Evening Prayer - December 24, 2026

Today's Readings

Psalm 45:1-17

Psalm 46:1-11

Isaiah 35:1-10

Revelation 22:12-17,21

Luke 1:67-80

Christmas Eve
Behold, the dwelling of God is with mankind. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them, and be their God. Revelation 21:3

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.

Alleluia. To us a child is born: O come, let us adore him. Alleluia.

The Lessons

Psalm 45

⁽¹⁾ My heart is overflowing with a good theme; I recite my composition concerning the King; My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.⁽²⁾ You are fairer than the sons of men; Grace is poured upon Your lips; Therefore God has blessed You forever.⁽³⁾ Gird Your sword upon Your thigh, O Mighty One, With Your glory and Your majesty.⁽⁴⁾ And in Your majesty ride prosperously because of truth, humility, and righteousness; And Your right hand shall teach You awesome things.

⁽⁵⁾ Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the King's enemies; The peoples fall under You.⁽⁶⁾ Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.⁽⁷⁾ You love righteousness and hate wickedness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.⁽⁸⁾ All Your garments are scented with myrrh and aloes and cassia, Out of the ivory palaces, by which they have made You glad.

⁽⁹⁾ Kings' daughters are among Your honorable women; At Your right hand stands the queen in gold from Ophir.⁽¹⁰⁾ Listen, O daughter, Consider and incline your ear; Forget your own people also, and your father's house;⁽¹¹⁾ So the King will greatly desire your beauty; Because He is your Lord, worship Him.⁽¹²⁾ And the daughter of Tyre will come with a gift; The rich among the people will seek your favor.

⁽¹³⁾ The royal daughter is all glorious within the palace; Her clothing is woven with gold.⁽¹⁴⁾ She shall be brought to the King in robes of many colors; The virgins, her companions who follow her, shall be brought to You.⁽¹⁵⁾ With gladness and rejoicing they shall be brought; They shall enter the King's palace.⁽¹⁶⁾ Instead of Your fathers shall be Your sons, Whom You shall make princes in all the earth.

⁽¹⁷⁾ I will make Your name to be remembered in all generations; Therefore the people shall praise You forever and ever.

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 46

⁽¹⁾ God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.⁽²⁾ Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;⁽³⁾ Though its waters roar and be troubled, Though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah⁽⁴⁾ There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High.

⁽⁵⁾ God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.⁽⁶⁾ The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved; He uttered His voice, the earth melted.⁽⁷⁾ The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah⁽⁸⁾ Come, behold the works of the LORD, Who has made desolations in the earth.

⁽⁹⁾ He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariot in the fire.⁽¹⁰⁾ Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!⁽¹¹⁾ The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah

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.

Isaiah Chapter 35

⁽¹⁾ The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose;⁽²⁾ It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice, Even with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, The excellence of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the LORD, The excellency of our God.⁽³⁾ Strengthen the weak hands, And make firm the feeble knees.⁽⁴⁾ Say to those who are fearful-hearted, 'Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, With the recompense of God; He will come and save you.'

⁽⁵⁾ Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.⁽⁶⁾ Then the lame shall leap like a deer, And the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, And streams in the desert.⁽⁷⁾ The parched ground shall become a pool, And the thirsty land springs of water; In the habitation of jackals, where each lay, There shall be grass with reeds and rushes.⁽⁸⁾ A highway shall be there, and a road, And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it, But it shall be for others. Whoever walks the road, although a fool, Shall not go astray.

⁽⁹⁾ No lion shall be there, Nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it; It shall not be found there. But the redeemed shall walk there,⁽¹⁰⁾ And 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, And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Revelation Chapter 22

⁽¹²⁾ And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.⁽¹³⁾ I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.'⁽¹⁴⁾ Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.⁽¹⁵⁾ But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.

⁽¹⁶⁾ I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.'⁽¹⁷⁾ And the Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!' And let him who hears say, 'Come!' And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.⁽²¹⁾ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Luke Chapter 1

⁽⁶⁷⁾ Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:⁽⁶⁸⁾ Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited and redeemed His people,⁽⁶⁹⁾ And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant David,⁽⁷⁰⁾ As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, Who have been since the world began,

⁽⁷¹⁾ That we should be saved from our enemies And from the hand of all who hate us,⁽⁷²⁾ To perform the mercy promised to our fathers And to remember His holy covenant,⁽⁷³⁾ The oath which He swore to our father Abraham:⁽⁷⁴⁾ To grant us that we, Being delivered from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear,

⁽⁷⁵⁾ In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.⁽⁷⁶⁾ And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,⁽⁷⁷⁾ To give knowledge of salvation to His people By the remission of their sins,⁽⁷⁸⁾ Through the tender mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us;

⁽⁷⁹⁾ To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.'⁽⁸⁰⁾ So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.

The Gospel of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

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: The Nativity of Our Lord
O God, you make us glad by the yearly festival of the birth of your only Son Jesus Christ: Grant that we, who joyfully receive him as our Redeemer, may with sure confidence behold him when he comes to be our Judge; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

--or this--

O God, you have caused this holy night to shine with the brightness of the true Light: Grant that we, who have known the mystery of that Light on earth, may also enjoy him perfectly in heaven; where with you and the Holy Spirit he lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

--or this--

Almighty God, you have given your only begotten Son to take our nature upon him, and to be born [this day] of a pure virgin: Grant that we, who have been born again and made your children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by your Holy Spirit; through our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom with you and the same Spirit be honor and glory, now and forever. Amen.

Collect of the Day: Heavenly Father, in you we live and move and have our being: We humbly pray you so to guide and govern us by your Holy Spirit, that in all the cares and occupations of our life we may not forget you, but may remember that we are ever walking in your sight; 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.

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

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