Evening Prayer 4.10.17, Monday in Holy Week

The Pharisees said to one another, “You see, you can do nothing. Look, the world has gone after him!”

A makeshift hospital in Syria after the sarin gas attack. The chemical bombs killed at least 72; this war is so evil. (Ammar Abdullah/Reuters)

Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow which was brought upon me, whom the Lord has afflicted. Lamentations 1:12

GENERAL CONFESSION

God of all mercy,
we confess that we have sinned against you,
opposing your will in our lives.
We have denied your goodness in each other,
in ourselves, and in the world you have created.
We repent of the evil that enslaves us,
the evil we have done,
and the evil done on our behalf.
Forgive, restore, and strengthen us
through our Savior Jesus Christ,
that we may abide in your love
and serve only your will. Amen.

Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins through the grace of Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life. Amen.

INVITATORY AND PSALTER

O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.

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.

Hymn: O Gracious Light

O gracious Light,
pure brightness of the everliving Father in heaven,
O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed!
Now as we come to the setting of the sun,
and our eyes behold the vesper light,
we sing your praises, O God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
You are worthy at all times to be praised by happy voices,
O Son of God, O Giver of life,
and to be glorified through all the worlds.

Psalm 69:1-23

1  Save me, O God, *
for the waters have risen up to my neck.
2  I am sinking in deep mire, *
and there is no firm ground for my feet.
3  I have come into deep waters, *
and the torrent washes over me.
4  I have grown weary with my crying;
my throat is inflamed; *
my eyes have failed from looking for my God.
5  Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head;
my lying foes who would destroy me are mighty. *
Must I then give back what I never stole?
6  O God, you know my foolishness, *
and my faults are not hidden from you.
7  Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me,
Lord GOD of hosts; *
let not those who seek you be disgraced because of me,
O God of Israel.
8  Surely, for your sake I have suffered reproach, *
and shame has covered my face.
9  I have become a stranger to my own kindred, *
an alien to my mother’s children.
10  Zeal for your house has eaten me up; *
the scorn of those who scorn you has fallen upon me.
11  I humbled myself with fasting, *
but that was turned to my reproach.
12  I put on sack-cloth also, *
and became a byword among them.
13  Those who sit at the gate murmur against me, *
and the drunkards make songs about me.
14  But as for me, this is my prayer to you, *
at the time you have set, O LORD:
15  ”In your great mercy, O God, *
answer me with your unfailing help.
16  Save me from the mire; do not let me sink; *
let me be rescued from those who hate me
and out of the deep waters.
17  Let not the torrent of waters wash over me,
neither let the deep swallow me up; *
do not let the Pit shut its mouth upon me.
18  Answer me, O LORD, for your love is kind; *
in your great compassion, turn to me.”

19  “Hide not your face from your servant; *
be swift and answer me, for I am in distress.
20  Draw near to me and redeem me; *
because of my enemies deliver me.
21  You know my reproach, my shame, and my dishonor; *
my adversaries are all in your sight.”
22  Reproach has broken my heart, and it cannot be healed; *
I looked for sympathy, but there was none,
for comforters, but I could find no one.
23  They gave me gall to eat, *
and when I was thirsty, they gave me vinegar to drink.

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.

He Qi: Entry into Jerusalem

THE LESSON
John 12:9-19 (NRSV)

When the great crowd of the Jews learned that he was there, they came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death as well, since it was on account of him that many of the Jews were deserting and were believing in Jesus.

The next day the great crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord—the King of Israel!” Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it; as it is written: “Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion. Look, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!” His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written of him and had been done to him. So the crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to testify. It was also because they heard that he had performed this sign that the crowd went to meet him. The Pharisees then said to one another, “You see, you can do nothing. Look, the world has gone after him!”

Canticle: The Song of Simeon
Luke 2:29-32

Lord, you now have set your servant free *
to go in peace as you have promised;
For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior, *
whom you have prepared for all the world to see:
A Light to enlighten the nations, *
and the glory of your people Israel.

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.

THE APOSTLES’ CREED

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
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,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and 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

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.
Save us from the time of trial, and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and for ever. Amen.

That this evening may be holy, good, and peaceful,
We entreat you, O Lord.
That your holy angels may lead us in paths of peace and goodwill,
We entreat you, O Lord.
That we may be pardoned and forgiven for our sins and offenses,
We entreat you, O Lord.
That there may be peace to your Church and to the whole world,
We entreat you, O Lord.
That we may depart this life in your faith and fear,
and not be condemned before the great judgment seat of Christ,
We entreat you, O Lord.
That we may be bound together by your Holy Spirit
in the communion of all your saints,
entrusting one another and all our life to Christ,
We entreat you, O Lord.

Station 2: Jesus is given his cross. (Church of St. Jean Baptiste au Beguinage, Brussels)

Collect of the Day: Monday in Holy Week

Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

A Collect for Peace

Most holy God, the source of all good desires, all right judgments, and all just works: Give to us, your servants, that peace which the world cannot give, so that our minds may be fixed on the doing of your will, and that we, being delivered from the fear of all enemies, may live in peace and quietness; through the mercies of Christ Jesus our Savior. Amen.

