Evening Prayer - November 14, 2025

Today's Readings

Psalm 88:1-18

1 Maccabees 1:41-63

Revelation 19:11-16

Matthew 16:13-20

Ordinary Time
The hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him. John 4:23

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

ⓘ 'Venite' is Latin for 'O Come,' the opening word of Psalm 95: Venite exultemus Domino ('O Come, let us sing to the LORD').

Psalm 95:1 to 7
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!

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 88

⁽¹⁾ O LORD, God of my salvation, I have cried out day and night before You.⁽²⁾ Let my prayer come before You; Incline Your ear to my cry.⁽³⁾ For my soul is full of troubles, And my life draws near to the grave.⁽⁴⁾ I am counted with those who go down to the pit; I am like a man who has no strength,

⁽⁵⁾ Adrift among the dead, Like the slain who lie in the grave, Whom You remember no more, And who are cut off from Your hand.⁽⁶⁾ You have laid me in the lowest pit, In darkness, in the depths.⁽⁷⁾ Your wrath lies heavy upon me, And You have afflicted me with all Your waves. Selah⁽⁸⁾ You have put away my acquaintances far from me; You have made me an abomination to them; I am shut up, and I cannot get out;

⁽⁹⁾ My eye wastes away because of affliction. LORD, I have called daily upon You; I have stretched out my hands to You.⁽¹⁰⁾ Will You work wonders for the dead? Shall the dead arise and praise You? Selah⁽¹¹⁾ Shall Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave? Or Your faithfulness in the place of destruction?⁽¹²⁾ Shall Your wonders be known in the dark? And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

⁽¹³⁾ But to You I have cried out, O LORD, And in the morning my prayer comes before You.⁽¹⁴⁾ LORD, why do You cast off my soul? Why do You hide Your face from me?⁽¹⁵⁾ I have been afflicted and ready to die from my youth; I suffer Your terrors; I am distraught.⁽¹⁶⁾ Your fierce wrath has gone over me; Your terrors have cut me off.

⁽¹⁷⁾ They came around me all day long like water; They engulfed me altogether.⁽¹⁸⁾ Loved one and friend You have put far from me, And my acquaintances into darkness.

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 Maccabees Chapter 1

⁽⁴¹⁾ Antiochus now issued a decree that all nations in his empire should abandon their own customs and become one people. All the Gentiles and even many of the Israelites submitted to this decree. They adopted the official pagan religion, offered sacrifices to idols, and no longer observed the Sabbath.⁽⁴⁴⁾ The king also sent messengers with a decree to Jerusalem and all the towns of Judea, ordering the people to follow customs that were foreign to the country.⁽⁴⁵⁾ He ordered them not to offer burnt offerings, grain offerings, or wine offerings in the Temple, and commanded them to treat Sabbaths and festivals as ordinary work days.⁽⁴⁶⁾ They were even ordered to defile the Temple and the holy things in it.

⁽⁴⁷⁾ They were commanded to build pagan altars, temples, and shrines, and to sacrifice pigs and other unclean animals there.⁽⁴⁸⁾ They were forbidden to circumcise their sons and were required to make themselves ritually unclean in every way they could,⁽⁴⁹⁾ so that they would forget the Law which the Lord had given through Moses and would disobey all its commands.⁽⁵⁰⁾ The penalty for disobeying the king's decree was death.

⁽⁵¹⁾ The king not only issued the same decree throughout his whole empire, but he also appointed officials to supervise the people and commanded each town in Judea to offer pagan sacrifices.⁽⁵²⁾ Many of the Jews were ready to forsake the Law and to obey these officials. They defiled the land with their evil,⁽⁵³⁾ and their conduct forced all true Israelites to hide wherever they could.⁽⁵⁴⁾ On the fifteenth day of the month of Kislev in the year 145, King Antiochus set up 'The Awful Horror' on the altar of the Temple, and pagan altars were built in the towns throughout Judea.

⁽⁵⁵⁾ Pagan sacrifices were offered in front of houses and in the streets.⁽⁵⁶⁾ Any books of the Law which were found were torn up and burned,⁽⁵⁷⁾ and anyone who was caught with a copy of the sacred books or who obeyed the Law was put to death by order of the king.⁽⁵⁸⁾ Month after month these wicked people used their power against the Israelites caught in the towns.

⁽⁵⁹⁾ On the twenty-fifth of the month, these same evil people offered sacrifices on the pagan altar erected on top of the altar in the Temple.⁽⁶⁰⁾ Mothers who had allowed their babies to be circumcised were put to death in accordance with the king's decree.⁽⁶¹⁾ Their babies were hung around their necks, and their families and those who had circumcised them were put to death.⁽⁶²⁾ But many people in Israel firmly resisted the king's decree and refused to eat food that was ritually unclean.

⁽⁶³⁾ They preferred to die rather than break the holy covenant and eat unclean food'and many did die.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Revelation Chapter 19

⁽¹¹⁾ Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.⁽¹²⁾ His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself.⁽¹³⁾ He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.⁽¹⁴⁾ And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.

⁽¹⁵⁾ Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.⁽¹⁶⁾ And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Matthew Chapter 16

⁽¹³⁾ When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, 'Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?'⁽¹⁴⁾ So they said, 'Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.'⁽¹⁵⁾ He said to them, 'But who do you say that I am?'⁽¹⁶⁾ Simon Peter answered and said, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.'

⁽¹⁷⁾ Jesus answered and said to him, 'Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.⁽¹⁸⁾ And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.⁽¹⁹⁾ And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.'⁽²⁰⁾ Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.

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

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,
forever and ever. Amen.

Suffrages

ⓘ A simple prayer to God for help, mercy, or intercession, rooted in the Latin word for support.

Show us your mercy, O Lord;
And grant us your salvation.
Clothe your ministers with righteousness;
Let your people sing with joy.
Give peace, O Lord, in all the world;
For only in you can we live in safety.
Lord, keep this nation under your care;
And guide us in the way of justice and truth.
Let your way be known upon earth;
Your saving health among all nations.
Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;
Nor the hope of the poor be taken away.
Create in us clean hearts, O God;
And sustain us by your Holy Spirit.

Seasonal Collect: Proper 27 The Sunday closest to November 9
O God, whose blessed Son came into the world that he might destroy the works of the devil and make us children of God and heirs of eternal life: Grant that, having this hope, we may purify ourselves as he is pure; that, when he comes again with power and great glory, we may be made like him in his eternal and glorious kingdom; where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. 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.

Closing Prayers

Thanksgiving
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 ourselves 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.

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