Morning Prayer

Easter
Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:57

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
The Antiphon:

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

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Colossian 3:1

The Lessons

Psalm 37

⁽¹⁾ Do not fret because of evildoers, Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. ⁽²⁾ For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, And wither as the green herb. ⁽³⁾ Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. ⁽⁴⁾ Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

⁽⁵⁾ Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass. ⁽⁶⁾ He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday. ⁽⁷⁾ Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. ⁽⁸⁾ Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret -- it only causes harm.

⁽⁹⁾ For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the LORD, They shall inherit the earth. ⁽¹⁰⁾ For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; Indeed, you will look carefully for his place, But it shall be no more. ⁽¹¹⁾ But the meek shall inherit the earth, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. ⁽¹²⁾ The wicked plots against the just, And gnashes at him with his teeth.

⁽¹³⁾ The Lord laughs at him, For He sees that his day is coming. ⁽¹⁴⁾ The wicked have drawn the sword And have bent their bow, To cast down the poor and needy, To slay those who are of upright conduct. ⁽¹⁵⁾ Their sword shall enter their own heart, And their bows shall be broken. ⁽¹⁶⁾ A little that a righteous man has Is better than the riches of many wicked.

⁽¹⁷⁾ For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, But the LORD upholds the righteous. ⁽¹⁸⁾ The LORD knows the days of the upright, And their inheritance shall be forever.

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.

Daniel Chapter 5

⁽¹³⁾ Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king spoke, and said to Daniel, 'Are you that Daniel who is one of the captives from Judah, whom my father the king brought from Judah? ⁽¹⁴⁾ I have heard of you, that the Spirit of God is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. ⁽¹⁵⁾ Now the wise men, the astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, but they could not give the interpretation of the thing. ⁽¹⁶⁾ And I have heard of you, that you can give interpretations and explain enigmas. Now if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, you shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.'

⁽¹⁷⁾ Then Daniel answered, and said before the king, 'Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another; yet I will read the writing to the king, and make known to him the interpretation. ⁽¹⁸⁾ O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father a kingdom and majesty, glory and honor. ⁽¹⁹⁾ And because of the majesty that He gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whomever he wished, he executed; whomever he wished, he kept alive; whomever he wished, he set up; and whomever he wished, he put down. ⁽²⁰⁾ But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him.

⁽²¹⁾ Then he was driven from the sons of men, his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. They fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and appoints over it whomever He chooses. ⁽²²⁾ But you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, although you knew all this. ⁽²³⁾ And you have lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines, have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which do not see or hear or know; and the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified. ⁽²⁴⁾ Then the fingers of the hand were sent from Him, and this writing was written.

⁽²⁵⁾ And this is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. ⁽²⁶⁾ This is the interpretation of each word. MENE: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it; ⁽²⁷⁾ TEKEL: You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting; ⁽²⁸⁾ PERES: Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.'

⁽²⁹⁾ Then Belshazzar gave the command, and they clothed Daniel with purple and put a chain of gold around his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. ⁽³⁰⁾ That very night Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was slain.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

1 John Chapter 5

⁽¹³⁾ These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. ⁽¹⁴⁾ Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. ⁽¹⁵⁾ And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. ⁽¹⁶⁾ If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that.

⁽¹⁷⁾ All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death. ⁽¹⁸⁾ We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him. ⁽¹⁹⁾ We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one. ⁽²⁰⁾ And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.

⁽²¹⁾ Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Luke Chapter 5

⁽¹⁾ So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, ⁽²⁾ and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. ⁽³⁾ Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. ⁽⁴⁾ When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, 'Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.'

⁽⁵⁾ But Simon answered and said to Him, 'Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.' ⁽⁶⁾ And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. ⁽⁷⁾ So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. ⁽⁸⁾ When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, 'Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!'

⁽⁹⁾ For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; ⁽¹⁰⁾ and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, 'Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.' ⁽¹¹⁾ So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.

The Gospel of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.


The Song of Moses    Exodus 15:1 to 6, 11 to 13, 17 to 18

I will sing to the Lord, for he is lofty and uplifted;
the horse and its rider has he hurled into the sea.
The Lord is my strength and my refuge;
the Lord has become my Savior.
This is my God and I will praise him,
the God of my people and I will exalt him.
The Lord is a mighty warrior;
Yahweh is his Name.
The chariots of Pharoah and his army has he hurled into the sea;
the finest of those who bear armor have been drowned in the Red Sea.
The fathomless deep has overwhelmed them;
they sank into the depths like a stone.
Your right hand, O Lord, is glorious in might;
your right hand, O Lord, has overthrown the enemy.
Who can be compared with you, O Lord, among the gods?
who is like you, glorious in holiness,
awesome in renown, and worker of wonders?
You stretched forth your right hand;
the earth swallowed them up.
With your constant love you led the people you redeemed;
with your might you brought them in safety to
your holy dwelling.
You will bring them in and plant them
on the mount of your possession,
The resting-place you have made for yourself, O Lord,
the sanctuary, O Lord, that your hand has established.
The Lord shall reign forever and forever.
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:  Third Sunday of Easter
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: Heavenly Father, in you we live and move and have our being: We humbly pray you so to guide and govern us by your Holy Spirit, that in all the cares and occupations of our life we may not forget you, but may remember that we are ever walking in your sight; 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