Evening Prayer

Easter
Alleluia! Christ is risen. The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!

Confession of Sin
Most merciful God,
I confess that I have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what I have done, and by what I have left undone. I have not loved you with my whole heart; I have not loved my neighbors as myself. I am truly sorry and I humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on me and forgive me; that I may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.

Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life. Amen

The Invitatory and Psalter

Lord, open our lips. 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 forever. Amen   Alleluia


From Easter to Pentecost, Christ the Passover  can be used in place of the Venite or Jubilate.

Christ the Passover  1 Corinthians 5:7 to 8; Romans 6:9 to 11; 1 Corinthians 15:20 to 22
Alleluia.
Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us;
  therefore let us keep the feast,
Not with old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil,
  but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Alleluia.

Christ being raised from the dead will never die again;
  death no longer has dominion over him.
The death that he died, he died to sin, once for all;
  but the life he lives, he lives to God.
So also consider yourselves dead to sin,
  and alive to God in Jesus Christ our Lord. Alleluia.

  the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
For since by a man came death,
  by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.
For as in Adam all die,
  so in Christ shall all be made alive. Alleluia.

Venite
The Antiphon:

ⓘ   A short, reflective sentence recited alongside a psalm to deepen our understanding of the readings.

Alleluia. The Lord is risen indeed: Come let us adore him. Alleluia

The Lessons

Psalm 149

⁽¹⁾ Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, And His praise in the assembly of saints. ⁽²⁾ Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. ⁽³⁾ Let them praise His name with the dance; Let them sing praises to Him with the timbrel and harp. ⁽⁴⁾ For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation.

⁽⁵⁾ Let the saints be joyful in glory; Let them sing aloud on their beds. ⁽⁶⁾ Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, And a two-edged sword in their hand, ⁽⁷⁾ To execute vengeance on the nations, And punishments on the peoples; ⁽⁸⁾ To bind their kings with chains, And their nobles with fetters of iron;

⁽⁹⁾ To execute on them the written judgment -- This honor have all His saints. Praise 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 forever. Amen.

Psalm 150

⁽¹⁾ Praise the LORD! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty firmament! ⁽²⁾ Praise Him for His mighty acts; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness! ⁽³⁾ Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; Praise Him with the lute and harp! ⁽⁴⁾ Praise Him with the timbrel and dance; Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes!

⁽⁵⁾ Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with clashing cymbals! ⁽⁶⁾ Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise 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 forever. Amen.

Exodus Chapter 12

⁽¹⁾ Now the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, ⁽²⁾ This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. ⁽³⁾ Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: 'On the tenth day of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. ⁽⁴⁾ And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man's need you shall make your count for the lamb.

⁽⁵⁾ Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. ⁽⁶⁾ Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. ⁽⁷⁾ And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. ⁽⁸⁾ Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.

⁽⁹⁾ Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire -- its head with its legs and its entrails. ⁽¹⁰⁾ You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire. ⁽¹¹⁾ And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD's Passover. ⁽¹²⁾ For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD.

⁽¹³⁾ Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. ⁽¹⁴⁾ So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Isaiah Chapter 51

⁽⁹⁾ Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD! Awake as in the ancient days, In the generations of old. Are You not the arm that cut Rahab apart, And wounded the serpent? ⁽¹⁰⁾ Are You not the One who dried up the sea, The waters of the great deep; That made the depths of the sea a road For the redeemed to cross over? ⁽¹¹⁾ So the ransomed of the LORD shall return, And come to Zion with singing, With everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness; Sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

John Chapter 1

⁽¹⁾ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ⁽²⁾ He was in the beginning with God. ⁽³⁾ All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. ⁽⁴⁾ In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

⁽⁵⁾ And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. ⁽⁶⁾ There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. ⁽⁷⁾ This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. ⁽⁸⁾ He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

⁽⁹⁾ That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. ⁽¹⁰⁾ He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. ⁽¹¹⁾ He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. ⁽¹²⁾ But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:

⁽¹³⁾ who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. ⁽¹⁴⁾ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. ⁽¹⁵⁾ John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, 'This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.' ' ⁽¹⁶⁾ And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.

⁽¹⁷⁾ For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ⁽¹⁸⁾ No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

The Gospel of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.


The Song of Zechariah Luke 1: 68 to 79
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 forever. Amen.

You are 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.


The Apostles' 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 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 Prayers

The Lord's Prayer   Traditional
Suffrages A

Seasonal Collect:  Easter Day
O God, who for our redemption gave your only begotten Son to the death of the cross, and by his glorious resurrection delivered us from the power of our enemy: Grant us so to die daily to sin, that we may evermore live with him in the joy of his resurrection; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
or this
O God, who made this most holy night to shine with the glory of the Lord’s resurrection: Stir up in your Church that Spirit of adoption which is given to us in Baptism, that we, being renewed both in body and mind, may worship you in sincerity and truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
or this
Almighty God, who through your only begotten Son Jesus Christ overcame death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life: Grant that we, who celebrate with joy the day of the Lord’s resurrection, may be raised from the death of sin by your life giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Collect of the Day: O God, you make us glad with the weekly remembrance of the glorious resurrection of your Son our Lord: Give us this day such blessing through our worship of you, that the week to come may be spent in your favor; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Prayer for Mission: 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.

Personal Prayers and Reflection

This is a time to pause, consider and listen. Pray for yourself and others. When you lack the words


Closing Prayers   Thanksgiving

Conclude with the following
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