Monday Evening Prayer List: Thanksgivings

Our Daily Office retreat in New Orleans
Ordination of Maria, Leslie, Teresa & Alissa
Our mission partners in Haiti, Liberia, Brazil and on the Rosebud Reservation
Those who give to food banks and pantries, and all who receive
Community Health Centers and Free Clinics

Anglican Cycle of Prayer: Dioceses of Morogoro and Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

A Collect for Mission

O God and Father of all, whom the whole heavens adore: Let the whole earth also worship you, all nations obey you, all tongues confess and bless you, and men and women everywhere love you and serve you in peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Prayer of St. Chrysostom

Almighty God, you have given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplications to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will be in the midst of them: Fulfil now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen.

Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen. 2 Corinthians 13:14++

VIDEO: To Mock Your Reign (William Cornysh) – New York Polyphony, 2015

Evening Prayer 4.8.17, William Augustus Muhlenberg, Priest, 1877, & Anne Ayres, Religious, 1896

Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”

People in Mississippi, North Carolina and around the Episcopal Church are mourning the Rt. Rev. Chip Marble, VIII Bishop of Mississippi and later an assistant bishop under Michael Curry in the Diocese of North Carolina. Bishop Marble is credited with reviving the vocational diaconate in Mississippi.

If I say, “Surely the darkness will cover me, and the light around me turn to night,” darkness is not dark to you, O Lord; the night is as bright as the day; darkness and light to you are both alike. Psalm 139:10-11

GENERAL CONFESSION

God of all mercy,
we confess that we have sinned against you,
opposing your will in our lives.
We have denied your goodness in each other,
in ourselves, and in the world you have created.
We repent of the evil that enslaves us,
the evil we have done,
and the evil done on our behalf.
Forgive, restore, and strengthen us
through our Savior Jesus Christ,
that we may abide in your love
and serve only your will. Amen.

Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins through the grace of Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life. Amen.

INVITATORY AND PSALTER

O God, be not far from us.
Come quickly to help us, O God.

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.

Hymn: Light of the World
Phos hilaron

Light of the world in grace and beauty,
Mirror of God’s eternal face,
Transparent flame of love’s free duty,
You bring salvation to our race.
Now, as we see the lights of evening,
We raise our voice in hymns of praise;
Worthy are you of endless blessing,
Sun of our night, lamp of our days.

Psalm 42

1  As the deer longs for the water-brooks, *
so longs my soul for you, O God.
2  My soul is athirst for God, athirst for the living God; *
when shall I come to appear before the presence of God?
3  My tears have been my food day and night, *
while all day long they say to me,
“Where now is your God?”
4  I pour out my soul when I think on these things: *
how I went with the multitude and led them into the house of God,
5  With the voice of praise and thanksgiving *
among those who keep holy-day.
6  Why are you so full of heaviness, O my soul? *
and why are you so disquieted within me?
7  Put your trust in God; *
for I will yet give thanks to the One
who is the help of my countenance, and my God.

8  My soul is heavy within me; *
therefore I will remember you from the land of Jordan,
and from the peak of Mizar among the heights of Hermon.
9  One deep calls out to another in the noise of your cataracts; *
all your rapids and floods have gone over me.
10  The LORD grants loving-kindness in the daytime; *
in the night season the song of the LORD is with me,
a prayer to the God of my life.
11  I will say to the God of my strength,
“Why have you forgotten me? *
and why do I go so heavily while the enemy oppresses me?”
12  While my bones are being broken, *
my enemies mock me to my face;
13  All day long they mock me *
and say to me, “Where now is your God?”
14  Why are you so full of heaviness, O my soul? *
and why are you so disquieted within me?
15  Put your trust in God; *
for I will yet give thanks to the One
who is the help of my countenance, and my God.

Psalm 43

1  Give judgment for me, O God,
and defend my cause against an ungodly people; *
deliver me from the deceitful and the wicked.
2  For you are the God of my strength;
why have you put me from you? *
and why do I go so heavily while the enemy oppresses me?
3  Send out your light and your truth, that they may lead me, *
and bring me to your holy hill
and to your dwelling;
4  That I may go to the altar of God,
to the God of my joy and gladness; *
and on the harp I will give thanks to you, O God my God.
5  Why are you so full of heaviness, O my soul? *
and why are you so disquieted within me?
6  Put your trust in God; *
for I will yet give thanks to the One
who is the help of my countenance, and my God.

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.

Carl Heinrich Bloch, 1875: The Raising of Lazarus. Some believe that Lazarus, not St. John the Evangelist, was the disciple Jesus loved.

THE LESSON
John 11:28-44 (NRSV)

When Martha had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

Canticle: The Song of Mary
Luke 1:46-55

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in you, O God my Savior, *
for you have looked with favor on your lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed: *
you, the Almighty, have done great things for me,
and holy is your Name.
You have mercy on those who fear you *
from generation to generation.
You have shown strength with your arm, *
and scattered the proud in their conceit,
Casting down the mighty from their thrones, *
and lifting up the lowly.
You have filled the hungry with good things, *
and sent the rich away empty.
You have come to the help of your servant Israel, *
for you have remembered your promise of mercy,
The promise made to our forebears, *
to Abraham and his children for ever.

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.

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 power of 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

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.
Save us from the time of trial, and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and for ever. Amen.

