Evening Prayer

Easter
Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:57

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.

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Colossian 3:1

The Lessons

Psalm 148

⁽¹⁾ Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens; Praise Him in the heights! ⁽²⁾ Praise Him, all His angels; Praise Him, all His hosts! ⁽³⁾ Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all you stars of light! ⁽⁴⁾ Praise Him, you heavens of heavens, And you waters above the heavens!

⁽⁵⁾ Let them praise the name of the LORD, For He commanded and they were created. ⁽⁶⁾ He also established them forever and ever; He made a decree which shall not pass away. ⁽⁷⁾ Praise the LORD from the earth, You great sea creatures and all the depths; ⁽⁸⁾ Fire and hail, snow and clouds; Stormy wind, fulfilling His word;

⁽⁹⁾ Mountains and all hills; Fruitful trees and all cedars; ⁽¹⁰⁾ Beasts and all cattle; Creeping things and flying fowl; ⁽¹¹⁾ Kings of the earth and all peoples; Princes and all judges of the earth; ⁽¹²⁾ Both young men and maidens; Old men and children.

⁽¹³⁾ Let them praise the name of the LORD, For His name alone is exalted; His glory is above the earth and heaven. ⁽¹⁴⁾ And He has exalted the horn of His people, The praise of all His saints -- Of the children of Israel, A people near to Him. 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 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.

Daniel Chapter 4

⁽¹⁾ Nebuchadnezzar the king, To all peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied to you. ⁽²⁾ I thought it good to declare the signs and wonders that the Most High God has worked for me. ⁽³⁾ How great are His signs, And how mighty His wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And His dominion is from generation to generation. ⁽⁴⁾ I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at rest in my house, and flourishing in my palace.

⁽⁵⁾ I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts on my bed and the visions of my head troubled me. ⁽⁶⁾ Therefore I issued a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream. ⁽⁷⁾ Then the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers came in, and I told them the dream; but they did not make known to me its interpretation. ⁽⁸⁾ But at last Daniel came before me (his name is Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god; in him is the Spirit of the Holy God), and I told the dream before him, saying:

⁽⁹⁾ Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, because I know that the Spirit of the Holy God is in you, and no secret troubles you, explain to me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and its interpretation. ⁽¹⁰⁾ These were the visions of my head while on my bed: 'I was looking, and behold, A tree in the midst of the earth, And its height was great. ⁽¹¹⁾ The tree grew and became strong; Its height reached to the heavens, And it could be seen to the ends of all the earth. ⁽¹²⁾ Its leaves were lovely, Its fruit abundant, And in it was food for all. The beasts of the field found shade under it, The birds of the heavens dwelt in its branches, And all flesh was fed from it.

⁽¹³⁾ I saw in the visions of my head while on my bed, and there was a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven. ⁽¹⁴⁾ He cried aloud and said thus: 'Chop down the tree and cut off its branches, Strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts get out from under it, And the birds from its branches. ⁽¹⁵⁾ Nevertheless leave the stump and roots in the earth, Bound with a band of iron and bronze, In the tender grass of the field. Let it be wet with the dew of heaven, And let him graze with the beasts On the grass of the earth. ⁽¹⁶⁾ Let his heart be changed from that of a man, Let him be given the heart of a beast, And let seven times pass over him.

⁽¹⁷⁾ This decision is by the decree of the watchers, And the sentence by the word of the holy ones, In order that the living may know That the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, Gives it to whomever He will, And sets over it the lowest of men.' ⁽¹⁸⁾ This dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, have seen. Now you, Belteshazzar, declare its interpretation, since all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known to me the interpretation; but you are able, for the Spirit of the Holy God is in you.'

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

1 Peter Chapter 4

⁽⁷⁾ But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. ⁽⁸⁾ And above all things have fervent love for one another, for 'love will cover a multitude of sins.' ⁽⁹⁾ Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. ⁽¹⁰⁾ As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

⁽¹¹⁾ If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

John Chapter 21

⁽¹⁶⁾ He said to him again a second time, 'Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?' He said to Him, 'Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.' He said to him, 'Tend My sheep.' ⁽¹⁷⁾ He said to him the third time, 'Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?' Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, 'Do you love Me?' And he said to Him, 'Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.' Jesus said to him, 'Feed My sheep. ⁽¹⁸⁾ Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.' ⁽¹⁹⁾ This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, 'Follow Me.'

⁽²⁰⁾ Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, 'Lord, who is the one who betrays You?' ⁽²¹⁾ Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, 'But Lord, what about this man?' ⁽²²⁾ Jesus said to him, 'If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.' ⁽²³⁾ Then this saying went out among the brethren that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, 'If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?'

⁽²⁴⁾ This is the disciple who testifies of these things, and wrote these things; and we know that his testimony is true. ⁽²⁵⁾ And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.

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:  Third Sunday of Easter
O God, whose blessed Son made himself known to his disciples in the breaking of bread: Open the eyes of our faith, that we may behold him in all his redeeming work; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of 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