Morning Prayer

Easter Week
Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow which was brought upon me, whom the Lord hath afflicted. Lamentations 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.

Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow which was brought upon me, whom the Lord has afflicted.

The Lessons

Psalm 95

⁽¹⁾ Oh come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. ⁽²⁾ Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. ⁽³⁾ For the LORD is the great God, And the great King above all gods. ⁽⁴⁾ In His hand are the deep places of the earth; The heights of the hills are His also.

⁽⁵⁾ The sea is His, for He made it; And His hands formed the dry land. ⁽⁶⁾ Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. ⁽⁷⁾ For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture, And the sheep of His hand. Today, if you will hear His voice: ⁽⁸⁾ Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, As in the day of trial in the wilderness,

⁽⁹⁾ When your fathers tested Me; They tried Me, though they saw My work. ⁽¹⁰⁾ For forty years I was grieved with that generation, And said, 'It is a people who go astray in their hearts, And they do not know My ways.' ⁽¹¹⁾ So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest.' '

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 22

⁽¹⁾ My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, And from the words of My groaning? ⁽²⁾ O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear; And in the night season, and am not silent. ⁽³⁾ But You are holy, Enthroned in the praises of Israel. ⁽⁴⁾ Our fathers trusted in You; They trusted, and You delivered them.

⁽⁵⁾ They cried to You, and were delivered; They trusted in You, and were not ashamed. ⁽⁶⁾ But I am a worm, and no man; A reproach of men, and despised by the people. ⁽⁷⁾ All those who see Me ridicule Me; They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, ⁽⁸⁾ He trusted in the LORD, let Him rescue Him; Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!'

⁽⁹⁾ But You are He who took Me out of the womb; You made Me trust while on My mother's breasts. ⁽¹⁰⁾ I was cast upon You from birth. From My mother's womb You have been My God. ⁽¹¹⁾ Be not far from Me, For trouble is near; For there is none to help. ⁽¹²⁾ Many bulls have surrounded Me; Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me.

⁽¹³⁾ They gape at Me with their mouths, Like a raging and roaring lion. ⁽¹⁴⁾ I am poured out like water, And all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It has melted within Me. ⁽¹⁵⁾ My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death. ⁽¹⁶⁾ For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet;

⁽¹⁷⁾ I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me. ⁽¹⁸⁾ They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots. ⁽¹⁹⁾ But You, O LORD, do not be far from Me; O My Strength, hasten to help Me! ⁽²⁰⁾ Deliver Me from the sword, My precious life from the power of the dog.

⁽²¹⁾ Save Me from the lion's mouth And from the horns of the wild oxen! You have answered Me. ⁽²²⁾ I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will praise You. ⁽²³⁾ You who fear the LORD, praise Him! All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him, And fear Him, all you offspring of Israel! ⁽²⁴⁾ For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; Nor has He hidden His face from Him; But when He cried to Him, He heard.

⁽²⁵⁾ My praise shall be of You in the great assembly; I will pay My vows before those who fear Him. ⁽²⁶⁾ The poor shall eat and be satisfied; Those who seek Him will praise the LORD. Let your heart live forever! ⁽²⁷⁾ All the ends of the world Shall remember and turn to the LORD, And all the families of the nations Shall worship before You. ⁽²⁸⁾ For the kingdom is the LORD's, And He rules over the nations.

⁽²⁹⁾ All the prosperous of the earth Shall eat and worship; All those who go down to the dust Shall bow before Him, Even he who cannot keep himself alive. ⁽³⁰⁾ A posterity shall serve Him. It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation, ⁽³¹⁾ They will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born, That He has done this.

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.

Wisdom Chapter 1

⁽¹⁶⁾ Ungodly people have brought death on themselves by the things they have said and done. They yearn for death as if it were a lover. They have gone into partnership with death, and it is just what they deserve. ⁽¹⁾ Wicked people are wrong when they say to themselves, 'Our life is short and full of sorrow, and when its end comes, there is no escape. No one has ever been known to come back from the world of the dead. ⁽¹²⁾ Righteous people are nothing but a nuisance, so let's look for chances to get rid of them. They are against what we do; they accuse us of breaking the Law of Moses and violating the traditions of our ancestors. ⁽¹³⁾ They claim to know God, and they call themselves the Lord's children. ⁽¹⁴⁾ We can't stand the sight of people like that; what they are contradicts our whole way of thinking. ⁽¹⁵⁾ They are not like other people; they have strange ways.

⁽¹⁶⁾ They think that our moral standards are so corrupt that everything we do should be avoided. They boast of having God for their Father, and believe that when all is said and done, only the righteous will be happy. ⁽¹⁷⁾ But we'll see if that's true! Let's see what will happen when it's time for them to die! ⁽¹⁸⁾ If the righteous really are God's children, God will save them from their enemies. ⁽¹⁹⁾ So let's put them to the test. We'll be cruel to them, and torment them; then we'll find out how calm and reasonable they are! We'll find out just how much they can stand!

⁽²⁰⁾ We'll condemn them to a shameful death. After all, they say that God will protect them.' ⁽²¹⁾ That is how evil people think, but they are wrong. They are blinded by their own wickedness. ⁽²²⁾ They have never known God's secrets, never hoped for the rewards of a holy and blameless life.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

1 Peter Chapter 1

⁽¹⁰⁾ Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, ⁽¹¹⁾ searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. ⁽¹²⁾ To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven -- things which angels desire to look into. ⁽¹³⁾ Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

⁽¹⁴⁾ as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; ⁽¹⁵⁾ but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, ⁽¹⁶⁾ because it is written, 'Be holy, for I am holy.' ⁽¹⁷⁾ And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear;

⁽¹⁸⁾ knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, ⁽¹⁹⁾ but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. ⁽²⁰⁾ He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

John Chapter 13

⁽³⁶⁾ Simon Peter said to Him, 'Lord, where are You going?' Jesus answered him, 'Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward.' ⁽³⁷⁾ Peter said to Him, 'Lord, why can I not follow You now? I will lay down my life for Your sake.' ⁽³⁸⁾ Jesus answered him, 'Will you lay down your life for My sake? Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times.

The Gospel of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

The Second Song of Isaiah      Isaiah 55:6 to 11

Seek the Lord while he wills to be found;
call upon him when he draws near.
Let the wicked forsake their ways
and the evil ones their thoughts;
And let them turn to the Lord, and he will have compassion,
and to our God, for he will richly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor your ways my ways, says the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways,
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
For as rain and snow fall from the heavens
and return not again, but water the earth,
Bringing forth life and giving growth,
seed for sowing and bread for eating,
So is my word that goes forth from my mouth;
it will not return to me empty;
But it will accomplish that which I have purposed,
and prosper in that for which I sent it.
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:  Good Friday
Almighty God, we pray you graciously to behold this your family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed, and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death upon the cross; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

Collect of the Day: Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through 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