O Lord, open our lips
Alland our mouth shall
proclaim your praise.
Hear our voice, O Lord, according to your faithful love,
Allaccording to your judgement
give us life.
One or more of the following is said or sung:
this or another prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, God of compassion and mercy,
to you be praise and glory for ever.
In the darkness of our sin,
your light breaks forth like the dawn
and your healing springs up for deliverance.
As we rejoice in the gift of your saving help,
sustain us with your bountiful Spirit
and open our lips to sing your praise.
Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
AllBlessed be God for ever.
a suitable hymn, or A Song of Penitence
1Have mercy on me, O
God, in your great goodness; •
according to the abundance of your compassion
blot out my offences.
2Wash me thoroughly from
my wickedness •
and cleanse me from my sin.
3For I acknowledge my
faults •
and my sin is ever before me.
4Against you only have
I sinned •
and done what is evil in your sight,
5So that you are justified
in your sentence •
and righteous in your judgement.
6Cast me not away from
your presence •
and take not your holy spirit from me.
7Give me again the joy
of your salvation •
and sustain me with your gracious spirit;
8Then shall I teach your
ways to the wicked •
and sinners shall return to you.
9Deliver me from my guilt,
O God,
the God of my salvation, •
and my tongue shall sing of your righteousness.
Psalm 51.1-5, 12-15
AllGlory to the Father and
to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.
This opening prayer may be said
The night has passed, and the day lies open before us;
let us pray with one heart and mind.
Silence is kept.
As we rejoice in the gift of this new day,
so may the light of your presence, O God,
set our hearts on fire with love for you;
now and for ever.
AllAmen.
The appointed psalmody is said.
Refrain: Give
me justice, O Lord my God,
according to your righteousness.
1 Contend, O Lord, with those that contend with me; •
fight against those that fight against me.
2 Take up shield and buckler •
and rise up to help me.
3 Draw the spear and bar the way
against those who pursue me; •
say to my soul, ‘I am your salvation.’
4 Let those who seek after my life be shamed and disgraced; •
let those who plot my ruin fall back and be put to confusion.
5 Let them be as chaff before the wind, •
with the angel of the Lord thrusting them down.
6 Let their way be dark and slippery, •
with the angel of the Lord pursuing them. R
7 For they have secretly spread a net for me without a cause; •
without any cause they have dug a pit for my soul.
8 Let ruin come upon them unawares; •
let them be caught in the net they laid;
let them fall in it to their destruction.
9 Then will my soul be joyful in the Lord •
and glory in his salvation.
10 My very bones will say, ‘Lord, who is like you? •
You deliver the poor from those that are too strong for them,
the poor and needy from those who would despoil them.’ R
11 False witnesses rose up against me; •
they charged me with things I knew not.
12 They rewarded me evil for good, •
to the desolation of my soul.
13 But as for me, when they were sick I put on sackcloth •
and humbled myself with fasting;
14 When my prayer returned empty to my bosom, •
it was as though I grieved for my friend or brother;
15 I behaved as one who mourns for his mother, •
bowed down and brought very low. R
16 But when I stumbled, they gathered in delight;
they gathered together against me; •
as if they were strangers I did not know
they tore at me without ceasing.
17 When I fell they mocked me; •
they gnashed at me with their teeth.
18 O Lord, how long will you look on? •
Rescue my soul from their ravages,
and my poor life from the young lions.
19 I will give you thanks in the great congregation; •
I will praise you in the mighty throng. R
20 Do not let my treacherous foes rejoice over me, •
or those who hate me without a cause
mock me with their glances.
21 For they do not speak of peace, •
but invent deceitful schemes against those
that are quiet in the land.
22 They opened wide their mouths and derided me, saying •
‘We have seen it with our very eyes.’
23 This you have seen, O Lord; do not keep silent; •
go not far from me, O Lord.
24 Awake, arise, to my cause, •
to my defence, my God and my Lord!
25 Give me justice, O Lord my God,
according to your righteousness; •
let them not triumph over me. R
26 Let them not say to themselves,
‘Our heart’s desire!’ •
Let them not say, ‘We have swallowed him up.’
27 Let all who rejoice at my trouble be put to shame and confusion; •
let those who boast against me
be clothed with shame and dishonour.
28 Let those who favour my cause rejoice and be glad; •
let them say always,
‘Great is the Lord, who delights in his servant’s well-being.’
29 So shall my tongue be talking of your righteousness •
and of your praise all the day long.
Refrain: Give
me justice, O Lord my God,
according to your righteousness.
Free us, righteous God, from all oppression,
and bring justice to the nations,
that all the world may know you
as King of kings and Lord of lords,
now and for ever.
Each psalm or group of psalms may end with
AllGlory to the Father and
to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.
If there are two Scripture readings, the first may be read here, or both may be read after the canticle.
My joy is gone, grief is upon me,
my heart is sick.
Hark, the cry of my poor people
from far and wide in the land:
‘Is the Lord not in Zion?
Is her King not in her?’
(‘Why have they provoked me to anger with their images,
with their foreign idols?’)
‘The harvest is past, the summer is ended,
and we are not saved.’
For the hurt of my poor people I am hurt,
I mourn, and dismay has taken hold of me.
Is there no balm in Gilead?
Is there no physician there?
Why then has the health of my poor people
not been restored?
and my eyes a fountain of tears,
so that I might weep day and night
for the slain of my poor people!
a traveller’s lodging-place,
that I might leave my people
and go away from them!
For they are all adulterers,
a band of traitors.
