Evening Prayer

Easter
You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Acts 1:8

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


From Easter to Pentecost, Christ the Passover  can be used in place of the Venite or Jubilate.

Christ the Passover  1 Corinthians 5:7 to 8; Romans 6:9 to 11; 1 Corinthians 15:20 to 22
Alleluia.
Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us;
  therefore let us keep the feast,
Not with old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil,
  but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Alleluia.

Christ being raised from the dead will never die again;
  death no longer has dominion over him.
The death that he died, he died to sin, once for all;
  but the life he lives, he lives to God.
So also consider yourselves dead to sin,
  and alive to God in Jesus Christ our Lord. Alleluia.

  the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
For since by a man came death,
  by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.
For as in Adam all die,
  so in Christ shall all be made alive. Alleluia.

Venite
The Antiphon:

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

Thanks be to God, who gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:57

The Lessons

Psalm 66

⁽¹⁾ Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth! ⁽²⁾ Sing out the honor of His name; Make His praise glorious. ⁽³⁾ Say to God, 'How awesome are Your works! Through the greatness of Your power Your enemies shall submit themselves to You. ⁽⁴⁾ All the earth shall worship You And sing praises to You; They shall sing praises to Your name.' Selah

⁽⁵⁾ Come and see the works of God; He is awesome in His doing toward the sons of men. ⁽⁶⁾ He turned the sea into dry land; They went through the river on foot. There we will rejoice in Him. ⁽⁷⁾ He rules by His power forever; His eyes observe the nations; Do not let the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah ⁽⁸⁾ Oh, bless our God, you peoples! And make the voice of His praise to be heard,

⁽⁹⁾ Who keeps our soul among the living, And does not allow our feet to be moved. ⁽¹⁰⁾ For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined. ⁽¹¹⁾ You brought us into the net; You laid affliction on our backs. ⁽¹²⁾ You have caused men to ride over our heads; We went through fire and through water; But You brought us out to rich fulfillment.

⁽¹³⁾ I will go into Your house with burnt offerings; I will pay You my vows, ⁽¹⁴⁾ Which my lips have uttered And my mouth has spoken when I was in trouble. ⁽¹⁵⁾ I will offer You burnt sacrifices of fat animals, With the sweet aroma of rams; I will offer bulls with goats. Selah ⁽¹⁶⁾ Come and hear, all you who fear God, And I will declare what He has done for my soul.

⁽¹⁷⁾ I cried to Him with my mouth, And He was extolled with my tongue. ⁽¹⁸⁾ If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear. ⁽¹⁹⁾ But certainly God has heard me; He has attended to the voice of my prayer. ⁽²⁰⁾ Blessed be God, Who has not turned away my prayer, Nor His mercy from me!

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 67

⁽¹⁾ God be merciful to us and bless us, And cause His face to shine upon us. Selah ⁽²⁾ That Your way may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations. ⁽³⁾ Let the peoples praise You, O God; Let all the peoples praise You. ⁽⁴⁾ Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy! For You shall judge the people righteously, And govern the nations on earth. Selah

⁽⁵⁾ Let the peoples praise You, O God; Let all the peoples praise You. ⁽⁶⁾ Then the earth shall yield her increase; God, our own God, shall bless us. ⁽⁷⁾ God shall bless us, And all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.

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.

Ezekiel Chapter 3

⁽¹⁶⁾ Now it came to pass at the end of seven days that the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ⁽¹⁷⁾ Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me: ⁽¹⁸⁾ When I say to the wicked, 'You shall surely die,' and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. ⁽¹⁹⁾ Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul.

⁽²⁰⁾ Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die; because you did not give him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand. ⁽²¹⁾ Nevertheless if you warn the righteous man that the righteous should not sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning; also you will have delivered your soul.' ⁽²²⁾ Then the hand of the LORD was upon me there, and He said to me, 'Arise, go out into the plain, and there I shall talk with you.' ⁽²³⁾ So I arose and went out into the plain, and behold, the glory of the LORD stood there, like the glory which I saw by the River Chebar; and I fell on my face.

⁽²⁴⁾ Then the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet, and spoke with me and said to me: 'Go, shut yourself inside your house. ⁽²⁵⁾ And you, O son of man, surely they will put ropes on you and bind you with them, so that you cannot go out among them. ⁽²⁶⁾ I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, so that you shall be mute and not be one to rebuke them, for they are a rebellious house. ⁽²⁷⁾ But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD.' He who hears, let him hear; and he who refuses, let him refuse; for they are a rebellious house.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Ephesians Chapter 2

⁽¹⁾ And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, ⁽²⁾ in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, ⁽³⁾ among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. ⁽⁴⁾ But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,

⁽⁵⁾ even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), ⁽⁶⁾ and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁽⁷⁾ that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁽⁸⁾ For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,

⁽⁹⁾ not of works, lest anyone should boast. ⁽¹⁰⁾ For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Matthew Chapter 10

⁽²⁴⁾ A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. ⁽²⁵⁾ It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household! ⁽²⁶⁾ Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. ⁽²⁷⁾ Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops.

⁽²⁸⁾ And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. ⁽²⁹⁾ Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will. ⁽³⁰⁾ But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. ⁽³¹⁾ Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

⁽³²⁾ Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. ⁽³³⁾ But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven. ⁽⁴⁰⁾ He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. ⁽⁴¹⁾ He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. ⁽⁴²⁾ And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.'

The Gospel of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.


The Song of Zechariah Luke 1: 68 to 79
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old,
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham,
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
Free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
To give his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
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.

You are God        
You are God: we praise you;
You are the Lord; we acclaim you;
You are the eternal Father:
All creation worships you.
To you all angels, all the powers of heaven,
Cherubim and Seraphim, sing in endless praise:
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
The glorious company of apostles praise you.
The noble fellowship of prophets praise you.
The white-robed army of martyrs praise you.
Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims you;
Father, of majesty unbounded,
your true and only Son, worthy of all worship,
and the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide.
You, Christ, are the king of glory,
the eternal Son of the Father.
When you became man to set us free
you did not shun the Virgin's womb.
You overcame the sting of death
and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
You are seated at God's right hand in glory.
We believe that you will come and be our judge.
Come then, Lord, and help your people,
bought with the price of your own blood,
and bring us with your saints
to glory everlasting.


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:  Seventh Sunday of Easter: The Sunday after Ascension Day
O God, the King of glory, you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven: Do not leave us comfortless, but send us your Holy Spirit to strengthen us, and exalt us to that place where our Savior Christ has gone before; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

Collect of the Day: O God, you make us glad with the weekly remembrance of the glorious resurrection of your Son our Lord: Give us this day such blessing through our worship of you, that the week to come may be spent in your favor; 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. When you lack the words


Closing Prayers   Thanksgiving

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