Send out your light and your truth, that they may lead me, and bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling.
Psalm 43:3
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.
Alleluia.
Be joyful in the Lord, all you lands; *
serve the
Lord with gladness
and come before his presence with a song.
Know this: The Lord himself is God; *
he himself has
made us, and we are his;
we are his people and the sheep of his
pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts
with praise; *
give thanks to him and call upon his Name.
For the Lord is good;
his mercy is everlasting; *
and
his faithfulness endures from age to age.
Rejoice in the LORD, you righteous; *
it is good for
the just to sing praises.
Praise the LORD with the harp; *
play to him upon the
psaltery and lyre.
Sing for him a new song; *
sound a fanfare with all
your skill upon the trumpet.
For the word of the LORD is right, *
and all his
works are sure.
He loves righteousness and justice; *
the
loving-kindness of the LORD fills the whole earth.
By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, *
by
the breath of his mouth all the heavenly hosts.
He gathers up the waters of the ocean as in a water-skin
*
and stores up the depths of the sea.
Let all the earth fear the LORD; *
let all who dwell
in the world stand in awe of him.
For he spoke, and it came to pass; *
he commanded,
and it stood fast.
The LORD brings the will of the nations to naught; *
he
thwarts the designs of the peoples.
But the LORD’S will stands fast for ever, *
and
the designs of his heart from age to age.
Happy is the nation whose God is the LORD! *
happy
the people he has chosen to be his own!
The LORD looks down from heaven, *
and beholds all
the people in the world.
From where he sits enthroned he turns his gaze *
on
all who dwell on the earth.
He fashions all the hearts of them *
and understands
all their works.
There is no king that can be saved by a mighty army; *
a
strong man is not delivered by his great strength.
The horse is a vain hope for deliverance; *
for all
its strength it cannot save.
Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon those who fear him,
*
on those who wait upon his love,
To pluck their lives from death, *
and to feed them
in time of famine.
Our soul waits for the LORD; *
he is our help and our
shield.
Indeed, our heart rejoices in him, *
for in his holy
Name we put our trust.
Let your loving-kindness, O LORD, be upon us, *
as we
have put our trust in you.
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 Wisdom of Ben Sira.
A wise magistrate educates
his people,
and the rule of an intelligent
person is well ordered.
As the people’s judge is, so are
his officials;
as the ruler of the city is, so
are all its inhabitants.
An undisciplined king ruins his
people,
but a city becomes fit to live in
through the understanding of its rulers.
The government of the
earth is in the hand of the Lord,
and over it he
will raise up the right leader for the time.
Human success is in
the hand of the Lord,
and it is he who confers honour upon the
lawgiver.
Do not get angry with
your neighbour for every injury,
and do not
resort to acts of insolence.
Arrogance is hateful to the Lord
and to mortals,
and injustice is outrageous to
both.
Sovereignty passes from nation to nation
on
account of injustice and insolence and wealth.
The beginning of
human pride is to forsake the Lord;
the heart
has withdrawn from its Maker.
For the beginning of pride is
sin,
and the one who clings to it pours out
abominations.
Therefore the Lord brings upon them unheard-of
calamities,
and destroys them completely.
The Lord overthrows the thrones of rulers,
and
enthrones the lowly in their place.
The Lord plucks up the roots
of the nations,
and plants the humble in their
place.
The Lord lays waste the lands of the nations,
and
destroys them to the foundations of the earth.
He removes some
of them and destroys them,
and erases the memory
of them from the earth.
Pride was not created for human beings,
or violent anger for those born of women.
The Word of the
Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; *
he has come
to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior, *
born of
the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old,
that he
would save us from our enemies, *
from the hands of all who hate
us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers *
and to
remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham, *
to
set us free from the hands of our enemies,
Free to worship him without fear, *
holy and
righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most
High, *
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
To give his people knowledge of salvation *
by the
forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God *
the dawn from
on high shall break upon us,
To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow
of death, *
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
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 of James.
Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. Beloved, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors! As an example of suffering and patience, beloved, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
The Word of the
Lord.
Thanks be to God.
You are God: we praise you;
You are the Lord; we
acclaim you;
You are the eternal Father:
All creation worships
you.
To you all angels, all the powers of heaven,
Cherubim and
Seraphim, sing in endless praise:
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God
of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your
glory.
The glorious company of apostles praise you.
The noble
fellowship of prophets praise you.
The white-robed army of martyrs
praise you.
Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims you;
Father, of majesty unbounded,
your true and only Son,
worthy of all worship,
and the Holy Spirit, advocate and
guide.
You, Christ, are the king of glory,
the eternal Son of
the Father.
When you became man to set us free
you did not shun
the Virgin’s womb.
You overcame the sting of death
and
opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
You are seated at
God’s right hand in glory.
We believe that you will come and
be our judge.
Come then, Lord, and help your people,
bought with the price of your own blood,
and bring us with
your saints
to glory everlasting.
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. Save
your people, Lord, and bless your inheritance;
R. Govern
and uphold them, now and always.
V. Day
by day we bless you;
R. We
praise your name for ever.
V. Lord,
keep us from all sin today;
R. Have
mercy on us, Lord, have mercy.
V. Lord,
show us your love and mercy;
R. For
we put our trust in you.
V. In
you, Lord, is our hope;
R. And
we shall never hope in vain.
Lord God Almighty, in whose Name the founders of this country won liberty for themselves and for us, and lit the torch of freedom for nations then unborn: Grant that we and all the people of this land may have grace to maintain our liberties in righteousness and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Heavenly Father, in you we live and move and have our being: We humbly pray you so to guide and govern us by your Holy Spirit, that in all the cares and occupations of our life we may not forget you, but may remember that we are ever walking in your sight; 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.
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