Evening Prayer

--Today is the Feast of Saint Ambrose--
Advent
Watch, for you know not when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning; lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. Mark 13:35, 36

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

Venite
The Antiphon:

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

Our King and Savior now draws near: Come, let us adore him.

The Lessons

Psalm 25

⁽¹⁾ To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul. ⁽²⁾ O my God, I trust in You; Let me not be ashamed; Let not my enemies triumph over me. ⁽³⁾ Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed; Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause. ⁽⁴⁾ Show me Your ways, O LORD; Teach me Your paths.

⁽⁵⁾ Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day. ⁽⁶⁾ Remember, O LORD, Your tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses, For they are from of old. ⁽⁷⁾ Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; According to Your mercy remember me, For Your goodness' sake, O LORD. ⁽⁸⁾ Good and upright is the LORD; Therefore He teaches sinners in the way.

⁽⁹⁾ The humble He guides in justice, And the humble He teaches His way. ⁽¹⁰⁾ All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth, To such as keep His covenant and His testimonies. ⁽¹¹⁾ For Your name's sake, O LORD, Pardon my iniquity, for it is great. ⁽¹²⁾ Who is the man that fears the LORD? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses.

⁽¹³⁾ He himself shall dwell in prosperity, And his descendants shall inherit the earth. ⁽¹⁴⁾ The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him, And He will show them His covenant. ⁽¹⁵⁾ My eyes are ever toward the LORD, For He shall pluck my feet out of the net. ⁽¹⁶⁾ Turn Yourself to me, and have mercy on me, For I am desolate and afflicted.

⁽¹⁷⁾ The troubles of my heart have enlarged; Bring me out of my distresses! ⁽¹⁸⁾ Look on my affliction and my pain, And forgive all my sins. ⁽¹⁹⁾ Consider my enemies, for they are many; And they hate me with cruel hatred. ⁽²⁰⁾ Keep my soul, and deliver me; Let me not be ashamed, for I put my trust in You.

⁽²¹⁾ Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, For I wait for You. ⁽²²⁾ Redeem Israel, O God, Out of all their troubles!

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 5

⁽⁸⁾ Woe to those who join house to house; They add field to field, Till there is no place Where they may dwell alone in the midst of the land! ⁽⁹⁾ In my hearing the LORD of hosts said, 'Truly, many houses shall be desolate, Great and beautiful ones, without inhabitant. ⁽¹⁰⁾ For ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, And a homer of seed shall yield one ephah.' ⁽¹¹⁾ Woe to those who rise early in the morning, That they may follow intoxicating drink; Who continue until night, till wine inflames them!

⁽¹²⁾ The harp and the strings, The tambourine and flute, And wine are in their feasts; But they do not regard the work of the LORD, Nor consider the operation of His hands. ⁽¹⁸⁾ Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of vanity, And sin as if with a cart rope; ⁽¹⁹⁾ That say, 'Let Him make speed and hasten His work, That we may see it; And let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come, That we may know it.' ⁽²⁰⁾ Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! ⁽²¹⁾ Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, And prudent in their own sight!

⁽²²⁾ Woe to men mighty at drinking wine, Woe to men valiant for mixing intoxicating drink, ⁽²³⁾ Who justify the wicked for a bribe, And take away justice from the righteous man!

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

1 Thessalonians Chapter 5

⁽¹⁾ But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. ⁽²⁾ For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. ⁽³⁾ For when they say, 'Peace and safety!' then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. ⁽⁴⁾ But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.

⁽⁵⁾ You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. ⁽⁶⁾ Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. ⁽⁷⁾ For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. ⁽⁸⁾ But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.

⁽⁹⁾ For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, ⁽¹⁰⁾ who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. ⁽¹¹⁾ Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Luke Chapter 21

⁽²⁰⁾ But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. ⁽²¹⁾ Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. ⁽²²⁾ For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. ⁽²³⁾ But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people.

⁽²⁴⁾ And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. ⁽²⁵⁾ And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; ⁽²⁶⁾ men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of heaven will be shaken. ⁽²⁷⁾ Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

⁽²⁸⁾ Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.'

The Gospel of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

The Song of the Redeemed       Revelation 15:3 to 4  
O ruler of the universe, Lord God,
great deeds are they that you have done,
  surpassing human understanding.
Your ways are ways of righteousness and truth,
 O King of all the ages.

Who can fail to do you homage, Lord,
and sing the praises of your Name?
  for you only are the Holy One.
All nations will draw near
and fall down before you,
  because your just and holy works have been revealed.
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.

The First Song of Isaiah       Isaiah 12:2 to 6
 
Surely, it is God who saves me;
  I will trust in him and not be afraid.
For the Lord is my stronghold
and my sure defense,
  and he will be my Savior.
Therefore you shall draw water with rejoicing
  from the springs of salvation.
And on that day you shall say,
  Give thanks to the Lord and call upon his Name;
Make his deeds known among the peoples;
  see that they remember that his Name is exalted.
Sing the praises of the Lord,
for he has done great things,
  and this is known in all the world.
Cry aloud, inhabitants of Zion, ring out your joy,
  for the great one in the midst of you is the Holy One of Israel.
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.


The Third Song of Isaiah       Isaiah 60:1 to 3, 11a, 14c, 18 to 19
Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has dawned upon you.
For behold, darkness covers the land;
deep gloom enshrouds the peoples.
But over you the Lord will rise,
and his glory will appear upon you.
Nations will stream to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawning.
Your gates will always be open;
by day or night they will never be shut.
They will call you, The City of the Lord,
The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
Violence will no more be heard in your land,
ruin or destruction within your borders.
You will call your walls, Salvation,
and all your portals, Praise.
The sun will no more be your light by day;
by night you will not need the brightness of the moon.
The Lord will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your glory.
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.


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:  Second Sunday of Advent
Merciful God, who sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Collect of the Day: O God, the King eternal, whose light divides the day from the night and turns the shadow of death into the morning: Drive far from us all wrong desires, incline our hearts to keep your law, and guide our feet into the way of peace; that, having done your will with cheerfulness while it was day, we may, when night comes, rejoice to give you thanks; 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