Morning Prayer

--Today is the Feast of St. Clare--
Ordinary Time
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer. Psalm 19:14

Saint and Major Saints' Days
Their sound has gone out into all lands, and their message to the ends of the world. Psalm 19:4

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

Venite
The Antiphon:

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

The mercy of the Lord is everlasting: Come let us adore him.

The Lessons

Psalm 78

⁽¹⁾ Give ear, O my people, to my law; Incline your ears to the words of my mouth. ⁽²⁾ I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old, ⁽³⁾ Which we have heard and known, And our fathers have told us. ⁽⁴⁾ We will not hide them from their children, Telling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done.

⁽⁵⁾ For He established a testimony in Jacob, And appointed a law in Israel, Which He commanded our fathers, That they should make them known to their children; ⁽⁶⁾ That the generation to come might know them, The children who would be born, That they may arise and declare them to their children, ⁽⁷⁾ That they may set their hope in God, And not forget the works of God, But keep His commandments; ⁽⁸⁾ And may not be like their fathers, A stubborn and rebellious generation, A generation that did not set its heart aright, And whose spirit was not faithful to God.

⁽⁹⁾ The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, Turned back in the day of battle. ⁽¹⁰⁾ They did not keep the covenant of God; They refused to walk in His law, ⁽¹¹⁾ And forgot His works And His wonders that He had shown them. ⁽¹²⁾ Marvelous things He did in the sight of their fathers, In the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.

⁽¹³⁾ He divided the sea and caused them to pass through; And He made the waters stand up like a heap. ⁽¹⁴⁾ In the daytime also He led them with the cloud, And all the night with a light of fire. ⁽¹⁵⁾ He split the rocks in the wilderness, And gave them drink in abundance like the depths. ⁽¹⁶⁾ He also brought streams out of the rock, And caused waters to run down like rivers.

⁽¹⁷⁾ But they sinned even more against Him By rebelling against the Most High in the wilderness. ⁽¹⁸⁾ And they tested God in their heart By asking for the food of their fancy. ⁽¹⁹⁾ Yes, they spoke against God: They said, 'Can God prepare a table in the wilderness? ⁽²⁰⁾ Behold, He struck the rock, So that the waters gushed out, And the streams overflowed. Can He give bread also? Can He provide meat for His people?'

⁽²¹⁾ Therefore the LORD heard this and was furious; So a fire was kindled against Jacob, And anger also came up against Israel, ⁽²²⁾ Because they did not believe in God, And did not trust in His salvation. ⁽²³⁾ Yet He had commanded the clouds above, And opened the doors of heaven, ⁽²⁴⁾ Had rained down manna on them to eat, And given them of the bread of heaven.

⁽²⁵⁾ Men ate angels' food; He sent them food to the full. ⁽²⁶⁾ He caused an east wind to blow in the heavens; And by His power He brought in the south wind. ⁽²⁷⁾ He also rained meat on them like the dust, Feathered fowl like the sand of the seas; ⁽²⁸⁾ And He let them fall in the midst of their camp, All around their dwellings.

⁽²⁹⁾ So they ate and were well filled, For He gave them their own desire. ⁽³⁰⁾ They were not deprived of their craving; But while their food was still in their mouths, ⁽³¹⁾ The wrath of God came against them, And slew the stoutest of them, And struck down the choice men of Israel. ⁽³²⁾ In spite of this they still sinned, AND did not believe in His wondrous works.

⁽³³⁾ Therefore their days He consumed in futility, And their years in fear. ⁽³⁴⁾ When He slew them, then they sought Him; And they returned and sought earnestly for God. ⁽³⁵⁾ Then they remembered that God was their rock, And the Most High God their Redeemer. ⁽³⁶⁾ Nevertheless they flattered Him with their mouth, And they lied to Him with their tongue;

⁽³⁷⁾ For their heart was not steadfast with Him, Nor were they faithful in His covenant. ⁽³⁸⁾ But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, And did not destroy them. Yes, many a time He turned His anger away, And did not stir up all His wrath; ⁽³⁹⁾ For He remembered that they were but flesh, A breath that passes away and does not come again.

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.

