Morning Prayer - April 8, 2026

Today's Readings

Psalm 97:1-12

Psalm 99:1-9

Exodus 12:40-51

1 Corinthians 15:30-41

Matthew 28:1-16

Easter Week
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:6

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

ⓘ 'Venite' is Latin for 'O Come,' the opening word of Psalm 95: Venite exultemus Domino ('O Come, let us sing to the LORD').

Psalm 95:1 to 7
Come, let us sing to the Lord;
   let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving
   and raise a loud shout to him with psalms.

For the Lord is a great God,
   and a great King above all gods.
In his hand are the caverns of the earth,
   and the heights of the hills are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it,
   and his hands have molded the dry land.

Come, let us bow down, and bend the knee,
   and kneel before the Lord our Maker.
For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.
    Oh, that today you would hearken to his voice!

The Antiphon:

ⓘ A short, reflective sentence recited alongside a psalm to deepen our understanding of the readings.

On this day the Lord has acted; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24

The Lessons

Psalm 97

⁽¹⁾ The LORD reigns; Let the earth rejoice; Let the multitude of isles be glad!⁽²⁾ Clouds and darkness surround Him; Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.⁽³⁾ A fire goes before Him, And burns up His enemies round about.⁽⁴⁾ His lightnings light the world; The earth sees and trembles.

⁽⁵⁾ The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the LORD, At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.⁽⁶⁾ The heavens declare His righteousness, And all the peoples see His glory.⁽⁷⁾ Let all be put to shame who serve carved images, Who boast of idols. Worship Him, all you gods.⁽⁸⁾ Zion hears and is glad, And the daughters of Judah rejoice Because of Your judgments, O LORD.

⁽⁹⁾ For You, LORD, are most high above all the earth; You are exalted far above all gods.⁽¹⁰⁾ You who love the LORD, hate evil! He preserves the souls of His saints; He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.⁽¹¹⁾ Light is sown for the righteous, And gladness for the upright in heart.⁽¹²⁾ Rejoice in the LORD, you righteous, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.

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 99

⁽¹⁾ The LORD reigns; Let the peoples tremble! He dwells between the cherubim; Let the earth be moved!⁽²⁾ The LORD is great in Zion, And He is high above all the peoples.⁽³⁾ Let them praise Your great and awesome name -- He is holy.⁽⁴⁾ The King's strength also loves justice; You have established equity; You have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.

⁽⁵⁾ Exalt the LORD our God, And worship at His footstool -- He is holy.⁽⁶⁾ Moses and Aaron were among His priests, And Samuel was among those who called upon His name; They called upon the LORD, and He answered them.⁽⁷⁾ He spoke to them in the cloudy pillar; They kept His testimonies and the ordinance He gave them.⁽⁸⁾ You answered them, O LORD our God; You were to them God-Who-Forgives, Though You took vengeance on their deeds.

⁽⁹⁾ Exalt the LORD our God, And worship at His holy hill; For the LORD our God is holy.

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 12

⁽⁴⁰⁾ Now the sojourn of the children of Israel who lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years.⁽⁴¹⁾ And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years -- on that very same day -- it came to pass that all the armies of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.⁽⁴²⁾ It is a night of solemn observance to the LORD for bringing them out of the land of Egypt. This is that night of the LORD, a solemn observance for all the children of Israel throughout their generations.⁽⁴³⁾ And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 'This is the ordinance of the Passover: No foreigner shall eat it.

⁽⁴⁴⁾ But every man's servant who is bought for money, when you have circumcised him, then he may eat it.⁽⁴⁵⁾ A sojourner and a hired servant shall not eat it.⁽⁴⁶⁾ In one house it shall be eaten; you shall not carry any of the flesh outside the house, nor shall you break one of its bones.⁽⁴⁷⁾ All the congregation of Israel shall keep it.

⁽⁴⁸⁾ And when a stranger dwells with you and wants to keep the Passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as a native of the land. For no uncircumcised person shall eat it.⁽⁴⁹⁾ One law shall be for the native-born and for the stranger who dwells among you.'⁽⁵⁰⁾ Thus all the children of Israel did; as the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.⁽⁵¹⁾ And it came to pass, on that very same day, that the LORD brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt according to their armies.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

1 Corinthians Chapter 15

⁽³⁰⁾ And why do we stand in jeopardy every hour?⁽³¹⁾ I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.⁽³²⁾ If, in the manner of men, I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantage is it to me? If the dead do not rise, 'Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!'⁽³³⁾ Do not be deceived: 'Evil company corrupts good habits.'

⁽³⁴⁾ Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.⁽³⁵⁾ But someone will say, 'How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?'⁽³⁶⁾ Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies.⁽³⁷⁾ And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain -- perhaps wheat or some other grain.

⁽³⁸⁾ But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body.⁽³⁹⁾ All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of animals, another of fish, and another of birds.⁽⁴⁰⁾ There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.⁽⁴¹⁾ There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Matthew Chapter 28

⁽¹⁾ Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.⁽²⁾ And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.⁽³⁾ His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.⁽⁴⁾ And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.

⁽⁵⁾ But the angel answered and said to the women, 'Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.⁽⁶⁾ He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.⁽⁷⁾ And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.'⁽⁸⁾ So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.

⁽⁹⁾ And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, 'Rejoice!' So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.⁽¹⁰⁾ Then Jesus said to them, 'Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.'⁽¹¹⁾ Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened.⁽¹²⁾ When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers,

⁽¹³⁾ saying, 'Tell them, 'His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.'⁽¹⁴⁾ And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will appease him and make you secure.'⁽¹⁵⁾ So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.⁽¹⁶⁾ Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for 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.

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

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come, thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
forever and ever. Amen.

Suffrages

ⓘ A simple prayer to God for help, mercy, or intercession, rooted in the Latin word for support.

Show us your mercy, O Lord;
And grant us your salvation.
Clothe your ministers with righteousness;
Let your people sing with joy.
Give peace, O Lord, in all the world;
For only in you can we live in safety.
Lord, keep this nation under your care;
And guide us in the way of justice and truth.
Let your way be known upon earth;
Your saving health among all nations.
Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;
Nor the hope of the poor be taken away.
Create in us clean hearts, O God;
And sustain us by your Holy Spirit.

Seasonal Collect: Wednesday in Easter Week
O God, whose blessed Son made himself known to his disciples in the breaking of bread: Open the eyes of our faith, that we may behold him in all his redeeming work; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of 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.

Closing Prayers

Thanksgiving
Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made. We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory, and, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up ourselves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen.

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