That this evening may be holy, good, and peaceful,
We entreat you, O Lord.
That your holy angels may lead us in paths of peace and goodwill,
We entreat you, O Lord.
That we may be pardoned and forgiven for our sins and offenses,
We entreat you, O Lord.
That there may be peace to your Church and to the whole world,
We entreat you, O Lord.
That we may depart this life in your faith and fear,
and not be condemned before the great judgment seat of Christ,
We entreat you, O Lord.
That we may be bound together by your Holy Spirit
in the communion of all your saints,
entrusting one another and all our life to Christ,
We entreat you, O Lord.

Richard Upjohn designed the Church of the Holy Communion with and for William A. Muhlenberg, as well as a Sisters’ House next door for Anne Ayres, CHC. The parish thrived for a century, but by 1975 the Flatiron district was no longer residential and the church merged with two others nearby. It subsequently became a cultural center, then a drug rehab facility, a notorious nightclub, and later the home of upscale shops. (Wikipedia)

Collect of the Day: William Augustus Muhlenberg, Priest, 1877, and Anne Ayers, Religious, 1896

God of justice and truth, do not let your Church close its eyes to the plight of the poor and neglected, the homeless and destitute, the old and the sick, the lonely and those who have none to care for them. Give us that vision and compassion with which you so richly endowed William Augustus Muhlenberg and Anne Ayers, that we may labor tirelessly to heal those who are broken in body or spirit, and to turn their sorrow into joy; through Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Collect for Saturday in the Fifth Week of Lent

O Lord, in your goodness you bestow abundant graces on your elect: Look with favor, we entreat you, upon those who in these Lenten days are being prepared for Holy Baptism, and grant them the help of your protection; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

A Collect for Saturdays

O God, the source of eternal light: Shed forth your unending day upon us who watch for you, that our lips may praise you, our lives may bless you, and our worship on the morrow give you glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Anglican Cycle of Prayer: Diocese of Moray, Ross and Caithness, Scotland

Saturday Evening Prayer List: For the Church

For Our Mission Partners
Cuttington University School of Nursing, Liberia
The American Friends of Cuttington, New York
Colleges and Universities of the Anglican Communion, New York; Canon Jamie Callaway
Haiti Nursing Foundation
Diocese of Brasilia Afterschool Program, Brazil
Rosebud Episcopal Mission, South Dakota
St. André’s School, Mithon, Haiti

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.

A Prayer of St. Chrysostom

Almighty God, you have given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplications to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will be in the midst of them: Fulfil now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen.

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++

VIDEO: Calm me, Lord (Margaret Rizza) – studio musicians, 2013

Evening Prayer 4.5.17, Pandita Mary Ramabai, Prophetic Witness in India, 1922

I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.

A rescue worker carries the lifeless body of a child, one of the victims of the gas attack yesterday which killed and injured more than a hundred people in Idlib Province, Syria. Western officials are blaming the Syrian government for the deadly assault, like others before it. Hours later, hospitals were hit too. (Ammar Abdullah/Reuters)

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us, but if we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:8-9

GENERAL CONFESSION

God of all mercy,
we confess that we have sinned against you,
opposing your will in our lives.
We have denied your goodness in each other,
in ourselves, and in the world you have created.
We repent of the evil that enslaves us,
the evil we have done,
and the evil done on our behalf.
Forgive, restore, and strengthen us
through our Savior Jesus Christ,
that we may abide in your love
and serve only your will. Amen.

Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins through the grace of Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life. Amen.

INVITATORY AND PSALTER

O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.

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.

Hymn: O Gracious Light

O gracious Light,
pure brightness of the everliving Father in heaven,
O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed!
Now as we come to the setting of the sun,
and our eyes behold the vesper light,
we sing your praises, O God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
You are worthy at all times to be praised by happy voices,
O Son of God, O Giver of life,
and to be glorified through all the worlds.

Psalm 128 (PCP)

1  Happy are they all who fear the LORD, *
and who follow in the ways of the LORD!
2  You, O man, shall eat the fruit of your labor; *
happiness and prosperity shall be yours.
3  Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine within your house, *
your children like olive shoots round about your table.
4  The husband who fears the LORD *
shall thus indeed be blessed.
5  The LORD bless you from Zion, *
and may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life.
6  May you live to see your children’s children; *
may peace be upon Israel.

Psalm 129

1  ”Greatly have they oppressed me since my youth,” *
let Israel now say;
2  ”Greatly have they oppressed me since my youth, *
but they have not prevailed against me.”
3  The plowers plowed upon my back *
and made their furrows long.
4  The LORD, the Righteous One, *
has cut the cords of the wicked.
5  Let them be put to shame and thrown back, *
all those who are enemies of Zion.
6  Let them be like grass upon the housetops, *
which withers before it can be plucked;
7  Which does not fill the hand of the reaper, *
nor the bosom of those who bind the sheaves;
8  So that those who go by say not so much as,
“The LORD prosper you. *
We wish you well in the Name of the LORD.”

Psalm 130

1  Out of the depths have I called to you, O LORD;
LORD, hear my voice; *
let your ears consider well the voice of my supplication.
2  If you, LORD, were to note what is done amiss, *
O Lord, who could stand?
3  For there is forgiveness with you; *
therefore you shall be feared.
4  I wait for you, O LORD; my soul waits for you; *
in your word is my hope.
5  My soul waits for the LORD,
more than sentries for the morning, *
more than sentries for the morning.
6  O Israel, wait for the LORD, *
for with the LORD there is mercy;
7  There is plenteous redemption with the LORD, *
who shall redeem Israel from all their sins.

