Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1:2
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.
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.
Why do you stand so far off, O LORD, *
and hide
yourself in time of trouble?
The wicked arrogantly persecute the poor, *
but they
are trapped in the schemes they have devised.
The wicked boast of their heart’s desire; *
the
covetous curse and revile the LORD.
The wicked are so proud that they care not for God;
*
their only thought is, “God does not matter.”
Their ways are devious at all times;
your judgments
are far above out of their sight; *
they defy all their enemies.
They say in their heart, “I shall not be shaken;
*
no harm shall happen to me ever.”
Their mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and oppression;
*
under their tongue are mischief and wrong.
They lurk in ambush in public squares
and in secret
places they murder the innocent; *
they spy out the helpless.
They lie in wait, like a lion in a covert;
they lie
in wait to seize upon the lowly; *
they seize the lowly and drag
them away in their net.
The innocent are broken and humbled before them; *
the
helpless fall before their power.
They say in their heart, “God has forgotten; *
he
hides his face; he will never notice.”
Rise up, O LORD;
lift up your hand, O God; *
do
not forget the afflicted.
Why should the wicked revile God? *
why should they
say in their heart, “You do not care”?
Surely, you behold trouble and misery; *
you see it
and take it into your own hand.
The helpless commit themselves to you, *
for you are
the helper of orphans.
Break the power of the wicked and evil; *
search out
their wickedness until you find none.
The LORD is King for ever and ever; *
the ungodly
shall perish from his land.
The LORD will hear the desire of the humble; *
you
will strengthen their heart and your ears shall hear;
To give justice to the orphan and oppressed, *
so
that mere mortals may strike terror no more.
In the LORD have I taken refuge; *
how then can you
say to me,
“Fly away like a bird to the hilltop;
For see how the wicked bend the bow
and fit their
arrows to the string, *
to shoot from ambush at the true of heart.
When the foundations are being destroyed, *
what can
the righteous do?”
The LORD is in his holy temple; *
the LORD’S
throne is in heaven.
His eyes behold the inhabited world; *
his piercing
eye weighs our worth.
The LORD weighs the righteous as well as the wicked,
*
but those who delight in violence he abhors.
Upon the wicked he shall rain coals of fire and burning
sulphur; *
a scorching wind shall be their lot.
For the LORD is righteous;
he delights in righteous
deeds; *
and the just shall see his face.
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 Hebrews.
Therefore we must pay greater attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. For if the message declared through angels was valid, and every transgression or disobedience received a just penalty, how can we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? It was declared at first through the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard him, while God added his testimony by signs and wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, distributed according to his will.
Now God did not subject the coming world, about which we are speaking, to angels. But someone has testified somewhere, “What are human beings that you are mindful of them, or mortals, that you care for them? You have made them for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned them with glory and honor, subjecting all things under their feet.” Now in subjecting all things to them, God left nothing outside their control. As it is, we do not yet see everything in subjection to them, but we do see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
The Word of the
Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Seek the Lord while he wills to be found; *
call upon
him when he draws near.
Let the wicked forsake their ways *
and the evil ones
their thoughts;
And let them turn to the Lord, and he will have
compassion, *
and to our God, for he will richly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, *
nor your
ways my ways, says the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, *
so
are my ways higher than your ways,
and my thoughts than your
thoughts.
For as rain and snow fall from the heavens *
and
return not again, but water the earth,
Bringing forth life and giving growth, *
seed for
sowing and bread for eating,
So is my word that goes forth from my mouth; *
it
will not return to me empty;
But it will accomplish that which I have purposed, *
and
prosper in that for which I sent it.
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.
Father in heaven, who at the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan proclaimed him your beloved Son and anointed him with the Holy Spirit: Grant that all who are baptized into his Name may keep the covenant they have made, and boldly confess him as Lord and Savior; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
Most holy God, the source of all good desires, all right judgments, and all just works: Give to us, your servants, that peace which the world cannot give, so that our minds may be fixed on the doing of your will, and that we, being delivered from the fear of all enemies, may live in peace and quietness; through the mercies of Christ Jesus our Savior. 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.
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.
Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine: Glory to him from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 3:20,21