Morning Prayer

Today is the Feast of The Annunciation -- Click for Readings
Lent
Jesus said, 'If anyone will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.' Mark 8:34

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.

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

The Lessons

Psalm 119

⁽¹⁴⁵⁾ I cry out with my whole heart; Hear me, O LORD! I will keep Your statutes. ⁽¹⁴⁶⁾ I cry out to You; Save me, and I will keep Your testimonies. ⁽¹⁴⁷⁾ I rise before the dawning of the morning, And cry for help; I hope in Your word. ⁽¹⁴⁸⁾ My eyes are awake through the night watches, That I may meditate on Your word.

⁽¹⁴⁹⁾ Hear my voice according to Your lovingkindness; O LORD, revive me according to Your justice. ⁽¹⁵⁰⁾ They draw near who follow after wickedness; They are far from Your law. ⁽¹⁵¹⁾ You are near, O LORD, And all Your commandments are truth. ⁽¹⁵²⁾ Concerning Your testimonies, I have known of old that You have founded them forever.

⁽¹⁵³⁾ Consider my affliction and deliver me, For I do not forget Your law. ⁽¹⁵⁴⁾ Plead my cause and redeem me; Revive me according to Your word. ⁽¹⁵⁵⁾ Salvation is far from the wicked, For they do not seek Your statutes. ⁽¹⁵⁶⁾ Great are Your tender mercies, O LORD; Revive me according to Your judgments.

⁽¹⁵⁷⁾ Many are my persecutors and my enemies, Yet I do not turn from Your testimonies. ⁽¹⁵⁸⁾ I see the treacherous, and am disgusted, Because they do not keep Your word. ⁽¹⁵⁹⁾ Consider how I love Your precepts; Revive me, O LORD, according to Your lovingkindness. ⁽¹⁶⁰⁾ The entirety of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.

⁽¹⁶¹⁾ Princes persecute me without a cause, But my heart stands in awe of Your word. ⁽¹⁶²⁾ I rejoice at Your word As one who finds great treasure. ⁽¹⁶³⁾ I hate and abhor lying, But I love Your law. ⁽¹⁶⁴⁾ Seven times a day I praise You, Because of Your righteous judgments.

⁽¹⁶⁵⁾ Great peace have those who love Your law, And nothing causes them to stumble. ⁽¹⁶⁶⁾ LORD, I hope for Your salvation, And I do Your commandments. ⁽¹⁶⁷⁾ My soul keeps Your testimonies, And I love them exceedingly. ⁽¹⁶⁸⁾ I keep Your precepts and Your testimonies, For all my ways are before You.

⁽¹⁶⁹⁾ Let my cry come before You, O LORD; Give me understanding according to Your word. ⁽¹⁷⁰⁾ Let my supplication come before You; Deliver me according to Your word. ⁽¹⁷¹⁾ My lips shall utter praise, For You teach me Your statutes. ⁽¹⁷²⁾ My tongue shall speak of Your word, For all Your commandments are righteousness.

⁽¹⁷³⁾ Let Your hand become my help, For I have chosen Your precepts. ⁽¹⁷⁴⁾ I long for Your salvation, O LORD, And Your law is my delight. ⁽¹⁷⁵⁾ Let my soul live, and it shall praise You; And let Your judgments help me. ⁽¹⁷⁶⁾ I have gone astray like a lost sheep; Seek Your servant, For I do not forget Your commandments.

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.

Exodus Chapter 7

⁽⁸⁾ Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ⁽⁹⁾ When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, 'Show a miracle for yourselves,' then you shall say to Aaron, 'Take your rod and cast it before Pharaoh, and let it become a serpent.' ' ⁽¹⁰⁾ So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and they did so, just as the LORD commanded. And Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent. ⁽¹¹⁾ But Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers; so the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments.

⁽¹²⁾ For every man threw down his rod, and they became serpents. But Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods. ⁽¹³⁾ And Pharaoh's heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the LORD had said. ⁽¹⁴⁾ So the LORD said to Moses: 'Pharaoh's heart is hard; he refuses to let the people go. ⁽¹⁵⁾ Go to Pharaoh in the morning, when he goes out to the water, and you shall stand by the river's bank to meet him; and the rod which was turned to a serpent you shall take in your hand.

⁽¹⁶⁾ And you shall say to him, 'The LORD God of the Hebrews has sent me to you, saying, 'Let My people go, that they may serve Me in the wilderness'; but indeed, until now you would not hear! ⁽¹⁷⁾ Thus says the LORD: 'By this you shall know that I am the LORD. Behold, I will strike the waters which are in the river with the rod that is in my hand, and they shall be turned to blood. ⁽¹⁸⁾ And the fish that are in the river shall die, the river shall stink, and the Egyptians will loathe to drink the water of the river.' ' ' ⁽¹⁹⁾ Then the LORD spoke to Moses, 'Say to Aaron, 'Take your rod and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their streams, over their rivers, over their ponds, and over all their pools of water, that they may become blood. And there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in buckets of wood and pitchers of stone.' '

⁽²⁰⁾ And Moses and Aaron did so, just as the LORD commanded. So he lifted up the rod and struck the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants. And all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood. ⁽²¹⁾ The fish that were in the river died, the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink the water of the river. So there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. ⁽²²⁾ Then the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments; and Pharaoh's heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the LORD had said. ⁽²³⁾ And Pharaoh turned and went into his house. Neither was his heart moved by this.

⁽²⁴⁾ So all the Egyptians dug all around the river for water to drink, because they could not drink the water of the river.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

2 Corinthians Chapter 2

⁽¹⁴⁾ Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. ⁽¹⁵⁾ For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. ⁽¹⁶⁾ To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things? ⁽¹⁷⁾ For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ.

⁽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.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Mark Chapter 10

⁽¹⁾ Then He arose from there and came to the region of Judea by the other side of the Jordan. And multitudes gathered to Him again, and as He was accustomed, He taught them again. ⁽²⁾ The Pharisees came and asked Him, 'Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?' testing Him. ⁽³⁾ And He answered and said to them, 'What did Moses command you?' ⁽⁴⁾ They said, 'Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to dismiss her.'

⁽⁵⁾ And Jesus answered and said to them, 'Because of the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. ⁽⁶⁾ But from the beginning of the creation, God 'made them male and female.' ⁽⁷⁾ For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, ⁽⁸⁾ and the two shall become one flesh'; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh.

⁽⁹⁾ Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.' ⁽¹⁰⁾ In the house His disciples also asked Him again about the same matter. ⁽¹¹⁾ So He said to them, 'Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. ⁽¹²⁾ And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.'

⁽¹³⁾ Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. ⁽¹⁴⁾ But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, 'Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. ⁽¹⁵⁾ Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.' ⁽¹⁶⁾ And He took them up in His arms, put His hands on them, and blessed them.

The Gospel of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.


Glory to God        
Glory to God in the highest,
and peace to his people on earth.

Lord God, heavenly King,
almighty God and Father,
we worship you, we give you thanks,
we praise you for your glory.

Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father,
Lord God, Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world:
have mercy on us;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father:
receive our prayer.

For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High,
Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God the Father. 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:  Fifth Sunday in Lent
Almighty God, you alone can bring into order the unruly wills and affections of sinners: Grant your people grace to love what you command and desire what you promise; that, among the swift and varied changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Collect of the Day: Lord God, almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought us in safety to this new day: Preserve us with your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose; 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