Morning Prayer

--Today is the Feast of Saint Patrick--
Lent
Rend your hearts and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and repents of evil. Joel 2:13

Saint and Major Saints' Days
We give thanks to the Father, who has made us worthy to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. Colossians 1:12

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 56

⁽¹⁾ Be merciful to me, O God, for man would swallow me up; Fighting all day he oppresses me. ⁽²⁾ My enemies would hound me all day, For there are many who fight against me, O Most High. ⁽³⁾ Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You. ⁽⁴⁾ In God (I will praise His word), In God I have put my trust; I will not fear. What can flesh do to me?

⁽⁵⁾ All day they twist my words; All their thoughts are against me for evil. ⁽⁶⁾ They gather together, They hide, they mark my steps, When they lie in wait for my life. ⁽⁷⁾ Shall they escape by iniquity? In anger cast down the peoples, O God! ⁽⁸⁾ You number my wanderings; Put my tears into Your bottle; Are they not in Your book?

⁽⁹⁾ When I cry out to You, Then my enemies will turn back; This I know, because God is for me. ⁽¹⁰⁾ In God (I will praise His word), In the LORD (I will praise His word), ⁽¹¹⁾ In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? ⁽¹²⁾ Vows made to You are binding upon me, O God; I will render praises to You,

⁽¹³⁾ For You have delivered my soul from death. Have You not kept my feet from falling, That I may walk before God In the light of the living?

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 57

⁽¹⁾ Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me! For my soul trusts in You; And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, Until these calamities have passed by. ⁽²⁾ I will cry out to God Most High, To God who performs all things for me. ⁽³⁾ He shall send from heaven and save me; He reproaches the one who would swallow me up. Selah God shall send forth His mercy and His truth. ⁽⁴⁾ My soul is among lions; I lie among the sons of men Who are set on fire, Whose teeth are spears and arrows, And their tongue a sharp sword.

⁽⁵⁾ Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; Let Your glory be above all the earth. ⁽⁶⁾ They have prepared a net for my steps; My soul is bowed down; They have dug a pit before me; Into the midst of it they themselves have fallen. Selah ⁽⁷⁾ My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and give praise. ⁽⁸⁾ Awake, my glory! Awake, lute and harp! I will awaken the dawn.

⁽⁹⁾ I will praise You, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing to You among the nations. ⁽¹⁰⁾ For Your mercy reaches unto the heavens, And Your truth unto the clouds. ⁽¹¹⁾ Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; Let Your glory be above all the earth.

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 1

⁽¹¹⁾ Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 'Jeremiah, what do you see?' And I said, 'I see a branch of an almond tree.' ⁽¹²⁾ Then the LORD said to me, 'You have seen well, for I am ready to perform My word.' ⁽¹³⁾ And the word of the LORD came to me the second time, saying, 'What do you see?' And I said, 'I see a boiling pot, and it is facing away from the north.' ⁽¹⁴⁾ Then the LORD said to me: 'Out of the north calamity shall break forth On all the inhabitants of the land.

⁽¹⁵⁾ For behold, I am calling All the families of the kingdoms of the north,' says the LORD; 'They shall come and each one set his throne At the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, Against all its walls all around, And against all the cities of Judah. ⁽¹⁶⁾ I will utter My judgments Against them concerning all their wickedness, Because they have forsaken Me, Burned incense to other gods, And worshiped the works of their own hands. ⁽¹⁷⁾ Therefore prepare yourself and arise, And speak to them all that I command you. Do not be dismayed before their faces, Lest I dismay you before them. ⁽¹⁸⁾ For behold, I have made you this day A fortified city and an iron pillar, And bronze walls against the whole land -- Against the kings of Judah, Against its princes, Against its priests, And against the people of the land.

⁽¹⁹⁾ They will fight against you, But they shall not prevail against you. For I am with you,' says the LORD, 'to deliver you.'

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Romans Chapter 1

⁽¹⁾ Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God ⁽²⁾ which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, ⁽³⁾ concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, ⁽⁴⁾ and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.

⁽⁵⁾ Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, ⁽⁶⁾ among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; ⁽⁷⁾ To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ⁽⁸⁾ First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.

⁽⁹⁾ For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, ⁽¹⁰⁾ making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you. ⁽¹¹⁾ For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established -- ⁽¹²⁾ that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.

⁽¹³⁾ Now I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you (but was hindered until now), that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among the other Gentiles. ⁽¹⁴⁾ I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise. ⁽¹⁵⁾ So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

John Chapter 4

⁽²⁷⁾ And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, 'What do You seek?' or, 'Why are You talking with her?' ⁽²⁸⁾ The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, ⁽²⁹⁾ Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?' ⁽³⁰⁾ Then they went out of the city and came to Him.

⁽³¹⁾ In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, 'Rabbi, eat.' ⁽³²⁾ But He said to them, 'I have food to eat of which you do not know.' ⁽³³⁾ Therefore the disciples said to one another, 'Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?' ⁽³⁴⁾ Jesus said to them, 'My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.

⁽³⁵⁾ Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! ⁽³⁶⁾ And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. ⁽³⁷⁾ For in this the saying is true: 'One sows and another reaps.' ⁽³⁸⁾ I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors.'

⁽³⁹⁾ And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, 'He told me all that I ever did.' ⁽⁴⁰⁾ So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. ⁽⁴¹⁾ And many more believed because of His own word. ⁽⁴²⁾ Then they said to the woman, 'Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.'

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 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 in Lent
O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious to all who have gone astray from your ways, and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of your Word, Jesus Christ your Son; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, forever and ever. 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