OPENING SENTENCES
Alleluia! Christ is risen.
The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!
You shall receive power when the Holy Ghost has come upon you; and you shall be my witness in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Acts 1:8
CONFESSION OF SIN
Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.
Silence for reflection
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.
Lord, open our lips. *
And our mouths shall proclaim your praise!
Alleluia. The Lord is risen indeed: Come let us adore him. Alleluia.
MORNING PSALM
Psalm 101
I will sing of mercy and justice; *
to you, O LORD, will I sing praises.
I will strive to follow a blameless course;
oh, when will you come to me? *
I will walk with sincerity of heart within my house.
I will set no worthless thing before my eyes; *
I hate the doers of evil deeds;
they shall not remain with me.
A crooked heart shall be far from me; *
I will not know evil.
Those who in secret slander their neighbors I will destroy; *
those who have a haughty look and a proud
heart I cannot abide.
My eyes are upon the faithful in the land, that they may
dwell with me, *
and only those who lead a blameless life shall
be my servants.
Those who act deceitfully shall not dwell in my house, *
and those who tell lies shall not continue in my sight.
I will soon destroy all the wicked in the land, *
that I may root out all evildoers from the city of the LORD.
Lord Jesus, you came to us so that your people might walk in innocence, and you taught us to be holy as your Father is holy. Help us, your children, to love what is truly perfect, so that we may neither speak what is evil nor do what is wrong. Then let us stand in your sight and celebrate with you the Father's love and justice forever.
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.
MORNING SONG
Trinity Song - Sandra McCracken
MORNING LESSONS
For those not receiving Evening Prayer emails, the lectionary OT & NT Lessons for today are Isaiah 4:2-6; Ephesians 4:1-16.
Matthew 8:28-34
When he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demoniacs coming out of the tombs met him. They were so fierce that no one could pass that way. Suddenly they shouted, “What have you to do with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” Now a large herd of swine was feeding at some distance from them. The demons begged him, “If you cast us out, send us into the herd of swine.” And he said to them, “Go!” So they came out and entered the swine; and suddenly, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and perished in the water. The swineherds ran off, and on going into the town, they told the whole story about what had happened to the demoniacs. Then the whole town came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their neighborhood.
Silence for reflection
CONCLUDING PRAYER
In the morning, pray for:
- the day and its tasks
- the world and its needs
- the Church and her life
Conclude with the Lord's Prayer and/or the following Collect for the Seventh Week of Easter:
O God, the King of glory, you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven: Do not leave us comfortless, but send us your Holy Spirit to strengthen us, and exalt us to that place where our Savior Christ has gone before; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
Let us bless the Lord. *
Thanks be to God!