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.

Good Shepherd Sunday, 2015, at the Church of St. Andrew and Holy Communion in South Orange, New Jersey. Enjoy the kid crawling around under the altar; following the shepherd’s voice, no doubt. (The Rev. Sandye A. Wilson on Facebook)

THE LESSON
John 10:1-18 (NRSV)

Jesus said, “Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.” Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.”

Canticle: The Song of Simeon
Luke 2:29-32

Lord, you now have set your servant free *
to go in peace as you have promised;
For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior, *
whom you have prepared for all the world to see:
A Light to enlighten the nations, *
and the glory of your people Israel.

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.

THE APOSTLES’ CREED

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord.
who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
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,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and 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

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.
Save us from the time of trial, and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and for ever. Amen.

That this evening may be holy, good, and peaceful,
We entreat you, O Lord.
That your holy angels may lead us in paths of peace and goodwill,
We entreat you, O Lord.
That we may be pardoned and forgiven for our sins and offenses,
We entreat you, O Lord.
That there may be peace to your Church and to the whole world,
We entreat you, O Lord.
That we may depart this life in your faith and fear,
and not be condemned before the great judgment seat of Christ,
We entreat you, O Lord.
That we may be bound together by your Holy Spirit
in the communion of all your saints,
entrusting one another and all our life to Christ,
We entreat you, O Lord.

Women in India were discriminated against in every direction; denied formal education, ostracized as orphans and widows. Pandita Mary Ramabai set out to change that, but said the burden didn’t fall on her; “Christ bears it on his shoulders.”

Collect of the Day: Pandita Mary Ramabai, Prophetic Witness and Evangelist in India, 1922

Everliving God, you called the women at the tomb to witness to the resurrection of your Son: We thank you for the courageous and independent spirit of your servant Pandita Ramabai, the mother of modern India; and we pray that we, like her, may embrace your gift of new life, caring for the poor, braving resentment to uphold the dignity of women, and offering the riches of our culture to our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Collect for Wednesday in the Fifth Week of Lent

Almighty God our heavenly Father, renew in us the gifts of your mercy; increase our faith, strengthen our hope, enlighten our understanding, widen our charity, and make us ready to serve you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

A Collect for Protection

O God, the life of all who live, the light of the faithful, the strength of those who labor, and the repose of the dead: We thank you for the blessings of the day that is past, and humbly ask for your protection through the coming night. Bring us in safety to the morning hours; through him who died and rose again for us, your Son our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

For the beauty of the Earth: Red Rock Lake, Montana (The Nature Conservancy)

For the Beauty of the Earth

We give you thanks, most gracious God, for the beauty of earth and sky and sea; for the richness of mountains, plains, and rivers; for the songs of birds and the loveliness of flowers. We praise you for these good gifts, and pray that we may safeguard them for our posterity. Grant that we may continue to grow in our grateful enjoyment of your abundant creation, to the honor and glory of your Name, now and for ever. Amen.

A Collect for Peace

Most holy God, the source of all good desires, all right judgments, and all just works: Give to us, your servants, that peace which the world cannot give, so that our minds may be fixed on the doing of your will, and that we, being delivered from the fear of all enemies, may live in peace and quietness; through the mercies of Christ Jesus our Savior. Amen.

Anglican Cycle of Prayer: Diocese of Montana, USA

Wednesday Evening Prayer List

For Disaster Victims
Hundreds of victims of gas attack in Syria
14 Killed in St. Petersburg, Russia subway terror attack
Flooding in the U.S. West
Drought in Southern Africa, India and Papua New Guinea
Refugee Crisis in the Middle East and Europe
Famine in Niger, Mali, Ethiopia, Yemen and South Sudan

For Prisoners
Blake
Matthew
The Rev. Andrew Brunson, missionary in Turkey

Prisoners of ISIS & Boko Haram: #BringBackOurGirls
Victims of human trafficking, including U.S. & Australian detainees
Guantanamo; political prisoners

The innocent, the guilty, the victims of crime
Children and families of prisoners
Prison chaplains and ministries, especially Sally & Francesca
John P. Craine House, diversion and prevention programs
Sr. Helen Prejean and all prison reformers
All who are condemned to die

For those who suffer for the sake of Conscience

O God our Father, whose Son forgave his enemies while he was suffering shame and death: Strengthen those who suffer for the sake of conscience; when they are accused, save them from speaking in hate; when they are rejected, save them from bitterness; when they are imprisoned, save them from despair; and to us your servants, give grace to respect their witness and to discern the truth, that our society may be cleansed and strengthened. This we ask for the sake of Jesus Christ, our merciful and righteous Judge. Amen.

Prayer for Mission

O God and Father of all, whom the whole heavens adore: Let the whole earth also worship you, all nations obey you, all tongues confess and bless you, and men and women everywhere love you and serve you in peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Prayer of St. Chrysostom

Almighty God, you have given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplications to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will be in the midst of them: Fulfil now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen.

Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine: Glory to God from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen.++

VIDEO: Jesus, thou joy of loving hearts (Quebec, Henry Baker; attr. Bernard of Clairvaux, tr. Ray Palmer) – First-Plymouth Church, Lincoln, Nebraska, 2 months ago

Morning Prayer 1.3.17, William Passavant, Mission Pastor Who Reintroduced Deaconesses, 1894

We’re ready to stream when you are!

