The hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him.
John 4:23
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.
Give judgment for me, O LORD,
for I have lived with
integrity; *
I have trusted in the Lord and have not faltered.
Test me, O LORD, and try me; *
examine my heart and
my mind.
For your love is before my eyes; *
I have walked
faithfully with you.
I have not sat with the worthless, *
nor do I consort
with the deceitful.
I have hated the company of evildoers; *
I will not
sit down with the wicked.
I will wash my hands in innocence, O LORD, *
that I
may go in procession round your altar,
Singing aloud a song of thanksgiving *
and recounting
all your wonderful deeds.
LORD, I love the house in which you dwell *
and the
place where your glory abides.
Do not sweep me away with sinners, *
nor my life with
those who thirst for blood,
Whose hands are full of evil plots, *
and their right
hand full of bribes.
As for me, I will live with integrity; *
redeem me, O
LORD, and have pity on me.
My foot stands on level ground; *
in the full
assembly I will bless the LORD.
O LORD, I call to you;
my Rock, do not be deaf to my
cry; *
lest, if you do not hear me,
I become like those who go
down to the Pit.
Hear the voice of my prayer when I cry out to you,
*
when I lift up my hands to your holy of holies.
Do not snatch me away with the wicked or with the
evildoers, *
who speak peaceably with their neighbors,
while
strife is in their hearts.
Repay them according to their deeds, *
and according
to the wickedness of their actions.
According to the work of their hands repay them, *
and
give them their just deserts.
They have no understanding of the LORD’S
doings,
nor of the works of his hands; *
therefore he will
break them down and not build them up.
Blessed is the LORD! *
for he has heard the voice of
my prayer.
The LORD is my strength and my shield; *
my heart
trusts in him, and I have been helped;
Therefore my heart dances for joy, *
and in my song
will I praise him.
The LORD is the strength of his people, *
a safe
refuge for his anointed.
Save your people and bless your inheritance; *
shepherd
them and carry them 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.
A Reading from the Wisdom of Ben Sira.
Pleasant speech
multiplies friends,
and a gracious tongue
multiplies courtesies.
Let those who are friendly with you be
many,
but let your advisers be one in a
thousand.
When you gain friends, gain them through
testing,
and do not trust them hastily.
For
there are friends who are such when it suits them,
but
they will not stand by you in time of trouble.
And there are
friends who change into enemies,
and tell of the
quarrel to your disgrace.
And there are friends who sit at your
table,
but they will not stand by you in time of
trouble.
When you are prosperous, they become your second
self,
and lord it over your servants;
but
if you are brought low, they turn against you,
and
hide themselves from you.
Keep away from your enemies,
and
be on guard with your friends.
Faithful friends are a
sturdy shelter:
whoever finds one has found a
treasure.
Faithful friends are beyond price;
no
amount can balance their worth.
Faithful friends are life-saving
medicine;
and those who fear the Lord will find
them.
Those who fear the Lord direct their friendship aright,
for as they are, so are their neighbours also.
The Word of the
Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Glory to you, Lord God of our fathers; *
you are
worthy of praise; glory to you.
Glory to you for the radiance of your holy Name; *
we
will praise you and highly exalt you for ever.
Glory to you in the splendor of your temple; *
on the
throne of your majesty, glory to you.
Glory to you, seated between the Cherubim; *
we will
praise you and highly exalt you for ever.
Glory to you, beholding the depths; *
in the high
vault of heaven, glory to you.
Glory to you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; *
we will
praise you and highly exalt you for ever.
A Reading from the Gospel According to Luke.
After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house!’ And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.’ I tell you, on that day it will be more tolerable for Sodom than for that town. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But at the judgment it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades. “Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”
The Word of the
Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Splendor and honor and kingly power *
are yours by
right, O Lord our God,
For you created everything that is, *
and by your
will they were created and have their being;
And yours by right, O Lamb that was slain, *
for with
your blood you have redeemed for God,
From every family, language, people, and nation, *
a
kingdom of priests to serve our God.
And so, to him who sits upon the throne, *
and to
Christ the Lamb,
Be worship and praise, dominion and splendor, *
for
ever and for evermore.
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.
Almighty and everlasting God, in Christ you have revealed your glory among the nations: Preserve the works of your mercy, that your Church throughout the world may persevere with steadfast faith in the confession of your Name; 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 author of peace and lover of concord, to know you is eternal life and to serve you is perfect freedom: Defend us, your humble servants, in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in your defense, may not fear the power of any adversaries; through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace: So clothe us in your Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you; for the honor of your Name. 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 him from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 3:20,21