Morning Prayer

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

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.

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.

Amos Chapter 7

⁽¹⁾ Thus the Lord GOD showed me: Behold, He formed locust swarms at the beginning of the late crop; indeed it was the late crop after the king's mowings. ⁽²⁾ And so it was, when they had finished eating the grass of the land, that I said: 'O Lord GOD, forgive, I pray! Oh, that Jacob may stand, For he is small!' ⁽³⁾ So the LORD relented concerning this. 'It shall not be,' said the LORD. ⁽⁴⁾ Thus the Lord GOD showed me: Behold, the Lord GOD called for conflict by fire, and it consumed the great deep and devoured the territory.

⁽⁵⁾ Then I said: 'O Lord GOD, cease, I pray! Oh, that Jacob may stand, For he is small!' ⁽⁶⁾ So the LORD relented concerning this. 'This also shall not be,' said the Lord GOD. ⁽⁷⁾ Thus He showed me: Behold, the Lord stood on a wall made with a plumb line, with a plumb line in His hand. ⁽⁸⁾ And the LORD said to me, 'Amos, what do you see?' And I said, 'A plumb line.' Then the Lord said: 'Behold, I am setting a plumb line In the midst of My people Israel; I will not pass by them anymore.

⁽⁹⁾ The high places of Isaac shall be desolate, And the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste. I will rise with the sword against the house of Jeroboam.'

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Revelation Chapter 1

⁽¹⁾ The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants -- things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, ⁽²⁾ who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. ⁽³⁾ Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near. ⁽⁴⁾ John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne,

⁽⁵⁾ and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, ⁽⁶⁾ and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. ⁽⁷⁾ Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen. ⁽⁸⁾ I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,' says the Lord, 'who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.'

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Matthew Chapter 22

⁽²³⁾ The same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, ⁽²⁴⁾ saying: 'Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. ⁽²⁵⁾ Now there were with us seven brothers. The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother. ⁽²⁶⁾ Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh.

⁽²⁷⁾ Last of all the woman died also. ⁽²⁸⁾ Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her.' ⁽²⁹⁾ Jesus answered and said to them, 'You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. ⁽³⁰⁾ For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.

⁽³¹⁾ But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, ⁽³²⁾ I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.' ⁽³³⁾ And when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.

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