We’re so proud of our cantors here; Gwen & Anjel were in fine voice this morning. To watch this service, click here.

At 9 o’clock the good chanting continued, with Michael, Alison & Gwen doing the honors; you’ll want to listen, so go here.

__

They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.

We waited weeks through Advent and Christmas to publish this man’s picture; he’s someone ordinary Australians know very well, the current Anglican Archbishop of Perth, who ignored a priest’s (Graeme Lawrence) sexual abuse of children, covered it up, lied about it, got in trouble, made excuses, told a Royal Commission and TV audience he didn’t remember, stepped aside temporarily, and now is gifting himself with early retirement. Such prelates are lucky that ordinary people are not St. Peter at the gate – but they’d better watch out for Peter himself, because nothing destroys the Church faster than covering up for a criminal priest. (Anglican Taonga)

Behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:10-11

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 for ever. Amen. Alleluia.

Psalm 95:1-7
Venite

Come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before God’s presence with thanksgiving;
and raise to the Lord a shout with psalms.
For you are a great God;
you are great above all gods.
In your hand are the caverns of the earth;
and the heights of the hills are yours also.
The sea is yours, for you made it,
and your hands have molded the dry land.
Come, let us bow down and bend the knee,
and kneel before the Lord our Maker.
For you are our God,
and we are the people of your pasture, and the sheep of your hand.
Oh, that today we would hearken to your voice!

Psalm 68 (PCP)

1  O God, arise, and let your enemies be scattered; *
let those who hate you flee before you.
2  Let them vanish like smoke when the wind drives it away; *
as the wax melts at the fire,
so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.
3  But let the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; *
let them also be merry and joyful.
4  Sing to God, sing praises to God’s Name;
exalt the One who rides upon the heavens; *
The Name of our God is the LORD; rejoice before the LORD!
5  Defender of widows, father of orphans, *
God in heaven’s holy habitation!
6  God gives the solitary a home and brings forth prisoners into freedom; *
but the rebels shall live in dry places.
7  O God, when you went forth before your people, *
when you marched through the wilderness,
8  The earth shook, and the skies poured down rain,
at the presence of God, the God of Sinai, *
at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
9  You sent a gracious rain, O God, upon your inheritance; *
you refreshed the land when it was weary.
10  Your people found their home in it; *
in your goodness, O God, you have made provision for the poor.
11  The Lord gave the word; *
great was the company of women who bore the tidings:
12  ”Kings with their armies are fleeing away; *
the women at home are dividing the spoils.”
13  Though you lingered among the sheepfolds, *
you shall be like a dove whose wings are covered with silver,
whose feathers are like green gold.
14  When the Almighty scattered kings, *
it was like snow falling in Zalmon.
15  O mighty mountain, O hill of Bashan! *
O rugged mountain, O hill of Bashan!
16  Why do you look with envy, O rugged mountain,
at the hill which God chose to rest? *
truly the LORD will dwell there for ever.
17  The chariots of God are twenty thousand,
even thousands of thousands; *
the Lord comes in holiness from Sinai.
18  You have gone up on high and led captivity captive;
you have received gifts even from your enemies, *
that the LORD God might dwell among them.
19  Blessed be the Lord day by day, *
the God of our salvation, who bears our burdens.
20  You are our God, the God of our salvation; *
God is the LORD, by whom we escape death.

21  You, O God, shall crush the heads of your enemies, *
and the hairy scalp of those who go on still in their wickedness.
22  The Lord has said, “I will bring them back from Bashan; *
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea;
23  That your foot may be dipped in blood, *
the tongues of your dogs in the blood of your enemies.”

24  They see your procession, O God, *
your procession into the sanctuary, my Sovereign and my God.
25  The singers go before, musicians follow after, *
in the midst of the maidens playing upon the hand-drums.
26  Bless God in the congregation; *
bless the LORD, you that are of the fountain of Israel.
27  There is Benjamin, least of the tribes, at the head;
the princes of Judah in a company; *
and the princes of Zebulon and Naphtali.
28  Send forth your strength, O God; *
establish, O God, what you have wrought for us.
29  Rulers shall bring gifts to you, *
for your temple’s sake at Jerusalem.
30  Rebuke the wild beast of the reeds, *
and the peoples, a herd of wild bulls with its calves.
31  Trample down those who lust after silver; *
scatter the peoples that delight in war.
32  Let tribute be brought out of Egypt; *
let Ethiopia stretch out her hands to God.
33  Sing to God, O realms of the earth; *
sing praises to the Lord.
34  God rides in the heavens, the ancient heavens; *
God’s voice thunders forth, a mighty voice.
35  Ascribe power to God; *
whose majesty is over Israel;
whose strength is in the skies.
36  How wonderful is God in the holy places! *
the God of Israel giving strength and power to the chosen people!
Blessed be God!

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.

William Blake, 1805: Jacob’s Dream (British Museum)

THE LESSONS
Genesis 28:10-22 (NRSV)

Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And the LORD stood beside him and said, “I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring. Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place—and I did not know it!” And he was afraid, and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”

So Jacob rose early in the morning, and he took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. He called that place Bethel; but the name of the city was Luz at the first. Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God, and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house; and of all that you give me I will surely give one tenth to you.”

