Rend your hearts and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and repents of evil.
Joel 2:13
Officiant Lord,
open our lips.
People And
our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
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.
Come, let us sing to the Lord; *
let us shout for joy
to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving *
and
raise a loud shout to him with psalms.
For the Lord is a great God, *
and a great King above
all gods.
In his hand are the caverns of the earth, *
and the
heights of the hills are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it, *
and his hands have
molded the dry land.
Come, let us bow down, and bend the knee, *
and kneel
before the Lord our Maker.
For he is our God,
and we are the people of his
pasture and the sheep of his hand. *
Oh, that today you would
hearken to his voice!
Have mercy on me, O God,
for my enemies are hounding
me; *
all day long they assault and oppress me.
They hound me all the day long; *
truly there are
many who fight against me, O Most High.
Whenever I am afraid, *
I will put my trust in you.
In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust and will
not be afraid, *
for what can flesh do to me?
All day long they damage my cause; *
their only
thought is to do me evil.
They band together; they lie in wait; *
they spy upon
my footsteps;
because they seek my life.
Shall they escape despite their wickedness? *
O God,
in your anger, cast down the peoples.
You have noted my lamentation;
put my tears into your
bottle; *
are they not recorded in your book?
Whenever I call upon you, my enemies will be put to
flight; *
this I know, for God is on my side.
In God the LORD, whose word I praise,
in God I trust
and will not be afraid, *
for what can mortals do to me?
I am bound by the vow I made to you, O God; *
I will
present to you thank-offerings;
For you have rescued my soul from death and my feet from
stumbling, *
that I may walk before God in the light of the
living.
Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful,
for I have
taken refuge in you; *
in the shadow of your wings will I take
refuge
until this time of trouble has gone by.
I will call upon the Most High God, *
the God who
maintains my cause.
He will send from heaven and save me;
he will
confound those who trample upon me; *
God will send forth his love
and his faithfulness.
I lie in the midst of lions that devour the people;
*
their teeth are spears and arrows,
their tongue a sharp
sword.
They have laid a net for my feet,
and I am bowed low;
*
they have dug a pit before me,
but have fallen into it
themselves.
Exalt yourself above the heavens, O God, *
and your
glory over all the earth.
My heart is firmly fixed, O God, my heart is fixed; *
I
will sing and make melody.
Wake up, my spirit;
awake, lute and harp; *
I
myself will waken the dawn.
I will confess you among the peoples, O LORD; *
I
will sing praise to you among the nations.
For your loving-kindness is greater than the heavens,
*
and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
Exalt yourself above the heavens, O God, *
and your
glory over all the earth.
Do you indeed decree righteousness, you rulers? *
do
you judge the peoples with equity?
No; you devise evil in your hearts, *
and your hands
deal out violence in the land.
The wicked are perverse from the womb; *
liars go
astray from their birth.
They are as venomous as a serpent, *
they are like
the deaf adder which stops its ears,
Which does not heed the voice of the charmer, *
no
matter how skillful his charming.
O God, break their teeth in their mouths; *
pull the
fangs of the young lions, O LORD.
Let them vanish like water that runs off; *
let them
wither like trodden grass.
Let them be like the snail that melts away, *
like a
stillborn child that never sees the sun.
Before they bear fruit, let them be cut down like a
brier; *
like thorns and thistles let them be swept away.
The righteous will be glad when they see the vengeance;
*
they will bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.
And they will say,
“Surely, there is a reward
for the righteous; *
surely, there is a God who rules in the
earth.”
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 Book of Genesis.
Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went through all the land of Egypt. During the seven plenteous years the earth produced abundantly. He gathered up all the food of the seven years when there was plenty in the land of Egypt, and stored up food in the cities; he stored up in every city the food from the fields around it. So Joseph stored up grain in such abundance—like the sand of the sea—that he stopped measuring it; it was beyond measure. Before the years of famine came, Joseph had two sons, whom Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, bore to him. Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, “For,” he said, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s house.” The second he named Ephraim, “For God has made me fruitful in the land of my misfortunes.” The seven years of plenty that prevailed in the land of Egypt came to an end; and the seven years of famine began to come, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in every country, but throughout the land of Egypt there was bread. When all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph; what he says to you, do.” And since the famine had spread over all the land, Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. Moreover, all the world came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, because the famine became severe throughout the world.
The Word of the
Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Surely, it is God who saves me; *
I will trust in him
and not be afraid.
For the Lord is my stronghold and my sure defense, *
and
he will be my Savior.
Therefore you shall draw water with rejoicing *
from
the springs of salvation.
And on that day you shall say, *
Give thanks to the
Lord and call upon his Name;
Make his deeds known among the peoples; *
see that
they remember that his Name is exalted.
Sing praises of the Lord, for he has done great things,
*
and this is known in all the world.
Cry aloud, inhabitants of Zion, ring out your joy, *
for
the great one in the midst of you is the Holy One of Israel.
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 Gospel According to Mark.
Jesus departed with his disciples to the lake, and a great multitude from Galilee followed him; hearing all that he was doing, they came to him in great numbers from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, and the region around Tyre and Sidon. He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him; for he had cured many, so that all who had diseases pressed upon him to touch him. Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and shouted, ‘You are the Son of God!’ But he sternly ordered them not to make him known.
He went up the mountain and called to him those whom he wanted, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles, to be with him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message, and to have authority to cast out demons. So he appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); James son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
Then he went home;
The Word of the
Lord.
Thanks be to God.
O ruler of the universe, Lord God,
great deeds are
they that you have done, *
surpassing human understanding.
Your ways are ways of righteousness and truth, *
O
King of all the ages.
Who can fail to do you homage, Lord,
and sing the
praises of your Name? *
for you only are the Holy One.
All nations will draw near and fall down before you,
*
because your just and holy works have been revealed.
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.
O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious to all who have gone astray from your ways, and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of your Word, Jesus Christ your Son; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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.
O God, the King eternal, whose light divides the day from the night and turns the shadow of death into the morning: Drive far from us all wrong desires, incline our hearts to keep your law, and guide our feet into the way of peace; that, having done your will with cheerfulness during the day, we may, when night comes, rejoice to give you thanks; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Almighty and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of your faithful people is governed and sanctified: Receive our supplications and prayers which we offer before you for all members of your holy Church, that in their vocation and ministry they may truly and devoutly serve you; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Let us pray now for our own needs and those of others.
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.
Let us bless the
Lord.
Thanks be to God.
May the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Romans 15:13