Morning Prayer

Lent
I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' Luke 15:18, 19

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.

The Lord is full of compassion and mercy: Come let us adore him.

The Lessons

Psalm 95

⁽¹⁾ Oh come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. ⁽²⁾ Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. ⁽³⁾ For the LORD is the great God, And the great King above all gods. ⁽⁴⁾ In His hand are the deep places of the earth; The heights of the hills are His also.

⁽⁵⁾ The sea is His, for He made it; And His hands formed the dry land. ⁽⁶⁾ Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. ⁽⁷⁾ For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture, And the sheep of His hand. Today, if you will hear His voice: ⁽⁸⁾ Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, As in the day of trial in the wilderness,

⁽⁹⁾ When your fathers tested Me; They tried Me, though they saw My work. ⁽¹⁰⁾ For forty years I was grieved with that generation, And said, 'It is a people who go astray in their hearts, And they do not know My ways.' ⁽¹¹⁾ So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest.' '

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 88

⁽¹⁾ O LORD, God of my salvation, I have cried out day and night before You. ⁽²⁾ Let my prayer come before You; Incline Your ear to my cry. ⁽³⁾ For my soul is full of troubles, And my life draws near to the grave. ⁽⁴⁾ I am counted with those who go down to the pit; I am like a man who has no strength,

⁽⁵⁾ Adrift among the dead, Like the slain who lie in the grave, Whom You remember no more, And who are cut off from Your hand. ⁽⁶⁾ You have laid me in the lowest pit, In darkness, in the depths. ⁽⁷⁾ Your wrath lies heavy upon me, And You have afflicted me with all Your waves. Selah ⁽⁸⁾ You have put away my acquaintances far from me; You have made me an abomination to them; I am shut up, and I cannot get out;

⁽⁹⁾ My eye wastes away because of affliction. LORD, I have called daily upon You; I have stretched out my hands to You. ⁽¹⁰⁾ Will You work wonders for the dead? Shall the dead arise and praise You? Selah ⁽¹¹⁾ Shall Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave? Or Your faithfulness in the place of destruction? ⁽¹²⁾ Shall Your wonders be known in the dark? And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

⁽¹³⁾ But to You I have cried out, O LORD, And in the morning my prayer comes before You. ⁽¹⁴⁾ LORD, why do You cast off my soul? Why do You hide Your face from me? ⁽¹⁵⁾ I have been afflicted and ready to die from my youth; I suffer Your terrors; I am distraught. ⁽¹⁶⁾ Your fierce wrath has gone over me; Your terrors have cut me off.

⁽¹⁷⁾ They came around me all day long like water; They engulfed me altogether. ⁽¹⁸⁾ Loved one and friend You have put far from me, And my acquaintances into darkness.

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.

Jeremiah Chapter 11

⁽¹⁾ The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, ⁽²⁾ Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem; ⁽³⁾ and say to them, 'Thus says the LORD God of Israel: 'Cursed is the man who does not obey the words of this covenant ⁽⁴⁾ which I commanded your fathers in the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, 'Obey My voice, and do according to all that I command you; so shall you be My people, and I will be your God,'

⁽⁵⁾ that I may establish the oath which I have sworn to your fathers, to give them 'a land flowing with milk and honey,' as it is this day.' ' ' And I answered and said, 'So be it, LORD.' ⁽⁶⁾ Then the LORD said to me, 'Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying: 'Hear the words of this covenant and do them. ⁽⁷⁾ For I earnestly exhorted your fathers in the day I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, until this day, rising early and exhorting, saying, 'Obey My voice.' ⁽⁸⁾ Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone followed the dictates of his evil heart; therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but which they have not done.' '

⁽¹⁴⁾ So do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer for them; for I will not hear them in the time that they cry out to Me because of their trouble. ⁽¹⁵⁾ What has My beloved to do in My house, Having done lewd deeds with many? And the holy flesh has passed from you. When you do evil, then you rejoice. ⁽¹⁶⁾ The LORD called your name, Green Olive Tree, Lovely and of Good Fruit. With the noise of a great tumult He has kindled fire on it, And its branches are broken. ⁽¹⁷⁾ For the LORD of hosts, who planted you, has pronounced doom against you for the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have done against themselves to provoke Me to anger in offering incense to Baal.'

