Morning Prayer

Lent
Jesus said, 'If anyone will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.' Mark 8:34

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 121

⁽¹⁾ I will lift up my eyes to the hills -- From whence comes my help? ⁽²⁾ My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth. ⁽³⁾ He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. ⁽⁴⁾ Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep.

⁽⁵⁾ The LORD is your keeper; The LORD is your shade at your right hand. ⁽⁶⁾ The sun shall not strike you by day, Nor the moon by night. ⁽⁷⁾ The LORD shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. ⁽⁸⁾ The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in From this time forth, and even forevermore.

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 122

⁽¹⁾ I was glad when they said to me, 'Let us go into the house of the LORD.' ⁽²⁾ Our feet have been standing Within your gates, O Jerusalem! ⁽³⁾ Jerusalem is built As a city that is compact together, ⁽⁴⁾ Where the tribes go up, The tribes of the LORD, To the Testimony of Israel, To give thanks to the name of the LORD.

⁽⁵⁾ For thrones are set there for judgment, The thrones of the house of David. ⁽⁶⁾ Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: 'May they prosper who love you. ⁽⁷⁾ Peace be within your walls, Prosperity within your palaces.' ⁽⁸⁾ For the sake of my brethren and companions, I will now say, 'Peace be within you.'

⁽⁹⁾ Because of the house of the LORD our God I will seek your good.

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 123

⁽¹⁾ Unto You I lift up my eyes, O You who dwell in the heavens. ⁽²⁾ Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, So our eyes look to the LORD our God, Until He has mercy on us. ⁽³⁾ Have mercy on us, O LORD, have mercy on us! For we are exceedingly filled with contempt. ⁽⁴⁾ Our soul is exceedingly filled With the scorn of those who are at ease, With the contempt of the proud.

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 25

⁽⁸⁾ Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: 'Because you have not heard My words, ⁽⁹⁾ behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,' says the LORD, 'and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land, against its inhabitants, and against these nations all around, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, a hissing, and perpetual desolations. ⁽¹⁰⁾ Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp. ⁽¹¹⁾ And this whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

⁽¹²⁾ Then it will come to pass, when seventy years are completed, that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity,' says the LORD; 'and I will make it a perpetual desolation. ⁽¹³⁾ So I will bring on that land all My words which I have pronounced against it, all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah has prophesied concerning all the nations. ⁽¹⁴⁾ (For many nations and great kings shall be served by them also; and I will repay them according to their deeds and according to the works of their own hands.)' ' ⁽¹⁵⁾ For thus says the LORD God of Israel to me: 'Take this wine cup of fury from My hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send you, to drink it.

⁽¹⁶⁾ And they will drink and stagger and go mad because of the sword that I will send among them.' ⁽¹⁷⁾ Then I took the cup from the LORD's hand, and made all the nations drink, to whom the LORD had sent me:

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Romans Chapter 10

⁽¹⁾ Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. ⁽²⁾ For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. ⁽³⁾ For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. ⁽⁴⁾ For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

⁽⁵⁾ For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, 'The man who does those things shall live by them.' ⁽⁶⁾ But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, 'Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?' ' (that is, to bring Christ down from above) ⁽⁷⁾ or, ' 'Who will descend into the abyss?' ' (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). ⁽⁸⁾ But what does it say? 'The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart' (that is, the word of faith which we preach):

⁽⁹⁾ that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. ⁽¹⁰⁾ For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. ⁽¹¹⁾ For the Scripture says, 'Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.' ⁽¹²⁾ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him.

⁽¹³⁾ For 'whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.'

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

John Chapter 9

⁽¹⁸⁾ But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight. ⁽¹⁹⁾ And they asked them, saying, 'Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?' ⁽²⁰⁾ His parents answered them and said, 'We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; ⁽²¹⁾ but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know. He is of age; ask him. He will speak for himself.'

⁽²²⁾ His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue. ⁽²³⁾ Therefore his parents said, 'He is of age; ask him.' ⁽²⁴⁾ So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him, 'Give God the glory! We know that this Man is a sinner.' ⁽²⁵⁾ He answered and said, 'Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.'

⁽²⁶⁾ Then they said to him again, 'What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?' ⁽²⁷⁾ He answered them, 'I told you already, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?' ⁽²⁸⁾ Then they reviled him and said, 'You are His disciple, but we are Moses' disciples. ⁽²⁹⁾ We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from.'

⁽³⁰⁾ The man answered and said to them, 'Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes! ⁽³¹⁾ Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him. ⁽³²⁾ Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. ⁽³³⁾ If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing.'

⁽³⁴⁾ They answered and said to him, 'You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?' And they cast him out. ⁽³⁵⁾ Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, 'Do you believe in the Son of God?' ⁽³⁶⁾ He answered and said, 'Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?' ⁽³⁷⁾ And Jesus said to him, 'You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you.'

⁽³⁸⁾ Then he said, 'Lord, I believe!' And he worshiped Him. ⁽³⁹⁾ And Jesus said, 'For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.' ⁽⁴⁰⁾ Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, 'Are we blind also?' ⁽⁴¹⁾ Jesus said to them, 'If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.' Therefore your sin remains.

The Gospel of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

A Song to the Lamb       Revelation 4:11, 5:9 to 10, 13

Splendor and honor and kingly power
are yours by right, O Lord our God,
For you created everything that is,
and by your will they were created
  and have their being;
And yours by right, O Lamb that was slain,
for with your blood you have redeemed for God,
From every family, language, people, and nation,
a kingdom of priests to serve our God.
And so, to him who sits upon the throne,
and to Christ the Lamb,
Be worship and praise, dominion and splendor,
forever and forevermore.

The Song of Zechariah Luke 1: 68 to 79

Glory to you, Lord God of our fathers;
you are worthy of praise; glory to you.
Glory to you for the radiance of your holy Name;
we will praise you and highly exalt you forever.

Glory to you in the splendor of your temple;
on the throne of your majesty, glory to you.
Glory to you, seated between the Cherubim;
we will praise you and highly exalt you forever.

Glory to you, beholding the depths;
in the high vault of heaven, glory to you.
Glory to you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit;
we will praise you and highly exalt you 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:  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: O God, the author of peace and lover of concord, to know you is eternal life and to serve you is perfect freedom: Defend us, your humble servants, in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in your defense, may not fear the power of any adversaries; through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Prayer for Mission: O God, you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth, and sent your blessed Son to preach peace to those who are far off and to those who are near: Grant that people everywhere may seek after you and find you; bring the nations into your fold; pour out your Spirit upon all flesh; and hasten the coming of your kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. 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

May the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Romans 15:13