Canticle: A Song of Praise
Song of the Three Young Men, 29-34

Glory to you, Lord God of our fathers; *
you are worthy of praise; glory to you.
Glory to you for the radiance of your holy name; *
we will praise you and highly exalt you for ever.

Glory to you in the splendor of your temple; *
on the throne of your majesty, glory to you.
Glory to you, seated between the Cherubim; *
we will praise you and highly exalt you for ever.

Glory to you, beholding the depths; *
in the high vault of heaven, glory to you.
Glory to you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; *
we will praise you and highly exalt you for ever.

Hebrews 11:13-22 (NRSV)

All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them.

By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac. He who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only son, of whom he had been told, “It is through Isaac that descendants shall be named for you.” He considered the fact that God is able even to raise someone from the dead—and figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. By faith Isaac invoked blessings for the future on Jacob and Esau. By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, “bowing in worship over the top of his staff.” By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave instructions about his burial.

Canticle: A Song to the Lamb
Revelation 4:11, 5:9-10, 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, *
for ever and for evermore.

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.

John 10:7-17 (NRSV)

So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.”

THE APOSTLES’ CREED

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
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,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and 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 be with you.
And also with you.
Let us 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.
Save us from the time of trial,
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours,
now and for ever. Amen.

V.  Save your people, Lord, and bless your inheritance;
R.  Govern and uphold them, now and always.
V.  Day by day we bless you;
R.  We praise your Name for ever.
V.  Lord, keep us from all sin today;
R.  Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy.
V.  Lord, show us your love and mercy;
R.  For we put our trust in you.
V.  In you, Lord, is our hope;
R.  And we shall never hope in vain.

William Passavant, a Lutheran pastor, founded numerous hospitals, schools and orphanages in his spare time, but needed helpers; on a trip to Germany he decided the answer was deaconesses. He introduced them to the USA in 1849 and set apart the first American sisters a year later. (Numerous documents of the Early Church prove their existence.) The movement spread from there to other churches, and helped contribute to the ordination of women priests in The Episcopal Church starting in 1974. (Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana)

Collect of the Day: William Passavant, Prophetic Witness, 1894

Compassionate God, who raises up ministers among your people: May we ever desire, like your servant William Passavant, to support the work of equipping the saints for service among the sick and the friendless; through Jesus Christ, the divine Physician, who has prepared for us an eternal home, and who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

 

The body of U.S. Chief Petty Officer Scott C. Dayton arrived at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware on November 27, 2016; we published his name and photograph the following Tuesday. He was the first U.S. serviceman to die fighting ISIS in Syria. (Steve Ruark/Associated Press)

No U.S. Military Deaths in War Last Week
They Have Names, compiled since 2007 by Clint Gilliland

Total War Deaths: 8,360

Iraq: Total Deaths: 4,832
-no U.S. or allied casualties reported this past week

Afghanistan: Total Deaths: 3,528
-no U.S. or allied casualties reported this past week

Civilian Death Estimates
Iraq: 155,923 – 174,355 (Iraq Body Count Project, through March 2016)
Afghanistan: more than 26,000 (Costs of War, Brown University, through January 2015)

Clint reports, “Thanks be to God for no combat related fatalities. We did lose two from the Texas Air National Guard when their Apache helicopter crashed into Galveston Bay on Wednesday: Chief Warrant Officer 3 Dustin Lee Mortenson, 32 of League City, TX and Chief Warrant Officer 2, Lucas Maurice Lowe, 33 of Hardin, TX. Both were assigned to the 1-149th Attack Helicopter Battalion based at Ellington Field. A witness on the ground said the helicopter appeared to come apart in mid-air before crashing. Warrant Officer Mortenson had a reputation as one of the best aviation maintenance test pilots in the Guard. Purely speculative, but they were likely on a post-maintenance test flight.”

For Those in the Armed Forces of our Country

Almighty God, we commend to your gracious care and keeping all the men and women of our armed forces at home and abroad. Defend them day by day with your heavenly grace; strengthen them in their trials and temptations; give them courage to face the perils which beset them; and grant them a sense of your abiding presence wherever they may be; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Collect for Peace

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.

Please add your own intercessions, supplications and thanksgivings here.

Collect for Mission

Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace: So clothe us in your Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you; for the honor of your Name. Amen.

A Prayer of St. Chrysostom

Almighty God, you have given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplications to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will be in the midst of them: Fulfil now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen.

Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen. 2 Corinthians 13:14++

VIDEO: Of the Father’s love begotten (#82, Divinum mysterium, 11th C.; Marcus Aurelius Clemens Prudentius, tr. John Mason Neale & Henry Williams Baker, alt.) – Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Richard Resch, baritone, 1998

Morning Prayer 12.28.16, The Holy Innocents

Both services are now available for streaming.

Mthr. Gwen was our only cantor today at 7 a.m., but our lectors were strong; click here.

For a good crowd & 4 cantors at 9 a.m., go here.

—

Kings shall be your foster fathers,
and their queens your nursing mothers.

Peter Paul Rubens: Massacre of the Innocents. Matthew 2:16 tells us that Herod the Great ordered the slaughter of all boys age 2 and under in the area around Bethlehem, to keep baby Jesus from taking Herod’s throne as King of the Jews. But St. Joseph scooped up his family and escaped to Egypt.

