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.
Come, let us sing to the Lord; *
let us shout for joy
to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving *
and
raise a loud shout to him with psalms.
For the Lord is a great God, *
and a great King above
all gods.
In his hand are the caverns of the earth, *
and the
heights of the hills are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it, *
and his hands have
molded the dry land.
Come, let us bow down, and bend the knee, *
and kneel
before the Lord our Maker.
For he is our God,
and we are the people of his
pasture and the sheep of his hand. *
Oh, that today you would
hearken to his voice!
In you, O LORD, have I taken refuge;
let me never be
put to shame; *
deliver me in your righteousness.
Incline your ear to me; *
make haste to deliver me.
Be my strong rock, a castle to keep me safe,
for you
are my crag and my stronghold; *
for the sake of your Name, lead
me and guide me.
Take me out of the net that they have secretly set for
me, *
for you are my tower of strength.
Into your hands I commend my spirit, *
for you have
redeemed me,
O LORD, O God of truth.
I hate those who cling to worthless idols, *
and I
put my trust in the LORD.
I will rejoice and be glad because of your mercy; *
for
you have seen my affliction;
you know my distress.
You have not shut me up in the power of the enemy; *
you
have set my feet in an open place.
Have mercy on me, O LORD, for I am in trouble; *
my
eye is consumed with sorrow,
and also my throat and my belly.
For my life is wasted with grief,
and my years with
sighing; *
my strength fails me because of affliction,
and my
bones are consumed.
I have become a reproach to all my enemies and even to
my neighbors,
a dismay to those of my acquaintance; *
when they
see me in the street they avoid me.
I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind; *
I am
as useless as a broken pot.
For I have heard the whispering of the crowd;
fear is
all around; *
they put their heads together against me;
they
plot to take my life.
But as for me, I have trusted in you, O LORD. *
I
have said, “You are my God.
My times are in your hand; *
rescue me from the hand
of my enemies,
and from those who persecute me.
Make your face to shine upon your servant, *
and in
your loving-kindness save me.”
LORD, let me not be ashamed for having called upon you;
*
rather, let the wicked be put to shame;
let them be silent
in the grave.
Let the lying lips be silenced which speak against the
righteous, *
haughtily, disdainfully, and with contempt.
How great is your goodness, O LORD!
which you have
laid up for those who fear you; *
which you have done in the sight
of all
for those who put their trust in you.
You hide them in the covert of your presence from those
who slander them; *
you keep them in your shelter from the strife
of tongues.
Blessed be the LORD! *
for he has shown me the
wonders of his love in a besieged city.
Yet I said in my alarm,
“I have been cut off
from the sight of your eyes.” *
Nevertheless, you heard the
sound of my entreaty
when I cried out to you.
Love the LORD, all you who worship him; *
the LORD
protects the faithful,
but repays to the full those who act
haughtily.
Be strong and let your heart take courage, *
all you
who wait for the LORD.
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.
Do not praise individuals
for their good looks,
or loathe anyone because
of appearance alone.
The bee is small among flying
creatures,
but what it produces is the best of
sweet things.
Do not boast about wearing fine clothes,
and
do not exalt yourself when you are honoured;
for the works of the
Lord are wonderful,
and his works are concealed
from humankind.
Many kings have had to sit on the ground,
but
one who was never thought of has worn a crown.
Many rulers have
been utterly disgraced,
and the honoured have been handed over
to others.
Do not find fault before
you investigate;
examine first, and then
criticize.
Do not answer before you listen,
and
do not interrupt when another is speaking.
Do not argue about a
matter that does not concern you,
and do not sit with sinners
when they judge a case.
My child, do not busy
yourself with many matters;
if you multiply
activities, you will not be held blameless.
If you pursue, you
will not overtake,
and by fleeing you will not
escape.
There are those who work and struggle and hurry,
but
are so much the more in want.
There are others who are slow and
need help,
who lack strength and abound in
poverty;
but the eyes of the Lord look kindly upon them;
he
lifts them out of their lowly condition
and raises up their
heads
to the amazement of many.
Good things and bad, life
and death,
poverty and wealth, come from the
Lord.
The Lord’s gift remains with the devout,
and
his favour brings lasting success.
One becomes rich through
diligence and self-denial,
and the reward
allotted to him is this:
when he says, ‘I have found rest,
and now I shall feast on my goods!’
he does not know how
long it will be
until he leaves them to others and dies.
Stand by your agreement
and attend to it,
and grow old in your work.
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.
A Reading from the Gospel According to Luke.
Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”
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. 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 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.
Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through 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.
May the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Romans 15:13