MORNING PRAYER Monday, 8 December 2014 Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary Preparation O Lord, open our lips and our mouth shall proclaim your praise. Reveal among us the light of your presence that we may behold your power and glory. One or more of the following is said or sung: this or another prayer of thanksgiving Blessed are you, Sovereign God of all, to you be praise and glory for ever. In your tender compassion the dawn from on high is breaking upon us to dispel the lingering shadows of night. As we look for your coming among us this day, open our eyes to behold your presence and strengthen our hands to do your will, that the world may rejoice and give you praise. Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Blessed be God for ever. a suitable hymn, or A Song of the King’s Glory The earth is the Lord’s and all that fills it, • the compass of the world and all who dwell therein. For he has founded it upon the seas • and set it firm upon the rivers of the deep. ‘Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord, • or who can rise up in his holy place?’ ‘Those who have clean hands and a pure heart, • who have not lifted up their soul to an idol, nor sworn an oath to a lie; ‘They shall receive a blessing from the Lord, • a just reward from the God of their salvation.’ Such is the company of those who seek him, • of those who seek your face, O God of Jacob. Lift up your heads, O gates; be lifted up, you everlasting doors; • and the King of glory shall come in. ‘Who is the King of glory?’ • ‘The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord who is mighty in battle.’ Lift up your heads, O gates; be lifted up, you everlasting doors; • and the King of glory shall come in. ‘Who is this King of glory?’ • ‘The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory.’ Psalm 24 Glory 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. Amen. The Word of God Psalmody The appointed psalmody is said. Psalm 44 Rise up, O Lord, to help us. We have heard with our ears, O God, our forebears have told us, • all that you did in their days, in time of old; How with your hand you drove out nations and planted us in, • and broke the power of peoples and set us free. For not by their own sword did our ancestors take the land • nor did their own arm save them, But your right hand, your arm, and the light of your countenance, • because you were gracious to them. R You are my King and my God, • who commanded salvation for Jacob. Through you we drove back our adversaries; • through your name we trod down our foes. For I did not trust in my bow; • it was not my own sword that saved me; It was you that saved us from our enemies • and put our adversaries to shame. We gloried in God all the day long, • and were ever praising your name. R But now you have rejected us and brought us to shame • and go not out with our armies. You have made us turn our backs on our enemies, • and our enemies have despoiled us. You have made us like sheep to be slaughtered, • and have scattered us among the nations. You have sold your people for a pittance • and made no profit on their sale. You have made us the taunt of our neighbours, • the scorn and derision of those that are round about us. You have made us a byword among the nations; • among the peoples they wag their heads. R My confusion is daily before me, • and shame has covered my face, At the taunts of the slanderer and reviler, • at the sight of the enemy and avenger. All this has come upon us, though we have not forgotten you • and have not played false to your covenant. Our hearts have not turned back, • nor our steps gone out of your way, Yet you have crushed us in the haunt of jackals, • and covered us with the shadow of death. If we have forgotten the name of our God, • or stretched out our hands to any strange god, Will not God search it out? • For he knows the secrets of the heart. But for your sake are we killed all the day long, • and are counted as sheep for the slaughter. R Rise up! Why sleep, O Lord? • Awake, and do not reject us for ever. Why do you hide your face • and forget our grief and oppression? Our soul is bowed down to the dust; • our belly cleaves to the earth. Rise up, O Lord, to help us • and redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love. Rise up, O Lord, to help us. In the darkness of unknowing, when your love seems absent, draw near to us, O God, in Christ forsaken, in Christ risen, our Redeemer and our Lord. Each psalm or group of psalms may end with Glory 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. Isaiah 45.14-end Thus says the Lord: The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Ethiopia, and the Sabeans, tall of stature, shall come over to you and be yours, they shall follow you; they shall come over in chains and bow down to you. They will make supplication to you, saying, ‘God is with you alone, and there is no other; there is no god besides him.’ Truly, you are a God who hides himself, O God of Israel, the Saviour. All of them are put to shame and confounded, the makers of idols go in confusion together. But Israel is saved by the Lord with everlasting salvation; you shall not be put to shame or confounded to all eternity. For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens (he is God!), who formed the earth and made it (he established it; he did not create it a chaos, he formed it to be inhabited!): I am the Lord, and there is no other. I did not speak in secret, in a land of darkness; I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, ‘Seek me in chaos.’ I the Lord speak the truth, I declare what is right. Assemble yourselves and come together, draw near, you survivors of the nations! They have no knowledge— those who carry about their wooden idols, and keep on praying to a god that cannot save. Declare and present your case; let them take counsel together! Who told this long ago? Who declared it of old? Was it not I, the Lord? There is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Saviour; there is no one besides me. Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn, from my mouth has gone forth in righteousness a word that shall not return: ‘To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.’ Only in the Lord, it shall be said of me, are righteousness and strength; all who were incensed against him shall come to him and be ashamed. In the Lord all the offspring of Israel shall triumph and glory. Canticle A Song of the Wilderness, or another suitable canticle, for example, number 30 (page 581) or number 49 (page 601), may be said Refrain: Lift up your voice with strength, O herald of good tidings. The wilderness and the dry land shall rejoice, • the desert shall blossom and burst into song. They shall see the glory of the Lord, • the majesty of our God. Strengthen the weary hands, • and make firm the feeble knees. Say to the anxious, ‘Be strong, fear not, your God is coming with judgement, • coming with judgement to save you.’ Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, • and the ears of the deaf unstopped; Then shall the lame leap like a hart, • and the tongue of the dumb sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, • and streams in the desert; The ransomed of the Lord shall return with singing, • with everlasting joy upon their heads. Joy and gladness shall be theirs, • and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Isaiah 35.1, 2b-4a, 4c-6, 10 Glory 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. Lift up your voice with strength, O herald of good tidings. Scripture Reading One or more readings appointed for the day are read. The reading(s) may be followed by a time of silence. 1 Thessalonians 1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace. We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labour of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, brothers and sisters beloved by God, that he has chosen you, because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of people we proved to be among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place where your faith in God has become known, so that we have no need to speak about it. For the people of those regions report about us what kind of welcome we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath that is coming. A suitable song or chant, or a responsory in this or another form, may follow Now it is time to awake out of sleep, for the night is far spent and the day is at hand. Now is our salvation nearer than when we first believed, for the night is far spent. Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness and put on the armour of light, for the day is at hand. Put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh, for the night is far spent and the day is at hand. from Romans 13 Gospel Canticle The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah) is normally said, or A Song of Redemption (page 620) may be said Refrain: In the womb of Mary, you found a dwelling place on earth, O Christ; remain for ever in our hearts. Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, • who has come to his people and set them free. He has raised up for us a mighty Saviour, • born of the house of his servant David. Through his holy prophets God promised of old • to save us from our enemies, from the hands of all that hate us, To show mercy to our ancestors, • and to remember his holy covenant. This was the oath God 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. And you, 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 all 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. Luke 1.68-79 Glory 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: In the womb of Mary, you found a dwelling place on earth, O Christ; remain for ever in our hearts. Prayers 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 and everlasting God, who stooped to raise fallen humanity through the child-bearing of blessed Mary: grant that we, who have seen your glory revealed in our human nature and your love made perfect in our weakness, may daily be renewed in your image and conformed to the pattern of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. The Lord’s Prayer is said Awaiting his coming in glory, as our Saviour taught us, so we pray Our 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) Awaiting his coming in glory, let us pray with confidence as our Saviour has taught us Our 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. The Conclusion May the Lord, when he comes, find us watching and waiting. Amen. Let us bless the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Dec 2014 05:24:35 +0000
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