Behold, the dwelling of God is with humankind. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them, and be their God. Revelation 21:3

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 for ever. Amen. Alleluia.

Psalm 100
Jubilate

Be joyful in the Lord, all you lands;
serve the Lord with gladness
and come before his presence with a song.

Know this: The Lord himself is God;
he himself has made us, and we are his;
we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and call upon his Name.

For the Lord is good;
his mercy is everlasting;
and his faithfulness endures from age to age.

Psalm 2

1  Why are the nations in an uproar? *
Why do the peoples mutter empty threats?
2  Why do the kings of the earth rise up in revolt,
and the rulers plot together, *
against the LORD and against the LORD’s Anointed?
3  “Let us break their yoke,” they say; *
“let us cast off their bonds from us.”
4  The One enthroned in heaven is laughing; *
the Lord has them in derision.
5  Then in wrath the LORD speaks to them, *
and divine rage fills them with terror.
6  “I myself have set my king *
upon my holy hill of Zion.”
7  Let me announce the decree of the LORD: *
the LORD said to me, “You are my Son;
this day have I begotten you.
8  Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance *
and the ends of the earth for your possession.
9  You shall crush them with an iron rod *
and shatter them like a piece of pottery.”
10  And now, you kings, be wise; *
be warned, you rulers of the earth.
11  Submit to the LORD with fear, *
and with trembling bow down in worship;
12  Lest the LORD be angry and you perish; *
for divine wrath is quickly kindled.
13  Happy are they all *
who take refuge in the LORD!

Psalm 26

1  Give judgment for me, O LORD,
for I have lived with integrity; *
I have trusted in the Lord and have not faltered.
2  Test me, O LORD, and try me; *
examine my heart and my mind.
3  For your love is before my eyes; *
I have walked faithfully with you.
4  I have not sat with the worthless, *
nor do I consort with the deceitful.
5  I have hated the company of evildoers; *
I will not sit down with the wicked.
6  I will wash my hands in innocence, O LORD, *
that I may go in procession round your altar,
7  Singing aloud a song of thanksgiving *
and recounting all your wonderful deeds.
8  LORD, I love the house in which you dwell *
and the place where your glory abides.
9  Do not sweep me away with sinners, *
nor my life with those who thirst for blood,
10  Whose hands are full of evil plots, *
and their right hand full of bribes.
11  As for me, I will live with integrity, *
redeem me, O LORD, and have pity on me.
12  My foot stands on level ground; *
in the full assembly I will bless the LORD.

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.

THE LESSONS
Isaiah 49:13-23 (NRSV)

Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth;
break forth, O mountains, into singing!
For the LORD has comforted his people,
and will have compassion on his suffering ones.

But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me,
my Lord has forgotten me.”
Can a woman forget her nursing child,
or show no compassion for the child of her womb?
Even these may forget,
yet I will not forget you.
See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands;
your walls are continually before me.
Your builders outdo your destroyers,
and those who laid you waste go away from you.
Lift up your eyes all around and see;
they all gather, they come to you.
As I live, says the LORD,
you shall put all of them on like an ornament,
and like a bride you shall bind them on.

Surely your waste and your desolate places
and your devastated land —
surely now you will be too crowded for your inhabitants,
and those who swallowed you up will be far away.
The children born in the time of your bereavement
will yet say in your hearing:
“The place is too crowded for me;
make room for me to settle.”
Then you will say in your heart,
“Who has borne me these?
I was bereaved and barren,
exiled and put away —
so who has reared these?
I was left all alone —
where then have these come from?”

Thus says the Lord GOD:
I will soon lift up my hand to the nations,
and raise my signal to the peoples;
and they shall bring your sons in their bosom,
and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.
Kings shall be your foster fathers,
and their queens your nursing mothers.
With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you,
and lick the dust of your feet.
Then you will know that I am the LORD;
those who wait for me shall not be put to shame.

Canticle: Song of Zechariah
Luke 1:68-79

Blessed are you, Lord, the God of Israel; *
you have come to your people and set them free.
You have raised up for us a mighty savior, *
born of the house of your servant David.
Through your holy prophets you promised of old
to save us from our enemies, *
from the hands of all who hate us.
To show mercy to our forebears, *
and to remember your holy covenant.
This was the oath you swore to our father Abraham, *
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
Free to worship you without fear, *
holy and righteous before you
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 the way,
To give God’s 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 for ever. Amen.

A Rohingya family burned out of their market stall in Myanmar in October. (Soe Ziya Tun/Reuters)

Matthew 18:1-14 (NRSV)

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a child, whom he put among them, and said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

“If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to the one by whom the stumbling block comes!

“If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life maimed or lame than to have two hands or two feet and to be thrown into the eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into the hell of fire.

“Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for, I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven. What do you think? If a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.”

Canticle: We Praise You, O God
Te Deum laudamus

We praise you, O God,
we acclaim you as Lord;
All creation worships you,
the Father everlasting.
To you all angels, all the powers of heaven,
the cherubim and seraphim, sing in endless praise:
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
The glorious company of apostles praise you.
The noble fellowship of prophets praise you.
The white-robed army of martyrs praise you.
Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims you:
Father, of majesty unbounded,
your true and only Son, worthy of all worship,
and the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide.
You, Christ, are the king of glory,
the eternal Son of the Father.
When you took our flesh to set us free
you humbly chose the Virgin’s womb.
You overcame the sting of death
and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
You are seated at God’s right hand in glory.
We believe that you will come to be our judge.
Come then, Lord, and help your people,
bought with the price of your own blood,
and bring us with your saints
to glory everlasting.

