Morning Prayer

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

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.

Christ has entered, not a sanctuary made with hands, a copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Hebrews 9:24

The Lessons

Psalm 71

⁽¹⁾ In You, O LORD, I put my trust; Let me never be put to shame. ⁽²⁾ Deliver me in Your righteousness, and cause me to escape; Incline Your ear to me, and save me. ⁽³⁾ Be my strong refuge, To which I may resort continually; You have given the commandment to save me, For You are my rock and my fortress. ⁽⁴⁾ Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, Out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.

⁽⁵⁾ For You are my hope, O Lord GOD; You are my trust from my youth. ⁽⁶⁾ By You I have been upheld from birth; You are He who took me out of my mother's womb. My praise shall be continually of You. ⁽⁷⁾ I have become as a wonder to many, But You are my strong refuge. ⁽⁸⁾ Let my mouth be filled with Your praise And with Your glory all the day.

⁽⁹⁾ Do not cast me off in the time of old age; Do not forsake me when my strength fails. ⁽¹⁰⁾ For my enemies speak against me; And those who lie in wait for my life take counsel together, ⁽¹¹⁾ Saying, 'God has forsaken him; Pursue and take him, for there is none to deliver him.' ⁽¹²⁾ O God, do not be far from me; O my God, make haste to help me!

⁽¹³⁾ Let them be confounded and consumed Who are adversaries of my life; Let them be covered with reproach and dishonor Who seek my hurt. ⁽¹⁴⁾ But I will hope continually, And will praise You yet more and more. ⁽¹⁵⁾ My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness And Your salvation all the day, For I do not know their limits. ⁽¹⁶⁾ I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD; I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only.

⁽¹⁷⁾ O God, You have taught me from my youth; And to this day I declare Your wondrous works. ⁽¹⁸⁾ Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, do not forsake me, Until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to everyone who is to come. ⁽¹⁹⁾ Also Your righteousness, O God, is very high, You who have done great things; O God, who is like You? ⁽²⁰⁾ You, who have shown me great and severe troubles, Shall revive me again, And bring me up again from the depths of the earth.

⁽²¹⁾ You shall increase my greatness, And comfort me on every side. ⁽²²⁾ Also with the lute I will praise you -- And Your faithfulness, O my God! To You I will sing with the harp, O Holy One of Israel. ⁽²³⁾ My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing to You, And my soul, which You have redeemed. ⁽²⁴⁾ My tongue also shall talk of Your righteousness all the day long; For they are confounded, For they are brought to shame Who seek my hurt.

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 14

⁽²⁷⁾ The worship of idols, whose names should never be spoken, is the beginning and the end, the cause and the result of every evil. ⁽²⁸⁾ People who worship them lose control of themselves in ecstasy, or pass off lies as prophecies, or live wickedly, or break their word without hesitation. ⁽²⁹⁾ They tell lies under oath and expect no punishment, because the idols they put their trust in are lifeless ⁽³⁰⁾ But punishment will finally catch up with them, for two reasons first, they were in error about God when they worshiped idols, and second, they had so little regard for holiness that they made false statements to deceive people.

⁽³¹⁾ When unrighteous people commit sin, they will be hunted down, not by the power of whatever thing they swear by, but by the punishment that sinners deserve. ⁽¹⁾ But you, our God, are kind and true and patient. You rule the universe with mercy. ⁽²⁾ Even if we sin, we know your power and are still yours. But because we know that we belong to you, we will not sin. ⁽³⁾ Knowing you is perfect righteousness. Recognizing your power is where immortality begins.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Romans Chapter 14

⁽¹⁾ Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. ⁽²⁾ For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. ⁽³⁾ Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. ⁽⁴⁾ Who are you to judge another's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.

⁽⁵⁾ One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. ⁽⁶⁾ He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks. ⁽⁷⁾ For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. ⁽⁸⁾ For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's.

⁽⁹⁾ For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. ⁽¹⁰⁾ But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. ⁽¹¹⁾ For it is written: 'As I live, says the LORD, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God.' ⁽¹²⁾ So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Luke Chapter 8

⁽²⁶⁾ Then they sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee. ⁽²⁷⁾ And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time. And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs. ⁽²⁸⁾ When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, 'What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!' ⁽²⁹⁾ For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness.

⁽³⁰⁾ Jesus asked him, saying, 'What is your name?' And he said, 'Legion,' because many demons had entered him. ⁽³¹⁾ And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss. ⁽³²⁾ Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain. So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them. And He permitted them. ⁽³³⁾ Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned.

⁽³⁴⁾ When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. ⁽³⁵⁾ Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. ⁽³⁶⁾ They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was healed. ⁽³⁷⁾ Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. And He got into the boat and returned.

⁽³⁸⁾ Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying, ⁽³⁹⁾ Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you.' And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for 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:  Fifth Sunday of Easter
Almighty God, whom truly to know is everlasting life: Grant us so perfectly to know your Son Jesus Christ to be the way, the truth, and the life, that we may steadfastly follow his steps in the way that leads to eternal life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. 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