Morning Prayer

Lent
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us; but if we confess our sins, God who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:8, 9

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 119

⁽⁴⁹⁾ Remember the word to Your servant, Upon which You have caused me to hope. ⁽⁵⁰⁾ This is my comfort in my affliction, For Your word has given me life. ⁽⁵¹⁾ The proud have me in great derision, Yet I do not turn aside from Your law. ⁽⁵²⁾ I remembered Your judgments of old, O LORD, And have comforted myself.

⁽⁵³⁾ Indignation has taken hold of me Because of the wicked, who forsake Your law. ⁽⁵⁴⁾ Your statutes have been my songs In the house of my pilgrimage. ⁽⁵⁵⁾ I remember Your name in the night, O LORD, And I keep Your law. ⁽⁵⁶⁾ This has become mine, Because I kept Your precepts.

⁽⁵⁷⁾ You are my portion, O LORD; I have said that I would keep Your words. ⁽⁵⁸⁾ I entreated Your favor with my whole heart; Be merciful to me according to Your word. ⁽⁵⁹⁾ I thought about my ways, And turned my feet to Your testimonies. ⁽⁶⁰⁾ I made haste, and did not delay To keep Your commandments.

⁽⁶¹⁾ The cords of the wicked have bound me, But I have not forgotten Your law. ⁽⁶²⁾ At midnight I will rise to give thanks to You, Because of Your righteous judgments. ⁽⁶³⁾ I am a companion of all who fear You, And of those who keep Your precepts. ⁽⁶⁴⁾ The earth, O LORD, is full of Your mercy; Teach me Your statutes.

⁽⁶⁵⁾ You have dealt well with Your servant, O LORD, according to Your word. ⁽⁶⁶⁾ Teach me good judgment and knowledge, For I believe Your commandments. ⁽⁶⁷⁾ Before I was afflicted I went astray, But now I keep Your word. ⁽⁶⁸⁾ You are good, and do good; Teach me Your statutes.

⁽⁶⁹⁾ The proud have forged a lie against me, But I will keep Your precepts with my whole heart. ⁽⁷⁰⁾ Their heart is as fat as grease, But I delight in Your law. ⁽⁷¹⁾ It is good for me that I have been afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes. ⁽⁷²⁾ The law of Your mouth is better to me Than thousands of coins of gold and silver.

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.

Genesis Chapter 37

⁽²⁵⁾ And they sat down to eat a meal. Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry them down to Egypt. ⁽²⁶⁾ So Judah said to his brothers, 'What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? ⁽²⁷⁾ Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh.' And his brothers listened. ⁽²⁸⁾ Then Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.

⁽²⁹⁾ Then Reuben returned to the pit, and indeed Joseph was not in the pit; and he tore his clothes. ⁽³⁰⁾ And he returned to his brothers and said, 'The lad is no more; and I, where shall I go?' ⁽³¹⁾ So they took Joseph's tunic, killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood. ⁽³²⁾ Then they sent the tunic of many colors, and they brought it to their father and said, 'We have found this. Do you know whether it is your son's tunic or not?'

⁽³³⁾ And he recognized it and said, 'It is my son's tunic. A wild beast has devoured him. Without doubt Joseph is torn to pieces.' ⁽³⁴⁾ Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days. ⁽³⁵⁾ And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said, 'For I shall go down into the grave to my son in mourning.' Thus his father wept for him. ⁽³⁶⁾ Now the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

1 Corinthians Chapter 2

⁽¹⁾ And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. ⁽²⁾ For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. ⁽³⁾ I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. ⁽⁴⁾ And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,

⁽⁵⁾ that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. ⁽⁶⁾ However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. ⁽⁷⁾ But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, ⁽⁸⁾ which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

⁽⁹⁾ But as it is written: 'Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.' ⁽¹⁰⁾ But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. ⁽¹¹⁾ For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. ⁽¹²⁾ Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

⁽¹³⁾ These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Mark Chapter 1

⁽²⁹⁾ Now as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. ⁽³⁰⁾ But Simon's wife's mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once. ⁽³¹⁾ So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her. And she served them. ⁽³²⁾ At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed.

⁽³³⁾ And the whole city was gathered together at the door. ⁽³⁴⁾ Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him. ⁽³⁵⁾ Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed. ⁽³⁶⁾ And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him.

⁽³⁷⁾ When they found Him, they said to Him, 'Everyone is looking for You.' ⁽³⁸⁾ But He said to them, 'Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth.' ⁽³⁹⁾ And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons. ⁽⁴⁰⁾ Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, 'If You are willing, You can make me clean.'

⁽⁴¹⁾ Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, 'I am willing; be cleansed.' ⁽⁴²⁾ As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed. ⁽⁴³⁾ And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once, ⁽⁴⁴⁾ and said to him, 'See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.'

⁽⁴⁵⁾ However, he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every direction.

The Gospel of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.


Glory to God        
Glory to God in the highest,
and peace to his people on earth.

Lord God, heavenly King,
almighty God and Father,
we worship you, we give you thanks,
we praise you for your glory.

Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father,
Lord God, Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world:
have mercy on us;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father:
receive our prayer.

For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High,
Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God the Father. Amen.


A Song of Penitence Prayer of Manasseh 1 to 2, 4, 6 to 7, 11 to 15
O Lord and Ruler of the hosts of heaven,
God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
and of all their righteous offspring:
You made the heavens and the earth,
with all their vast array.
All things quake with fear at your presence;
they tremble because of your power.
But your merciful promise is beyond all measure;
it surpasses all that our minds can fathom.
O Lord, you are full of compassion,
long-suffering, and abounding in mercy.
You hold back your hand;
you do not punish as we deserve.
In your great goodness, Lord,
you have promised forgiveness to sinners,
that they may repent of their sin and be saved.
And now, O Lord, I bend the knee of my heart,
and make my appeal, sure of your gracious goodness.
I have sinned, O Lord, I have sinned,
and I know my wickedness only too well.
Therefore I make this prayer to you:
Forgive me, Lord, forgive me.
Do not let me perish in my sin,
nor condemn me to the depths of the earth.
For you, O Lord, are the God of those who repent,
and in me you will show forth your goodness.
Unworthy as I am, you will save me,
in accordance with your great mercy,
and I will praise you without ceasing all the days of my life.
For all the powers of heaven sing your praises,
and yours is the glory to ages of ages. 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:  First Sunday in Lent
Almighty God, whose blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan: Come quickly to help us who are assaulted by many temptations; and, as you know the weaknesses of each of us, let each one find you mighty to save; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Collect of the Day: Lord God, almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought us in safety to this new day: Preserve us with your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Prayer for Mission: Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace: So clothe us in your Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you; for the honor of your Name. 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

Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine: Glory to him from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20,21