Morning Prayer

Epiphany
From the rising of the sun to its setting my Name shall be great among the nations, and in every place incense shall be offered to my Name, and a pure offering: for my Name shall be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts. Malachi 1:11

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 Lord has shown forth his glory: Come let us adore him.

The Lessons

Psalm 131

⁽¹⁾ LORD, my heart is not haughty, Nor my eyes lofty. Neither do I concern myself with great matters, Nor with things too profound for me. ⁽²⁾ Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, Like a weaned child with his mother; Like a weaned child is my soul within me. ⁽³⁾ O Israel, hope in the LORD From this time forth and forever.

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 132

⁽¹⁾ LORD, remember David And all his afflictions; ⁽²⁾ How he swore to the LORD, And vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob: ⁽³⁾ Surely I will not go into the chamber of my house, Or go up to the comfort of my bed; ⁽⁴⁾ I will not give sleep to my eyes Or slumber to my eyelids,

⁽⁵⁾ Until I find a place for the LORD, A dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.' ⁽⁶⁾ Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah; We found it in the fields of the woods. ⁽⁷⁾ Let us go into His tabernacle; Let us worship at His footstool. ⁽⁸⁾ Arise, O LORD, to Your resting place, You and the ark of Your strength.

⁽⁹⁾ Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness, And let Your saints shout for joy. ⁽¹⁰⁾ For Your servant David's sake, Do not turn away the face of Your Anointed. ⁽¹¹⁾ The LORD has sworn in truth to David; He will not turn from it: 'I will set upon your throne the fruit of your body. ⁽¹²⁾ If your sons will keep My covenant And My testimony which I shall teach them, Their sons also shall sit upon your throne forevermore.'

⁽¹³⁾ For the LORD has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His dwelling place: ⁽¹⁴⁾ This is My resting place forever; Here I will dwell, for I have desired it. ⁽¹⁵⁾ I will abundantly bless her provision; I will satisfy her poor with bread. ⁽¹⁶⁾ I will also clothe her priests with salvation, And her saints shall shout aloud for joy.

⁽¹⁷⁾ There I will make the horn of David grow; I will prepare a lamp for My Anointed. ⁽¹⁸⁾ His enemies I will clothe with shame, But upon Himself His crown shall flourish.'

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 133

⁽¹⁾ Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity! ⁽²⁾ It is like the precious oil upon the head, Running down on the beard, The beard of Aaron, Running down on the edge of his garments. ⁽³⁾ It is like the dew of Hermon, Descending upon the mountains of Zion; For there the LORD commanded the blessing -- Life forevermore.

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.

Ruth Chapter 2

⁽¹⁴⁾ Now Boaz said to her at mealtime, 'Come here, and eat of the bread, and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar.' So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed parched grain to her; and she ate and was satisfied, and kept some back. ⁽¹⁵⁾ And when she rose up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, 'Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. ⁽¹⁶⁾ Also let grain from the bundles fall purposely for her; leave it that she may glean, and do not rebuke her.' ⁽¹⁷⁾ So she gleaned in the field until evening, and beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley.

⁽¹⁸⁾ Then she took it up and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. So she brought out and gave to her what she had kept back after she had been satisfied. ⁽¹⁹⁾ And her mother-in-law said to her, 'Where have you gleaned today? And where did you work? Blessed be the one who took notice of you.' So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked, and said, 'The man's name with whom I worked today is Boaz.' ⁽²⁰⁾ Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, 'Blessed be he of the LORD, who has not forsaken His kindness to the living and the dead!' And Naomi said to her, 'This man is a relation of ours, one of our close relatives.' ⁽²¹⁾ Ruth the Moabitess said, 'He also said to me, 'You shall stay close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.' '

⁽²²⁾ And Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, 'It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, and that people do not meet you in any other field.' ⁽²³⁾ So she stayed close by the young women of Boaz, to glean until the end of barley harvest and wheat harvest; and she dwelt with her mother-in-law.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

2 Corinthians Chapter 3

⁽¹⁾ Do we begin again to commend ourselves? Or do we need, as some others, epistles of commendation to you or letters of commendation from you? ⁽²⁾ You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; ⁽³⁾ clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart. ⁽⁴⁾ And we have such trust through Christ toward God.

⁽⁵⁾ Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, ⁽⁶⁾ who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. ⁽⁷⁾ But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, ⁽⁸⁾ how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious?

⁽⁹⁾ For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. ⁽¹⁰⁾ For even what was made glorious had no glory in this respect, because of the glory that excels. ⁽¹¹⁾ For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious. ⁽¹²⁾ Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech --

⁽¹³⁾ unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away. ⁽¹⁴⁾ But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. ⁽¹⁵⁾ But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. ⁽¹⁶⁾ Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

⁽¹⁷⁾ Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. ⁽¹⁸⁾ But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Matthew Chapter 5

⁽²⁷⁾ You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.' ⁽²⁸⁾ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ⁽²⁹⁾ If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. ⁽³⁰⁾ And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.

⁽³¹⁾ Furthermore it has been said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' ⁽³²⁾ But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery. ⁽³³⁾ Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.' ⁽³⁴⁾ But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God's throne;

⁽³⁵⁾ nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. ⁽³⁶⁾ Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. ⁽³⁷⁾ But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.' For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.

The Gospel of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.


The Song of Moses    Exodus 15:1 to 6, 11 to 13, 17 to 18

I will sing to the Lord, for he is lofty and uplifted;
the horse and its rider has he hurled into the sea.
The Lord is my strength and my refuge;
the Lord has become my Savior.
This is my God and I will praise him,
the God of my people and I will exalt him.
The Lord is a mighty warrior;
Yahweh is his Name.
The chariots of Pharoah and his army has he hurled into the sea;
the finest of those who bear armor have been drowned in the Red Sea.
The fathomless deep has overwhelmed them;
they sank into the depths like a stone.
Your right hand, O Lord, is glorious in might;
your right hand, O Lord, has overthrown the enemy.
Who can be compared with you, O Lord, among the gods?
who is like you, glorious in holiness,
awesome in renown, and worker of wonders?
You stretched forth your right hand;
the earth swallowed them up.
With your constant love you led the people you redeemed;
with your might you brought them in safety to
your holy dwelling.
You will bring them in and plant them
on the mount of your possession,
The resting-place you have made for yourself, O Lord,
the sanctuary, O Lord, that your hand has established.
The Lord shall reign forever and forever.
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:  Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany
O Lord, you have taught us that without love whatever we do is worth nothing: Send your Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts your greatest gift, which is love, the true bond of peace and of all virtue, without which whoever lives is accounted dead before you. Grant this for the sake of your only Son Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Collect of the Day: Heavenly Father, in you we live and move and have our being: We humbly pray you so to guide and govern us by your Holy Spirit, that in all the cares and occupations of our life we may not forget you, but may remember that we are ever walking in your sight; 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