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.
Hear this, all you peoples;
hearken, all you who
dwell in the world, *
you of high degree and low, rich and poor
together.
My mouth shall speak of wisdom, *
and my heart shall
meditate on understanding.
I will incline my ear to a proverb *
and set forth my
riddle upon the harp.
Why should I be afraid in evil days, *
when the
wickedness of those at my heels surrounds me,
The wickedness of those who put their trust in their
goods, *
and boast of their great riches?
We can never ransom ourselves, *
or deliver to God
the price of our life;
For the ransom of our life is so great, *
that we
should never have enough to pay it,
In order to live for ever and ever, *
and never see
the grave.
For we see that the wise die also;
like the dull and
stupid they perish *
and leave their wealth to those who come
after them.
Their graves shall be their homes for ever,
their
dwelling places from generation to generation, *
though they call
the lands after their own names.
Even though honored, they cannot live for ever; *
they
are like the beasts that perish.
Such is the way of those who foolishly trust in
themselves, *
and the end of those who delight in their own words.
Like a flock of sheep they are destined to die;
Death
is their shepherd; *
they go down straightway to the grave.
Their form shall waste away, *
and the land of the
dead shall be their home.
But God will ransom my life; *
he will snatch me from
the grasp of death.
Do not be envious when some become rich, *
or when
the grandeur of their house increases;
For they will carry nothing away at their death, *
nor
will their grandeur follow them.
Though they thought highly of themselves while they
lived, *
and were praised for their success,
They shall join the company of their forebears, *
who
will never see the light again.
Those who are honored, but have no understanding, *
are
like the beasts that perish.
The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”
*
All are corrupt and commit abominable acts;
there is none
who does any good.
God looks down from heaven upon us all, *
to see if
there is any who is wise,
if there is one who seeks after God.
Every one has proved faithless;
all alike have turned
bad; *
there is none who does good; no, not one.
Have they no knowledge, those evildoers *
who eat up
my people like bread
and do not call upon God?
See how greatly they tremble,
such trembling as never
was; *
for God has scattered the bones of the enemy;
they are
put to shame, because God has rejected them.
Oh, that Israel’s deliverance would come out of
Zion! *
when God restores the fortunes of his people
Jacob
will rejoice and Israel be glad.
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 Romans.
Let us therefore no longer pass judgment on one another, but resolve instead never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of another. I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. If your brother or sister is being injured by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. Do not let what you eat cause the ruin of one for whom Christ died. So do not let your good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. The one who thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and has human approval. Let us then pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for you to make others fall by what you eat; it is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that makes your brother or sister stumble. The faith that you have, have as your own conviction before God. Blessed are those who have no reason to condemn themselves because of what they approve. But those who have doubts are condemned if they eat, because they do not act from faith; for whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.
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 God, the fountain of all wisdom, you know our necessities before we ask and our ignorance in asking: Have compassion on our weakness, and mercifully give us those things which for our unworthiness we dare not, and for our blindness we cannot ask; through the worthiness of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. 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.
Let us pray now for our own needs and those of others.
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