Judges Chapter 7

⁽¹⁾ Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him rose early and encamped beside the well of Harod, so that the camp of the Midianites was on the north side of them by the hill of Moreh in the valley. ⁽²⁾ And the LORD said to Gideon, 'The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me, saying, 'My own hand has saved me.' ⁽³⁾ Now therefore, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, 'Whoever is fearful and afraid, let him turn and depart at once from Mount Gilead.' ' And twenty-two thousand of the people returned, and ten thousand remained. ⁽⁴⁾ But the LORD said to Gideon, 'The people are still too many; bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you there. Then it will be, that of whom I say to you, 'This one shall go with you,' the same shall go with you; and of whomever I say to you, 'This one shall not go with you,' the same shall not go.'

⁽⁵⁾ So he brought the people down to the water. And the LORD said to Gideon, 'Everyone who laps from the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set apart by himself; likewise everyone who gets down on his knees to drink.' ⁽⁶⁾ And the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was three hundred men; but all the rest of the people got down on their knees to drink water. ⁽⁷⁾ Then the LORD said to Gideon, 'By the three hundred men who lapped I will save you, and deliver the Midianites into your hand. Let all the other people go, every man to his place.' ⁽⁸⁾ So the people took provisions and their trumpets in their hands. And he sent away all the rest of Israel, every man to his tent, and retained those three hundred men. Now the camp of Midian was below him in the valley.

⁽⁹⁾ It happened on the same night that the LORD said to him, 'Arise, go down against the camp, for I have delivered it into your hand. ⁽¹⁰⁾ But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant, ⁽¹¹⁾ and you shall hear what they say; and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.' Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outpost of the armed men who were in the camp. ⁽¹²⁾ Now the Midianites and Amalekites, all the people of the East, were lying in the valley as numerous as locusts; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the seashore in multitude.

⁽¹³⁾ And when Gideon had come, there was a man telling a dream to his companion. He said, 'I have had a dream: To my surprise, a loaf of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian; it came to a tent and struck it so that it fell and overturned, and the tent collapsed.' ⁽¹⁴⁾ Then his companion answered and said, 'This is nothing else but the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel! Into his hand God has delivered Midian and the whole camp.' ⁽¹⁵⁾ And so it was, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, that he worshiped. He returned to the camp of Israel, and said, 'Arise, for the LORD has delivered the camp of Midian into your hand.' ⁽¹⁶⁾ Then he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet into every man's hand, with empty pitchers, and torches inside the pitchers.

⁽¹⁷⁾ And he said to them, 'Look at me and do likewise; watch, and when I come to the edge of the camp you shall do as I do: ⁽¹⁸⁾ When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then you also blow the trumpets on every side of the whole camp, and say, 'The sword of the LORD and of Gideon!' '

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Acts Chapter 3

⁽¹⁾ Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. ⁽²⁾ And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple; ⁽³⁾ who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. ⁽⁴⁾ And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, 'Look at us.'

⁽⁵⁾ So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. ⁽⁶⁾ Then Peter said, 'Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.' ⁽⁷⁾ And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. ⁽⁸⁾ So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them -- walking, leaping, and praising God.

⁽⁹⁾ And all the people saw him walking and praising God. ⁽¹⁰⁾ Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. ⁽¹¹⁾ Now as the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch which is called Solomon's, greatly amazed.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

John Chapter 1

⁽¹⁹⁾ Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, 'Who are you?' ⁽²⁰⁾ He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, 'I am not the Christ.' ⁽²¹⁾ And they asked him, 'What then? Are you Elijah?' He said, 'I am not.' 'Are you the Prophet?' And he answered, 'No.' ⁽²²⁾ Then they said to him, 'Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?'

⁽²³⁾ He said: 'I am 'The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Make straight the way of the LORD,' ' as the prophet Isaiah said.' ⁽²⁴⁾ Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees. ⁽²⁵⁾ And they asked him, saying, 'Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?' ⁽²⁶⁾ John answered them, saying, 'I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know.

⁽²⁷⁾ It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.' ⁽²⁸⁾ These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

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

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David.

Through his holy prophets he promised of old,
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.

This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham,
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
Free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.

You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
To give his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.

In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

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:   Proper 13 The Sunday closest to August 3
Let your continual mercy, O Lord, cleanse and defend your Church; and, because it cannot continue in safety without your help, protect and govern it always by your goodness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. 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