bless the
Lord.
Thanks be to God.
The Officiant may then conclude with one of the following
Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine: Glory to God from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 3:20,21