Morning Prayer

Easter
Christ has entered, not into a sanctuary made with hands, a copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Hebrews 9:24

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.

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

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.

Wisdom Chapter 7

⁽¹⁾ Like every human being, I am mortal. I am a descendant of that first man, who was made from the soil. I was conceived from the seed of a man, in the pleasure of intercourse. For nine months my flesh took shape in the blood of my mother's womb. ⁽³⁾ When I was born, I came into the world like anyone else. I began to breathe the same air we all breathe; and like everyone else, the first sound I made was a cry. ⁽⁴⁾ I was wrapped in cloths and cared for. ⁽⁵⁾ No king ever began life differently.

⁽⁶⁾ For all of us, there is one way into life, and there is one way out. ⁽⁷⁾ Realizing that I was only human, I prayed and was given understanding. The spirit of Wisdom came to me. ⁽⁸⁾ I regarded her more highly than any throne or crown. Wealth was nothing compared to her. ⁽⁹⁾ Precious jewels could not equal her worth; beside Wisdom all the gold in the world is a handful of sand, and silver is nothing more than clay.

⁽¹⁰⁾ I valued her more than health and good looks. Hers is a brightness that never grows dim, and I preferred it to any other light. ⁽¹¹⁾ When Wisdom came to me, all good things came with her. She brought me untold riches. ⁽¹²⁾ I was happy with them all, because Wisdom had brought them to me. I had not realized before that she was the source of all these things. ⁽¹³⁾ I was sincere in learning from her, and now I am glad to share what I learned.

⁽¹⁴⁾ No one can ever exhaust the treasures of Wisdom. Use those treasures and you are God's friends; he approves of what you learn from her.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Colossians Chapter 3

⁽¹²⁾ Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; ⁽¹³⁾ bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. ⁽¹⁴⁾ But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. ⁽¹⁵⁾ And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.

⁽¹⁶⁾ Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. ⁽¹⁷⁾ And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Luke Chapter 7

⁽¹⁸⁾ Then the disciples of John reported to him concerning all these things. ⁽¹⁹⁾ And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to Jesus, saying, 'Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?' ⁽²⁰⁾ When the men had come to Him, they said, 'John the Baptist has sent us to You, saying, 'Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?' ' ⁽²¹⁾ And that very hour He cured many of infirmities, afflictions, and evil spirits; and to many blind He gave sight.

⁽²²⁾ Jesus answered and said to them, 'Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. ⁽²³⁾ And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.' ⁽²⁴⁾ When the messengers of John had departed, He began to speak to the multitudes concerning John: 'What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? ⁽²⁵⁾ But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed those who are gorgeously appareled and live in luxury are in kings' courts.

⁽²⁶⁾ But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet. ⁽²⁷⁾ This is he of whom it is written: 'Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.' ⁽²⁸⁾ For I say to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.' ⁽²⁹⁾ And when all the people heard Him, even the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John.

⁽³⁰⁾ But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him. ⁽³¹⁾ And the Lord said, 'To what then shall I liken the men of this generation, and what are they like? ⁽³²⁾ They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, saying: 'We played the flute for you, And you did not dance; We mourned to you, And you did not weep.' ⁽³³⁾ For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, 'He has a demon.'

⁽³⁴⁾ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' ⁽³⁵⁾ But wisdom is justified by all her children.'

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 People of God

Let the people of God glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him forever.
Glorify the Lord,
O priests and servants of 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:  Fourth Sunday of Easter
O God, whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of your people: Grant that when we hear his voice we may know him who calls us each by name, and follow where he leads; who, with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, 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