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STAND
Invitatory
Leader: Lord, + open my lips.
All: And my mouth will proclaim your praise.
Leader: Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering.
Psalm 95
A call to praise God
Encourage each other daily while it is still today (Hebrews 3:13).
leader: Come, let us sing to the Lord
All: and shout with joy to the Rock who saves us.
Let us approach him with praise and thanksgiving
and sing joyful songs to the Lord.
Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering.
The Lord is God, the mighty God,
the great king over all the gods.
He holds in his hands the depths of the earth
and the highest mountains as well.
He made the sea; it belongs to him,
the dry land, too, for it was formed by his hands.
Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering.
Come, then, let us bow down and worship,
bending the knee before the Lord, our maker.
For he is our God and we are his people,
the flock he shepherds.
Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering.
Today, listen to the voice of the Lord:
Do not grow stubborn, as your fathers did
in the wilderness,
when at Meriba and Massah
they challenged me and provoked me,
Although they had seen all of my works.
Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering.
Forty years I endured that generation.
I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray
and they do not know my ways.”
So I swore in my anger,
“They shall not enter into my rest.”
Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.
Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering.Hymn
The glory of these forty days
We celebrate with songs of praise;
For Christ, by whom all things were made,
Himself has fasted and has prayed.
Alone and fasting Moses saw
The loving God who gave the law;
And to Elijah, fasting, came
The steeds and chariots of flame.
So Daniel trained his mystic sight,
Deliver’d from the lions’ might;
And John, the Bridegroom’s friend, became
The herald of Messiah’s name.
Then grant us, Lord, like them to do
Such things as bring great praise to you;
Our spirits strengthen with your grace
And give us joy to see your face.
O Father, Son, and Spirit blest,
To you be every prayer addressed
And by all mankind be adored,
From age to age, the only Lord.
Tune: Erhalt’ uns, Herr L.M.
Music: J. Klug’s Geistliche Lieder, 1547
Text: Latin, sixth century
Translation: Maurice F. Bell, 1906, alt.SIT
Psalmody
Leader: When will I come to the end of my pilgrimage and enter the presence of God?
Psalm 42
Longing for the Lord’s presence in his Temple
Let all who thirst come; let all who desire it, drink from the life-giving water (Revelation 22:17).
Leader: Like the deer that yearns
Side 1: for running streams,
so my soul is yearning
for you, my God.
Side 2: My soul is thirsting for God,
the God of my life;
when can I enter and see
the face of God?
Side 1: My tears have become my bread,
by night, by day,
as I hear it said all the day long:
“Where is your God?”
Side 2: These things will I remember
as I pour out my soul:
how I would lead the rejoicing crowd
into the house of God,
amid cries of gladness and thanksgiving,
the throng wild with joy.
Side 1: Why are you cast down, my soul,
why groan within me?
Hope in God; I will praise him still,
my savior and my God.
Side 2: My soul is cast down within me
as I think of you,
from the country of Jordan and Mount Hermon,
from the Hill of Mizar.
Side 1: Deep is calling on deep,
in the roar of waters:
your torrents and all your waves
swept over me.
Side 2: By day the Lord will send
his loving kindness;
by night I will sing to him,
praise the God of my life.
Side 1: I will say to God, my rock:
“Why have you forgotten me?”
Why do I go mourning,
oppressed by the foe?”
Side 2: With cries that pierce me to the heart,
my enemies revile me,
saying to me all the day long:
“Where is your God?”
Side 1: Why are you cast down, my soul,
why groan within me?
Hope in God; I will praise him still,
my savior and my God.
Side 2: Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
All: as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.
Leader: When All: will I come to the end of my pilgrimage and enter the presence of God?
Leader: Lord, show us the radiance of your mercy.
Canticle: Sirach 36:1-5, 10-13
Prayer of entreaty for the holy city, Jerusalem
This is eternal life: to know you, the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent (John 17:3).
Leader: Come to our aid, O God of the universe,
Side 1: and put all the nations in dread of you!
Raise your hand against the heathen,
that they may realize your power.
Side 2: As you have used us to show them your holiness,
so now use them to show us your glory.
Thus they will know, as we know,
that there is no God but you.
Side 1: Give new signs and work new wonders;
show forth the splendor of your right hand and arm.
Side 2: Gather all the tribes of Jacob,
that they may inherit the land as of old.
Show mercy to the people called by your name;
Israel, whom you named your first-born.
Side 1: Take pity on your holy city,
Jerusalem, your dwelling place.
Fill Zion with your majesty,
your temple with your glory.
Side 2: Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
All: as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.
Leader: Lord, All: show us the radiance of your mercy.
Leader: The vaults of heaven ring with your praise, O Lord.
Psalm 19A
Praise of the Lord, Creator of all
The dawn from on high shall break on us . . . to guide our feet into the way of peace (Luke 1:78, 79).
Leader: The heavens proclaim the glory of God
Side 1: and the firmament shows forth the work of his hands.
Day unto day takes up the story
and night unto night makes known the message.
Side 2: No speech, no word, no voice is heard
yet their span extends through all the earth,
their words to the utmost bounds of the world.
Side 1: There he has placed a tent for the sun;
it comes forth like a bridegroom coming from his tent,
rejoices like a champion to run its course.
Side 2: At the end of the sky is the rising of the sun;
to the furthest end of the sky is its course.
There is nothing concealed from its burning heat.
Side 1: Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
All: as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.
Leader: The vaults All: of heaven ring with your praise, O Lord.Reading
Exodus 19:4-6
Lector: You have seen for yourselves how I bore you up on eagle wings and brought you here to myself. Therefore, if you hearken to my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my special possession, dearer to me than all other people, though all the earth is mine. You shall be to me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.Responsory
Lector: God himself will set me free, from the hunter’s snare.
All: God himself will set me free, from the hunter’s snare.
Lector: From those who would trap me with lying words
All: and from the hunter’s snare.
Lector: Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
All: God himself will set me free, from the hunter’s snare.Gospel Canticle
Leader: Be compassionate and forgiving as your Father is, says the Lord.
Canticle of Zechariah
Luke 1:68-79
The Messiah and his forerunner
Leader: Blessed + be the Lord, the God of Israel;
All: 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.
Leader: Be compassionate All: and forgiving as your Father is, says the Lord.Intercessions
Leader: Blessed be God the Father for his gift of this sacrifice of praise. In the spirit of this Lenten season, let us pray:
All: Instruct us, Lord, in the ways of your kingdom.
Leader: God of power and mercy, give us the spirit of prayer and repentance,
All: with burning love for you and all mankind.
Leader: Help us to work with you in making all things new in Christ,
All: and in spreading justice and peace throughout the world.
Leader: Teach us the meaning and value of creation,
All: so that we may join its voice to ours as we sing your praise.
Leader: Forgive us for failing to see Christ in the poor, the distressed and the troublesome,
All: and for our failure to reverence your Son in their persons.The Lord's Prayer
Leader: Remember us, Lord, when you come to your kingdom and teach us to pray:
Leader: Our Father, All: 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.Concluding Prayer
Leader: God our Father,
teach us to find new life through penance.
Keep us from sin,
and help us live by your commandment of love.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
All: Amen.Dismissal
If a priest or deacon presides, he dismisses the people:
Leader: The Lord be with you.
All: And with your spirit.
Leader: May almighty God bless you,
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All: Amen.
Leader: Go in peace.
All: Thanks be to God.
In the absence of a priest or deacon and in individual recitation, Morning Prayer concludes:
Leader: May the Lord + bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
All: Amen.