⁽¹⁸⁾ Now the LORD gave me knowledge of it, and I know it; for You showed me their doings. ⁽¹⁹⁾ But I was like a docile lamb brought to the slaughter; and I did not know that they had devised schemes against me, saying, 'Let us destroy the tree with its fruit, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be remembered no more.' ⁽²⁰⁾ But, O LORD of hosts, You who judge righteously, Testing the mind and the heart, Let me see Your vengeance on them, For to You I have revealed my cause.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Romans Chapter 6

⁽¹⁾ What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? ⁽²⁾ Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? ⁽³⁾ Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? ⁽⁴⁾ Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

⁽⁵⁾ For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, ⁽⁶⁾ knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. ⁽⁷⁾ For he who has died has been freed from sin. ⁽⁸⁾ Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,

⁽⁹⁾ knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. ⁽¹⁰⁾ For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. ⁽¹¹⁾ Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

John Chapter 8

⁽³³⁾ They answered Him, 'We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can you say, 'You will be made free'?' ⁽³⁴⁾ Jesus answered them, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. ⁽³⁵⁾ And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. ⁽³⁶⁾ Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

⁽³⁷⁾ I know that you are Abraham's descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. ⁽³⁸⁾ I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father.' ⁽³⁹⁾ They answered and said to Him, 'Abraham is our father.' Jesus said to them, 'If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham. ⁽⁴⁰⁾ But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this.

⁽⁴¹⁾ You do the deeds of your father.' Then they said to Him, 'We were not born of fornication; we have one Father -- God.' ⁽⁴²⁾ Jesus said to them, 'If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. ⁽⁴³⁾ Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. ⁽⁴⁴⁾ You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.

⁽⁴⁵⁾ But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. ⁽⁴⁶⁾ Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? ⁽⁴⁷⁾ He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.'

The Gospel of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

The Second Song of Isaiah      Isaiah 55:6 to 11

Seek the Lord while he wills to be found;
call upon him when he draws near.
Let the wicked forsake their ways
and the evil ones their thoughts;
And let them turn to the Lord, and he will have compassion,
and to our God, for he will richly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor your ways my ways, says the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways,
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
For as rain and snow fall from the heavens
and return not again, but water the earth,
Bringing forth life and giving growth,
seed for sowing and bread for eating,
So is my word that goes forth from my mouth;
it will not return to me empty;
But it will accomplish that which I have purposed,
and prosper in that for which I sent it.
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.


A Song of Penitence Prayer of Manasseh 1 to 2, 4, 6 to 7, 11 to 15
O Lord and Ruler of the hosts of heaven,
God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
and of all their righteous offspring:
You made the heavens and the earth,
with all their vast array.
All things quake with fear at your presence;
they tremble because of your power.
But your merciful promise is beyond all measure;
it surpasses all that our minds can fathom.
O Lord, you are full of compassion,
long-suffering, and abounding in mercy.
You hold back your hand;
you do not punish as we deserve.
In your great goodness, Lord,
you have promised forgiveness to sinners,
that they may repent of their sin and be saved.
And now, O Lord, I bend the knee of my heart,
and make my appeal, sure of your gracious goodness.
I have sinned, O Lord, I have sinned,
and I know my wickedness only too well.
Therefore I make this prayer to you:
Forgive me, Lord, forgive me.
Do not let me perish in my sin,
nor condemn me to the depths of the earth.
For you, O Lord, are the God of those who repent,
and in me you will show forth your goodness.
Unworthy as I am, you will save me,
in accordance with your great mercy,
and I will praise you without ceasing all the days of my life.
For all the powers of heaven sing your praises,
and yours is the glory to ages of ages. 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:  Third Sunday in Lent
Almighty God, you know that we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; 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, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through 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