Evening Prayer

Ordinary Time
The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him. Habakkuk 2:20

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 55

⁽¹⁾ Give ear to my prayer, O God, And do not hide Yourself from my supplication. ⁽²⁾ Attend to me, and hear me; I am restless in my complaint, and moan noisily, ⁽³⁾ Because of the voice of the enemy, Because of the oppression of the wicked; For they bring down trouble upon me, And in wrath they hate me. ⁽⁴⁾ My heart is severely pained within me, And the terrors of death have fallen upon me.

⁽⁵⁾ Fearfulness and trembling have come upon me, And horror has overwhelmed me. ⁽⁶⁾ So I said, 'Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest. ⁽⁷⁾ Indeed, I would wander far off, And remain in the wilderness. Selah ⁽⁸⁾ I would hasten my escape From the windy storm and tempest.'

⁽⁹⁾ Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues, For I have seen violence and strife in the city. ⁽¹⁰⁾ Day and night they go around it on its walls; Iniquity and trouble are also in the midst of it. ⁽¹¹⁾ Destruction is in its midst; Oppression and deceit do not depart from its streets. ⁽¹²⁾ For it is not an enemy who reproaches me; Then I could bear it. Nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me; Then I could hide from him.

⁽¹³⁾ But it was you, a man my equal, My companion and my acquaintance. ⁽¹⁴⁾ We took sweet counsel together, And walked to the house of God in the throng. ⁽¹⁵⁾ Let death seize them; Let them go down alive into hell, For wickedness is in their dwellings and among them. ⁽¹⁶⁾ As for me, I will call upon God, And the LORD shall save me.

⁽¹⁷⁾ Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, And He shall hear my voice. ⁽¹⁸⁾ He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me, For there were many against me. ⁽¹⁹⁾ God will hear, and afflict them, Even He who abides from of old. Selah Because they do not change, Therefore they do not fear God. ⁽²⁰⁾ He has put forth his hands against those who were at peace with him; He has broken his covenant.

⁽²¹⁾ The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, But war was in his heart; His words were softer than oil, Yet they were drawn swords. ⁽²²⁾ Cast your burden on the LORD, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved. ⁽²³⁾ But You, O God, shall bring them down to the pit of destruction; Bloodthirsty and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; But I will trust in You.

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.

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 35

⁽¹⁾ Keeping the Law is worth many offerings; it is a fellowship offering in itself. ⁽²⁾ Returning a kindness is like a grain offering; giving to the poor is like a thanksgiving offering. ⁽³⁾ Keeping away from sin will please the Lord and make atonement for sin. ⁽⁴⁾ But don't come to the Temple without an offering;

⁽⁵⁾ the Law requires that you bring one. ⁽⁶⁾ When someone righteous offers a sacrifice and the fat drips down on the altar, a pleasant smell rises to the Most High. ⁽⁷⁾ The Lord will accept the offerings made by a righteous person and will not forget them. ⁽⁸⁾ Praise the Lord by making generous offerings to him; don't be stingy with the first of your crops.

⁽⁹⁾ Be cheerful with every gift you make, and when you pay your tithes, do it gladly. ⁽¹⁰⁾ Give to the Most High as he has given to you, just as generously as you can. ⁽¹¹⁾ The Lord always repays and will do it many times over. ⁽¹²⁾ But don't try to bribe him or rely on offerings that you have obtained dishonestly. He will not accept them. The Lord is fair and does not show partiality.

⁽¹³⁾ He is not prejudiced against the poor; when someone prays who has been wronged, the Lord listens. ⁽¹⁴⁾ When orphans and widows pour out their prayers, he does not ignore them. ⁽¹⁵⁾ The tears running down a widow's cheek cry out in accusation against the one who has caused her distress. ⁽¹⁶⁾ Serve the Lord willingly, and the Lord will accept you; your prayers will reach the skies.

⁽¹⁷⁾ The prayer of a humble person goes past the clouds and keeps on going until it reaches the Lord Most High, where it stays until he answers by seeing that justice is done and that the guilty are punished.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Revelation Chapter 13

⁽¹¹⁾ Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. ⁽¹²⁾ And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. ⁽¹³⁾ He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. ⁽¹⁴⁾ And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived.

⁽¹⁵⁾ He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. ⁽¹⁶⁾ He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, ⁽¹⁷⁾ and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. ⁽¹⁸⁾ Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Luke Chapter 12

⁽³²⁾ Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. ⁽³³⁾ Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. ⁽³⁴⁾ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. ⁽³⁵⁾ Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning;

⁽³⁶⁾ and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately. ⁽³⁷⁾ Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them. ⁽³⁸⁾ And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. ⁽³⁹⁾ But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.

⁽⁴⁰⁾ Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.' ⁽⁴¹⁾ Then Peter said to Him, 'Lord, do You speak this parable only to us, or to all people?' ⁽⁴²⁾ And the Lord said, 'Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season? ⁽⁴³⁾ Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.

⁽⁴⁴⁾ Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has. ⁽⁴⁵⁾ But if that servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,' and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk, ⁽⁴⁶⁾ the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. ⁽⁴⁷⁾ And that servant who knew his master's will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.

⁽⁴⁸⁾ But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.

The Gospel of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

A Song of Creation     Prayer of Manasseh 1 to 2, 4, 6 to 7, 11 to 15
Invocation
Glorify the Lord,
all you works of the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him forever.
In the firmament of his power, glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him forever.

The Cosmic Order
Glorify the Lord,
you angels and all powers of the Lord,
O heavens and all waters above the heavens.
Sun and moon and stars of the sky,
glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him forever.
Glorify the Lord,
every shower of rain and fall of dew,
all winds and fire and heat.
Winter and Summer, glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him forever.

Glorify the Lord, O chill and cold,
drops of dew and flakes of snow.
Frost and cold, ice and sleet,
glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him forever.

Glorify the Lord,
O nights and days,
O shining light and enfolding dark.
Storm clouds and thunderbolts, glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him forever.

Glorify the Lord,
O spirits and souls of the righteous,
praise him and highly exalt him forever.
You that are holy and humble of heart,
glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him forever.

Doxology
Let us glorify the Lord:
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit;
praise him and highly exalt him forever.
In the firmament of his power, glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him forever.

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 25 The Sunday closest to October 26
Almighty and everlasting God, increase in us the gifts of faith, hope, and charity; and, that we may obtain what you promise, make us love what you command; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

Collect of the Day: Almighty God, who after the creation of the world rested from all your works and sanctified a day of rest for all your creatures: Grant that we, putting away all earthly anxieties, may be duly prepared for the service of your sanctuary, and that our rest here upon earth may be a preparation for the eternal rest promised to your people in heaven; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Prayer for Mission: 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.

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

Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine: Glory to him from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20,21