They bend their tongues like bows;
they have grown strong in the land for falsehood, and not for truth;
for they proceed from evil to evil,
and they do not know me, says the Lord.
Beware of your neighbours,
and put no trust in any of your kin;
for all your kin are supplanters,
and every neighbour goes around like a slanderer.
They all deceive their neighbours,
and no one speaks the truth;
they have taught their tongues to speak lies;
they commit iniquity and are too weary to repent.
Oppression upon oppression, deceit upon deceit!
They refuse to know me, says the Lord.
Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts:
I will now refine and test them,
for what else can I do with my sinful people?
Their tongue is a deadly arrow;
it speaks deceit through the mouth.
They all speak friendly words to their neighbours,
but inwardly are planning to lay an ambush.
Shall I not punish them for these things? says the Lord;
and shall I not bring retribution
on a nation such as this?
Take up weeping and wailing for the mountains,
and a lamentation for the pastures of the wilderness,
because they are laid waste so that no one passes through,
and the lowing of cattle is not heard;
both the birds of the air and the animals
have fled and are gone.
I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins,
a lair of jackals;
and I will make the towns of Judah a desolation
without inhabitant.
The Song of Manasseh, or another suitable canticle, for example, number 20 (page 570), number 33 (page 584) or number 41 (page 592), may be said
Refrain:
AllFull of compassion and mercy
and love
is God, the Most High, the Almighty. Alleluia.
1Lord almighty and God
of our ancestors, •
you who made heaven and earth in all their glory:
2All things tremble with
awe at your presence, •
before your great and mighty power.
3Immeasurable and unsearchable
is your promised mercy, •
for you are God, Most High.
4You are full of compassion,
long-suffering and very merciful, •
and you relent at human suffering.
5O God, according to
your great goodness, •
you have promised forgiveness for repentance
to those who have sinned against you.
6The sins I have committed
against you •
are more in number than the sands of the sea.
7I am not worthy to look
up to the height of heaven, •
because of the multitude of my iniquities.
8And now I bend the knee
of my heart before you, •
imploring your kindness upon me.
9I have sinned, O God,
I have sinned, •
and I acknowledge my transgressions.
10Unworthy as I am, you
will save me, •
according to your great mercy.
11For all the host of
heaven sings your praise, •
and your glory is for ever and ever.
Manasseh 1a, 2, 4, 6, 7a, b, 9a, c, 11, 12, 14b, 15b
AllGlory to the Father and
to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.
AllFull of compassion and mercy
and love
is God, the Most High, the Almighty. Alleluia.
One or more readings appointed for the day are read.
The reading(s) may be followed by a time of silence.
When many of his disciples heard it, they said, ‘This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?’ But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, ‘Does this offend you? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But among you there are some who do not believe.’ For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him. And he said, ‘For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.’
Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him.
So Jesus asked the twelve, ‘Do you also wish to go away?’
Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life.
We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.’
Jesus answered them, ‘Did I not choose you, the twelve? Yet one of you is a devil.’
He was speaking of Judas son of Simon Iscariot, for he, though one of the twelve, was going to betray him.
A suitable song or chant, or a responsory in this or another form, may follow
To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul;
AllO my God, in you I trust.
You are the God of my salvation,
AllTo you, O Lord, I lift
up my soul.
In you I hope all the day long.
AllO my God, in you I trust.
Remember, Lord, your compassion and love,
for they are from everlasting.
AllTo you, O Lord, I lift
up my soul;
O my God, in you I trust.
from Psalm 25
The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah) is normally said,
or Saviour of the World (page
644) may be said
Refrain:
AllBlessed are those who hunger
and thirst for righteousness,
for they shall be satisfied.
1Blessed be the Lord
the God of Israel, •
who has come to his people and set them free.
2He has raised up for
us a mighty Saviour, •
born of the house of his servant David.
3Through his holy prophets
God promised of old •
to save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all that hate us,
4To show mercy to our
ancestors, •
and to remember his holy covenant.
5This was the oath God
swore to our father Abraham: •
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
6Free to worship him
without fear, •
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
7And you, child, shall
be called the prophet of the Most High, •
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
8To give his people knowledge
of salvation •
by the forgiveness of all their sins.
9In the tender compassion
of our God •
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
10To shine on those who
dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, •
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Luke 1.68-79
AllGlory to the Father and
to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.
Refrain:
AllBlessed are those who hunger
and thirst for righteousness,
for they shall be satisfied.
Intercessions are offered
¶ for the day and its tasks
¶ for the world and its needs
¶ for the Church and her life
The cycle on pages 364–365 and the prayer on page 377 may be used.
These responses may be used
Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer
(or)
Lord, hear us.
Lord, graciously hear us.
Silence may be kept.
The Collect of the day is said
Almighty God,
you show to those who are in error the light of your truth,
that they may return to the way of righteousness:
grant to all those who are admitted
into the fellowship of Christ's religion,
that they may reject those things
that are contrary to their profession,
and follow all such things as are agreeable to the same;
through our Lord Jesus Christ,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
AllAmen.
The Lord’s Prayer is said
Trusting in the compassion of God,
as our Saviour taught us, so we pray
AllOur Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Amen.
(or)
Trusting in the compassion of God,
let us pray with confidence as our Saviour has taught us
AllOur Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
May God our Redeemer show us compassion and love.
AllAmen.
Let us bless the Lord. Alleluia, alleluia.
AllThanks be to God. Alleluia, alleluia.
Implemented by Simon Kershaw at
Crucix.
Implementation copyright © Simon Kershaw, 2002-2011.