Evening Prayer

Today is the Feast of Saint James -- Click for Readings
Ordinary Time
I was glad when they said to me, 'Let us go to the house of the Lord.' Psalm 122:1

Saint and Major Saints' Days
Their sound has gone out into all lands, and their message to the ends of the world. Psalm 19:4

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

Venite
The Antiphon:

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

The mercy of the Lord is everlasting: Come let us adore him.

The Lessons

Psalm 40

⁽¹⁾ I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry. ⁽²⁾ He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps. ⁽³⁾ He has put a new song in my mouth -- Praise to our God; Many will see it and fear, And will trust in the LORD. ⁽⁴⁾ Blessed is that man who makes the LORD his trust, And does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.

⁽⁵⁾ Many, O LORD my God, are Your wonderful works Which You have done; And Your thoughts toward us Cannot be recounted to You in order; If I would declare and speak of them, They are more than can be numbered. ⁽⁶⁾ Sacrifice and offering You did not desire; My ears You have opened. Burnt offering and sin offering You did not require. ⁽⁷⁾ Then I said, 'Behold, I come; In the scroll of the book it is written of me. ⁽⁸⁾ I delight to do Your will, O my God, And Your law is within my heart.'

⁽⁹⁾ I have proclaimed the good news of righteousness In the great assembly; Indeed, I do not restrain my lips, O LORD, You Yourself know. ⁽¹⁰⁾ I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart; I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation; I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth From the great assembly. ⁽¹¹⁾ Do not withhold Your tender mercies from me, O LORD; Let Your lovingkindness and Your truth continually preserve me. ⁽¹²⁾ For innumerable evils have surrounded me; My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up; They are more than the hairs of my head; Therefore my heart fails me.

⁽¹³⁾ Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me; O LORD, make haste to help me! ⁽¹⁴⁾ Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion Who seek to destroy my life; Let them be driven backward and brought to dishonor Who wish me evil. ⁽¹⁵⁾ Let them be confounded because of their shame, Who say to me, 'Aha, aha!' ⁽¹⁶⁾ Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; Let such as love Your salvation say continually, 'The LORD be magnified!'

⁽¹⁷⁾ But I am poor and needy; Yet the LORD thinks upon me. You are my help and my deliverer; Do not delay, O my God.

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 54

⁽¹⁾ Save me, O God, by Your name, And vindicate me by Your strength. ⁽²⁾ Hear my prayer, O God; Give ear to the words of my mouth. ⁽³⁾ For strangers have risen up against me, And oppressors have sought after my life; They have not set God before them. Selah ⁽⁴⁾ Behold, God is my helper; The Lord is with those who uphold my life.

⁽⁵⁾ He will repay my enemies for their evil. Cut them off in Your truth. ⁽⁶⁾ I will freely sacrifice to You; I will praise Your name, O LORD, for it is good. ⁽⁷⁾ For He has delivered me out of all trouble; And my eye has seen its desire upon my enemies.

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.

1 Samuel Chapter 31

⁽¹⁾ Now the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell slain on Mount Gilboa. ⁽²⁾ Then the Philistines followed hard after Saul and his sons. And the Philistines killed Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua, Saul's sons. ⁽³⁾ The battle became fierce against Saul. The archers hit him, and he was severely wounded by the archers. ⁽⁴⁾ Then Saul said to his armorbearer, 'Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised men come and thrust me through and abuse me.' But his armorbearer would not, for he was greatly afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword and fell on it.

⁽⁵⁾ And when his armorbearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword, and died with him. ⁽⁶⁾ So Saul, his three sons, his armorbearer, and all his men died together that same day. ⁽⁷⁾ And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley, and those who were on the other side of the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them. ⁽⁸⁾ So it happened the next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa.

⁽⁹⁾ And they cut off his head and stripped off his armor, and sent word throughout the land of the Philistines, to proclaim it in the temple of their idols and among the people. ⁽¹⁰⁾ Then they put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths, and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth Shan. ⁽¹¹⁾ Now when the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, ⁽¹²⁾ all the valiant men arose and traveled all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth Shan; and they came to Jabesh and burned them there.

⁽¹³⁾ Then they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Acts Chapter 15

⁽¹²⁾ Then all the multitude kept silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring how many miracles and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles. ⁽¹³⁾ And after they had become silent, James answered, saying, 'Men and brethren, listen to me: ⁽¹⁴⁾ Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name. ⁽¹⁵⁾ And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written:

⁽¹⁶⁾ After this I will return And will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, And I will set it up; ⁽¹⁷⁾ So that the rest of mankind may seek the LORD, Even all the Gentiles who are called by My name, Says the LORD who does all these things.' ⁽¹⁸⁾ Known to God from eternity are all His works. ⁽¹⁹⁾ Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God,

⁽²⁰⁾ but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood. ⁽²¹⁾ For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.'

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Mark Chapter 5

⁽²¹⁾ Now when Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a great multitude gathered to Him; and He was by the sea. ⁽²²⁾ And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name. And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet ⁽²³⁾ and begged Him earnestly, saying, 'My little daughter lies at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live.' ⁽²⁴⁾ So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him.

⁽²⁵⁾ Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, ⁽²⁶⁾ and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. ⁽²⁷⁾ When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. ⁽²⁸⁾ For she said, 'If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.'

⁽²⁹⁾ Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction. ⁽³⁰⁾ And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, 'Who touched My clothes?' ⁽³¹⁾ But His disciples said to Him, 'You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?' ' ⁽³²⁾ And He looked around to see her who had done this thing.

⁽³³⁾ But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. ⁽³⁴⁾ And He said to her, 'Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.' ⁽³⁵⁾ While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue's house who said, 'Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?' ⁽³⁶⁾ As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, 'Do not be afraid; only believe.'

⁽³⁷⁾ And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James. ⁽³⁸⁾ Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw a tumult and those who wept and wailed loudly. ⁽³⁹⁾ When He came in, He said to them, 'Why make this commotion and weep? The child is not dead, but sleeping.' ⁽⁴⁰⁾ And they ridiculed Him. But when He had put them all outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying.

⁽⁴¹⁾ Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, 'Talitha, cumi,' which is translated, 'Little girl, I say to you, arise.' ⁽⁴²⁾ Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age. And they were overcome with great amazement. ⁽⁴³⁾ But He commanded them strictly that no one should know it, and said that something should be given her to eat.

The Gospel of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

The Second Song of Isaiah      Isaiah 55:6 to 11

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 forever. Amen.


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:  Proper 11 The Sunday closest to July 20
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 forever. Amen.

Collect of the Day: 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.

A Prayer for Mission: O God, you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth, and sent your blessed Son to preach peace to those who are far off and to those who are near: Grant that people everywhere may seek after you and find you; bring the nations into your fold; pour out your Spirit upon all flesh; and hasten the coming of your kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. 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

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