Thursday of Proper 11 – Year 1
Evening Prayer

Opening Sentence

Yours is the day, O God, yours also the night; you established the moon and the sun. You fixed all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter. Psalm 74:15,16

Versicle and Response

O God, make speed to save us.

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.

Invitatory

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.

Psalm

Psalm 59

1Rescue me from my enemies, O God;*
protect me from those who rise up against me.
2Rescue me from evildoers *
and save me from those who thirst for my blood.
3See how they lie in wait for my life,
how the mighty gather together against me;*
not for any offense or fault of mine, O LORD.
4Not because of any guilt of mine *
they run and prepare themselves for battle.
5Rouse yourself, come to my side, and see; *
for you, LORD God of hosts, are Israel's God.
6Awake, and punish all the ungodly;*
show no mercy to those who are faithless and evil.
7They go to and fro in the evening;*
they snarl like dogs and run about the city.
8Behold, they boast with their mouths,
and taunts are on their lips;*
"For who," they say, "will hear us?"
9But you, O LORD, you laugh at them;*
you laugh all the ungodly to scorn.
10My eyes are fixed on you, O my Strength; *
for you, O God, are my stronghold.
11My merciful God comes to meet me;*
God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.
12Slay them, O God, lest my people forget; *
send them reeling by your might
and put them down, O Lord our shield.
13For the sins of their mouths, for the words of their lips,
for the cursing and lies that they utter,*
let them be caught in their pride.
14Make an end of them in your wrath;*
make an end of them, and they shall be no more.
15Let everyone know that God rules in Jacob, *
and to the ends of the earth.
16They go to and fro in the evening;*
they snarl like dogs and run about the city.
17They forage for food,*
and if they are not filled, they howl.
18For my part, I will sing of your strength; *
I will celebrate your love in the morning;
19For you have become my stronghold,*
a refuge in the day of my trouble.
20To you, O my Strength, will I sing;*
for you, O God, are my stronghold and my merciful God.

Psalm 60

1O God, you have cast us off and broken us; *
you have been angry;
oh, take us back to you again.
2You have shaken the earth and split it open; *
repair the cracks in it, for it totters.
3You have made your people know hardship; *
you have given us wine that makes us stagger.
4You have set up a banner for those who fear you,*
to be a refuge from the power of the bow.
5Save us by your right hand and answer us, *
that those who are dear to you may be delivered.
6God spoke from his holy place and said: *
"I will exult and parcel out Shechem;
I will divide the valley of Succoth.
7Gilead is mine and Manasseh is mine;*
Ephraim is my helmet and Judah my scepter.
8Moab is my wash-basin,
on Edom I throw down my sandal to claim it,*
and over Philistia will I shout in triumph."
9Who will lead me into the strong city? *
who will bring me to Edom?
10Have you not cast us off, O God? *
you no longer go out, O God, with our armies.
11Grant us your help against the enemy,*
for vain is the help of man.
12With God we will do valiant deeds,*
and he shall tread our enemies under foot.

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.

Reading

Mark 5:1-20

They came to the other side of the lake, to the country of the Gerasenes.* And when he had stepped out of the boat, immediately a man out of the tombs with an unclean spirit met him. He lived among the tombs; and no one could restrain him any more, even with a chain; for he had often been restrained with shackles and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the shackles he broke in pieces; and no one had the strength to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always howling and bruising himself with stones. When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed down before him; and he shouted at the top of his voice, ‘What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.’ For he had said to him, ‘Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!’ Then Jesus* asked him, ‘What is your name?’ He replied, ‘My name is Legion; for we are many.’ He begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. Now there on the hillside a great herd of swine was feeding; and the unclean spirits* begged him, ‘Send us into the swine; let us enter them.’ So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the lake, and were drowned in the lake.

The swineherds ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came to see what it was that had happened. They came to Jesus and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the legion; and they were afraid. Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. Then they began to beg Jesus* to leave their neighbourhood. As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed by demons begged him that he might be with him. But Jesus* refused, and said to him, ‘Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you.’ And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed.

The Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Canticle 15 The Song of Mary

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.

The Apostle's Creed

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.

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray.

The Lord's Prayer

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your Name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those
who sin against us.

Save us from the time of trial,
and deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours,
now and for ever. Amen.

Suffrages

That this evening may be holy, good, and peaceful,

We entreat you, O Lord.

That your holy angels may lead us in paths of peace and goodwill,

We entreat you, O Lord.

That we may be pardoned and forgiven for our sins and offenses,

We entreat you, O Lord.

That there may be peace to your Church and to the whole world,

We entreat you, O Lord.

That we may depart this life in your faith and fear,
and not be condemned before the great judgment seat of Christ,

We entreat you, O Lord.

That we may be bound together by your Holy Spirit in
the communion of all your saints,
entrusting one another and all our life to Christ,

We entreat you, O Lord.

Collect of the Day: Proper 11

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.

For Protection

O God, the life of all who live, the light of the faithful, the strength of those who labor, and the repose of the dead: We thank you for the blessings of the day that is past, and humbly ask for your protection through the coming night. Bring us in safety to the morning hours; through him who died and rose again for us, your Son our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

For Mission

Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love's sake. Amen.

Prayers and Intercessions

Let us pray now for our own needs and those of others.



A Prayer of St. Chrysostom

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.

Benediction

Let us bless the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen.
2 Corinthians 13:14