Evening Prayer

Today is the Feast of All Saints -- Click for Readings
Ordinary Time
The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him. Habakkuk 2:20

Saint and Major Saints' Days
Their sound has gone out into all lands, and their message to the ends of the world. Psalm 19:4

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.

Nehemiah Chapter 4

⁽¹⁾ But it so happened, when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, that he was furious and very indignant, and mocked the Jews. ⁽²⁾ And he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, 'What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they complete it in a day? Will they revive the stones from the heaps of rubbish -- stones that are burned?' ⁽³⁾ Now Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, 'Whatever they build, if even a fox goes up on it, he will break down their stone wall.' ⁽⁴⁾ Hear, O our God, for we are despised; turn their reproach on their own heads, and give them as plunder to a land of captivity!

⁽⁵⁾ Do not cover their iniquity, and do not let their sin be blotted out from before You; for they have provoked You to anger before the builders. ⁽⁶⁾ So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work. ⁽⁷⁾ Now it happened, when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were being restored and the gaps were beginning to be closed, that they became very angry, ⁽⁸⁾ and all of them conspired together to come and attack Jerusalem and create confusion.

⁽⁹⁾ Nevertheless we made our prayer to our God, and because of them we set a watch against them day and night. ⁽¹⁰⁾ Then Judah said, 'The strength of the laborers is failing, and there is so much rubbish that we are not able to build the wall.' ⁽¹¹⁾ And our adversaries said, 'They will neither know nor see anything, till we come into their midst and kill them and cause the work to cease.' ⁽¹²⁾ So it was, when the Jews who dwelt near them came, that they told us ten times, 'From whatever place you turn, they will be upon us.'

⁽¹³⁾ Therefore I positioned men behind the lower parts of the wall, at the openings; and I set the people according to their families, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. ⁽¹⁴⁾ And I looked, and arose and said to the nobles, to the leaders, and to the rest of the people, 'Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.' ⁽¹⁵⁾ And it happened, when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that God had brought their plot to nothing, that all of us returned to the wall, everyone to his work. ⁽¹⁶⁾ So it was, from that time on, that half of my servants worked at construction, while the other half held the spears, the shields, the bows, and wore armor; and the leaders were behind all the house of Judah.

⁽¹⁷⁾ Those who built on the wall, and those who carried burdens, loaded themselves so that with one hand they worked at construction, and with the other held a weapon. ⁽¹⁸⁾ Every one of the builders had his sword girded at his side as he built. And the one who sounded the trumpet was beside me. ⁽¹⁹⁾ Then I said to the nobles, the rulers, and the rest of the people, 'The work is great and extensive, and we are separated far from one another on the wall. ⁽²⁰⁾ Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us.'

⁽²¹⁾ So we labored in the work, and half of the men held the spears from daybreak until the stars appeared. ⁽²²⁾ At the same time I also said to the people, 'Let each man and his servant stay at night in Jerusalem, that they may be our guard by night and a working party by day.' ⁽²³⁾ So neither I, my brethren, my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me took off our clothes, except that everyone took them off for washing.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Revelation Chapter 7

⁽⁹⁾ After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, ⁽¹⁰⁾ and crying out with a loud voice, saying, 'Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!' ⁽¹¹⁾ All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, ⁽¹²⁾ saying: 'Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, Thanksgiving and honor and power and might, Be to our God forever and ever. Amen.'

⁽¹³⁾ Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, 'Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?' ⁽¹⁴⁾ And I said to him, 'Sir, you know.' So he said to me, 'These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. ⁽¹⁵⁾ Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. ⁽¹⁶⁾ They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat;

⁽¹⁷⁾ for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.'

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Matthew Chapter 13

⁽³¹⁾ Another parable He put forth to them, saying: 'The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, ⁽³²⁾ which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.' ⁽³³⁾ Another parable He spoke to them: 'The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.' ⁽³⁴⁾ All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them,

⁽³⁵⁾ that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: 'I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world.'

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