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 97

⁽¹⁾ The LORD reigns; Let the earth rejoice; Let the multitude of isles be glad! ⁽²⁾ Clouds and darkness surround Him; Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne. ⁽³⁾ A fire goes before Him, And burns up His enemies round about. ⁽⁴⁾ His lightnings light the world; The earth sees and trembles.

⁽⁵⁾ The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the LORD, At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. ⁽⁶⁾ The heavens declare His righteousness, And all the peoples see His glory. ⁽⁷⁾ Let all be put to shame who serve carved images, Who boast of idols. Worship Him, all you gods. ⁽⁸⁾ Zion hears and is glad, And the daughters of Judah rejoice Because of Your judgments, O LORD.

⁽⁹⁾ For You, LORD, are most high above all the earth; You are exalted far above all gods. ⁽¹⁰⁾ You who love the LORD, hate evil! He preserves the souls of His saints; He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked. ⁽¹¹⁾ Light is sown for the righteous, And gladness for the upright in heart. ⁽¹²⁾ Rejoice in the LORD, you righteous, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.

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 99

⁽¹⁾ The LORD reigns; Let the peoples tremble! He dwells between the cherubim; Let the earth be moved! ⁽²⁾ The LORD is great in Zion, And He is high above all the peoples. ⁽³⁾ Let them praise Your great and awesome name -- He is holy. ⁽⁴⁾ The King's strength also loves justice; You have established equity; You have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.

⁽⁵⁾ Exalt the LORD our God, And worship at His footstool -- He is holy. ⁽⁶⁾ Moses and Aaron were among His priests, And Samuel was among those who called upon His name; They called upon the LORD, and He answered them. ⁽⁷⁾ He spoke to them in the cloudy pillar; They kept His testimonies and the ordinance He gave them. ⁽⁸⁾ You answered them, O LORD our God; You were to them God-Who-Forgives, Though You took vengeance on their deeds.

⁽⁹⁾ Exalt the LORD our God, And worship at His holy hill; For the LORD our God is holy.

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 7

⁽¹⁰⁾ Behold, the day! Behold, it has come! Doom has gone out; The rod has blossomed, Pride has budded. ⁽¹¹⁾ Violence has risen up into a rod of wickedness; None of them shall remain, None of their multitude, None of them; Nor shall there be wailing for them. ⁽¹²⁾ The time has come, The day draws near. 'Let not the buyer rejoice, Nor the seller mourn, For wrath is on their whole multitude. ⁽¹³⁾ For the seller shall not return to what has been sold, Though he may still be alive; For the vision concerns the whole multitude, And it shall not turn back; No one will strengthen himself Who lives in iniquity.

⁽¹⁴⁾ They have blown the trumpet and made everyone ready, But no one goes to battle; For My wrath is on all their multitude. ⁽¹⁵⁾ The sword is outside, And the pestilence and famine within. Whoever is in the field Will die by the sword; And whoever is in the city, Famine and pestilence will devour him. ⁽²³⁾ Make a chain, For the land is filled with crimes of blood, And the city is full of violence. ⁽²⁴⁾ Therefore I will bring the worst of the Gentiles, And they will possess their houses; I will cause the pomp of the strong to cease, And their holy places shall be defiled. ⁽²⁵⁾ Destruction comes; They will seek peace, but there shall be none. ⁽²⁶⁾ Disaster will come upon disaster, And rumor will be upon rumor. Then they will seek a vision from a prophet; But the law will perish from the priest, And counsel from the elders.

⁽²⁷⁾ The king will mourn, The prince will be clothed with desolation, And the hands of the common people will tremble. I will do to them according to their way, And according to what they deserve I will judge them; Then they shall know that I am the LORD!' '

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Hebrews Chapter 6

⁽¹³⁾ For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, ⁽¹⁴⁾ saying, 'Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.' ⁽¹⁵⁾ And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. ⁽¹⁶⁾ For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute.

⁽¹⁷⁾ Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, ⁽¹⁸⁾ that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. ⁽¹⁹⁾ This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, ⁽²⁰⁾ where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Luke Chapter 10

⁽¹⁾ After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go. ⁽²⁾ Then He said to them, 'The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. ⁽³⁾ Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves. ⁽⁴⁾ Carry neither money bag, knapsack, nor sandals; and greet no one along the road.

⁽⁵⁾ But whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this house.' ⁽⁶⁾ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you. ⁽⁷⁾ And remain in the same house, eating and drinking such things as they give, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not go from house to house. ⁽⁸⁾ Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you.

⁽⁹⁾ And heal the sick there, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.' ⁽¹⁰⁾ But whatever city you enter, and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, ⁽¹¹⁾ The very dust of your city which clings to us we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near you.' ⁽¹²⁾ But I say to you that it will be more tolerable in that Day for Sodom than for that city.

⁽¹³⁾ Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. ⁽¹⁴⁾ But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. ⁽¹⁵⁾ And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades. ⁽¹⁶⁾ He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me.'

⁽¹⁷⁾ Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, 'Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.'

The Gospel of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

A Song to the Lamb       Revelation 4:11, 5:9 to 10, 13

Splendor and honor and kingly power
are yours by right, O Lord our God,
For you created everything that is,
and by your will they were created
  and have their being;
And yours by right, O Lamb that was slain,
for with your blood you have redeemed for God,
From every family, language, people, and nation,
a kingdom of priests to serve our God.
And so, to him who sits upon the throne,
and to Christ the Lamb,
Be worship and praise, dominion and splendor,
forever and forevermore.

The Song of Zechariah Luke 1: 68 to 79

Glory to you, Lord God of our fathers;
you are worthy of praise; glory to you.
Glory to you for the radiance of your holy Name;
we will praise you and highly exalt you forever.

Glory to you in the splendor of your temple;
on the throne of your majesty, glory to you.
Glory to you, seated between the Cherubim;
we will praise you and highly exalt you forever.

Glory to you, beholding the depths;
in the high vault of heaven, glory to you.
Glory to you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit;
we will praise you and highly exalt you 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:  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, the author of peace and lover of concord, to know you is eternal life and to serve you is perfect freedom: Defend us, your humble servants, in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in your defense, may not fear the power of any adversaries; through the might of 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. When you lack the words


Closing Prayers   Thanksgiving

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