Evening Prayer

Lent
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us; but if we confess our sins, God who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:8, 9

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

Venite
The Antiphon:

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

The Lord is full of compassion and mercy: Come let us adore him.

The Lessons

Psalm 119

⁽⁴⁹⁾ Remember the word to Your servant, Upon which You have caused me to hope. ⁽⁵⁰⁾ This is my comfort in my affliction, For Your word has given me life. ⁽⁵¹⁾ The proud have me in great derision, Yet I do not turn aside from Your law. ⁽⁵²⁾ I remembered Your judgments of old, O LORD, And have comforted myself.

⁽⁵³⁾ Indignation has taken hold of me Because of the wicked, who forsake Your law. ⁽⁵⁴⁾ Your statutes have been my songs In the house of my pilgrimage. ⁽⁵⁵⁾ I remember Your name in the night, O LORD, And I keep Your law. ⁽⁵⁶⁾ This has become mine, Because I kept Your precepts.

⁽⁵⁷⁾ You are my portion, O LORD; I have said that I would keep Your words. ⁽⁵⁸⁾ I entreated Your favor with my whole heart; Be merciful to me according to Your word. ⁽⁵⁹⁾ I thought about my ways, And turned my feet to Your testimonies. ⁽⁶⁰⁾ I made haste, and did not delay To keep Your commandments.

⁽⁶¹⁾ The cords of the wicked have bound me, But I have not forgotten Your law. ⁽⁶²⁾ At midnight I will rise to give thanks to You, Because of Your righteous judgments. ⁽⁶³⁾ I am a companion of all who fear You, And of those who keep Your precepts. ⁽⁶⁴⁾ The earth, O LORD, is full of Your mercy; Teach me Your statutes.

⁽⁶⁵⁾ You have dealt well with Your servant, O LORD, according to Your word. ⁽⁶⁶⁾ Teach me good judgment and knowledge, For I believe Your commandments. ⁽⁶⁷⁾ Before I was afflicted I went astray, But now I keep Your word. ⁽⁶⁸⁾ You are good, and do good; Teach me Your statutes.

⁽⁶⁹⁾ The proud have forged a lie against me, But I will keep Your precepts with my whole heart. ⁽⁷⁰⁾ Their heart is as fat as grease, But I delight in Your law. ⁽⁷¹⁾ It is good for me that I have been afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes. ⁽⁷²⁾ The law of Your mouth is better to me Than thousands of coins of gold and silver.

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.

Deuteronomy Chapter 9

⁽¹³⁾ Furthermore the LORD spoke to me, saying, 'I have seen this people, and indeed they are a stiff-necked people. ⁽¹⁴⁾ Let Me alone, that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven; and I will make of you a nation mightier and greater than they.' ⁽¹⁵⁾ So I turned and came down from the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire; and the two tablets of the covenant were in my two hands. ⁽¹⁶⁾ And I looked, and behold, you had sinned against the LORD your God -- had made for yourselves a molded calf! You had turned aside quickly from the way which the LORD had commanded you.

⁽¹⁷⁾ Then I took the two tablets and threw them out of my two hands and broke them before your eyes. ⁽¹⁸⁾ And I fell down before the LORD, as at the first, forty days and forty nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water, because of all your sin which you committed in doing wickedly in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger. ⁽¹⁹⁾ For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure with which the LORD was angry with you, to destroy you. But the LORD listened to me at that time also. ⁽²⁰⁾ And the LORD was very angry with Aaron and would have destroyed him; so I prayed for Aaron also at the same time.

⁽²¹⁾ Then I took your sin, the calf which you had made, and burned it with fire and crushed it and ground it very small, until it was as fine as dust; and I threw its dust into the brook that descended from the mountain.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Hebrews Chapter 3

⁽¹²⁾ Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; ⁽¹³⁾ but exhort one another daily, while it is called 'Today,' lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. ⁽¹⁴⁾ For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, ⁽¹⁵⁾ while it is said: 'Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.'

⁽¹⁶⁾ For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? ⁽¹⁷⁾ Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? ⁽¹⁸⁾ And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? ⁽¹⁹⁾ So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

John Chapter 2

⁽²³⁾ Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. ⁽²⁴⁾ But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, ⁽²⁵⁾ and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man. ⁽¹⁾ There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. ⁽²⁾ This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, 'Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.' ⁽³⁾ Jesus answered and said to him, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.' ⁽⁴⁾ Nicodemus said to Him, 'How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?'

⁽⁵⁾ Jesus answered, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. ⁽⁶⁾ That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁽⁷⁾ Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' ⁽⁸⁾ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.'

⁽⁹⁾ Nicodemus answered and said to Him, 'How can these things be?' ⁽¹⁰⁾ Jesus answered and said to him, 'Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? ⁽¹¹⁾ Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. ⁽¹²⁾ If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?

⁽¹³⁾ No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. ⁽¹⁴⁾ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ⁽¹⁵⁾ that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.

The Gospel of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.


Glory to God        
Glory to God in the highest,
and peace to his people on earth.

Lord God, heavenly King,
almighty God and Father,
we worship you, we give you thanks,
we praise you for your glory.

Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father,
Lord God, Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world:
have mercy on us;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father:
receive our prayer.

For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High,
Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God the Father. Amen.


A Song of Penitence Prayer of Manasseh 1 to 2, 4, 6 to 7, 11 to 15
O Lord and Ruler of the hosts of heaven,
God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
and of all their righteous offspring:
You made the heavens and the earth,
with all their vast array.
All things quake with fear at your presence;
they tremble because of your power.
But your merciful promise is beyond all measure;
it surpasses all that our minds can fathom.
O Lord, you are full of compassion,
long-suffering, and abounding in mercy.
You hold back your hand;
you do not punish as we deserve.
In your great goodness, Lord,
you have promised forgiveness to sinners,
that they may repent of their sin and be saved.
And now, O Lord, I bend the knee of my heart,
and make my appeal, sure of your gracious goodness.
I have sinned, O Lord, I have sinned,
and I know my wickedness only too well.
Therefore I make this prayer to you:
Forgive me, Lord, forgive me.
Do not let me perish in my sin,
nor condemn me to the depths of the earth.
For you, O Lord, are the God of those who repent,
and in me you will show forth your goodness.
Unworthy as I am, you will save me,
in accordance with your great mercy,
and I will praise you without ceasing all the days of my life.
For all the powers of heaven sing your praises,
and yours is the glory to ages of ages. 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:  First Sunday in Lent
Almighty God, whose blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan: Come quickly to help us who are assaulted by many temptations; and, as you know the weaknesses of each of us, let each one find you mighty to save; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Collect of the Day: Lord God, almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought us in safety to this new day: Preserve us with your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose; 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