THE APOSTLES’ CREED

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord.
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
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,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and 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 be with you.
And also with you.
Let us 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.
Save us from the time of trial,
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours,
now and for ever. Amen.

V.  Help us, O God our Savior;
R.  Deliver us and forgive us our sins.
V.  Look upon your congregation;
R.  Give to your people the blessing of peace.
V.  Declare your glory among the nations;
R.  And your wonders among all peoples.
V.  Do not let the oppressed be shamed and turned away;
R.  Never forget the lives of your poor.
V.  Continue your loving-kindness to those who know you;
R.  And your favor to those who are true of heart.
V.  Satisfy us by your loving-kindness in the morning;
R.  So shall we rejoice and be glad all the days of our life.

Alan Kurdi, age 2, Kurdish, a refugee from Syria, drowned in September 2015 on the shore of a resort in Turkey. (Nilufer Demir/Agence France-Presse)

Collect of the Day: The Holy Innocents

We remember today, O God, the slaughter of the holy innocents of Bethlehem by King Herod. Receive, we pray, into the arms of your mercy all innocent victims; and by your great might frustrate the designs of evil tyrants and establish your rule of justice, love and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Wednesday Morning Prayer List

Healing of Body, Mind & Soul
Katherine, early Alzheimer’s, and her son Robert, early dementia
The Queen, age 90, down with a cold
Fr.Doug Yarbrough, multiple sclerosis, ICU
Sr. Judy, breast cancer
Gayle, age 80, will to live
Cameron Lacy, acute leukemia
Clint’s daughter Julia Butcher, breast cancer
Rayell Segerstrom, melanoma
Ron, late stage brain cancer
Sarah Tamilio, child hit by car
Baylin, child with cancer, now going through chemo
Joseph Short
Patrick Dayton
Martha’s brother Lewis
Wanda Bell, COPD
Treese, cancer surgery recovery
Debbie Brooner, adenocarcinoma
Gail Hart, health
Joan, chemo
Brother Barnabas, Parkinson’s
Lyle, multiple myeloma
Fr. Robert Hughes, Parkinson’s
Debbie, lupus
Honorary Deacon Clint, cancer

For Caregivers & Families
Teresa

Please add your own intercessions, supplications and thanksgivings here.

Prayer for Mission

Almighty and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of your faithful people is governed and sanctified: Receive our supplications and prayers which we offer before you for all members of your holy Church, that in their vocation and ministry they may truly and devoutly serve you; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

A Prayer of St. Chrysostom

Almighty God, you have given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplications to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will be in the midst of them: Fulfil now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen.

Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

May the blessing of the God of Abraham and Sarah, and of Jesus Christ born of our sister Mary, and of the Holy Spirit, who broods over the world as a mother over her children, be upon us and remain with us always. Amen.++

VIDEO: Coventry Carol (#247, Coventry Carol, from Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors, 15th C.) – Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, 2011

Morning Prayer 12.16.16, Ralph Adams Cram & Richard Upjohn, Architects, & John LaFarge, Artist; Ember Day

Both Services Ready for Streaming on Demand

The Revs. Gwen, Anjel & Michael chanted at our early service; click here.

Our ordinand Maria joined us live at 9 a.m. and read a lesson; go here.

—

They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption; for people are slaves to whatever masters them.

Ralph Adams Cram was perhaps the most famous American church architect of his day, including the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City; he also specialized in collegiate buildings like those at Princeton, Sewanee and Rice. As a young man he underwent a profound conversion experience on Christmas Eve in Rome which affected his subsequent work; an Anglo-Catholic, he continually sought to express his faith using the medieval idiom of Gothic Revival styles. Who hasn’t experienced the awe, faith and wonder that art and architecture can inspire?

In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Isaiah 40:3

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.

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.

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 for ever. Amen. Alleluia.

Psalm 95:1-7
Venite

Come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before God’s presence with thanksgiving;
and raise to the Lord a shout with psalms.
For the Lord is a great God;
you are great above all gods.
In your hand are the caverns of the earth;
and the heights of the hills are yours also.
The sea is yours, for you made it,
and your hands have molded the dry land.
Come, let us bow down and bend the knee,
and kneel before the Lord our Maker.
For you are our God,
and we are the people of your pasture, and the sheep of your hand.
Oh, that today we would hearken to your voice!

Psalm 40

1  I waited patiently upon the LORD; *
you stooped to me and heard my cry.
2  You lifted me out of the desolate pit, out of the mire and clay; *
you set my feet upon a high cliff and made my footing sure.
3  You put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God; *
many shall see, and stand in awe,
and put their trust in the LORD.
4  Happy are they who trust in the LORD! *
they do not resort to evil spirits or turn to false gods.
5  Great things are they that you have done, O LORD my God!
how great your wonders and your plans for us! *
there is none who can be compared with you.
6  Oh, that I could make them known and tell them! *
but they are more than I can count.
7  In sacrifice and offering you take no pleasure *
(you have given me ears to hear you);
8  Burnt-offering and sin-offering you have not required, *
and so I said, “Behold, I come.
9  In the roll of the book it is written concerning me: *
‘I love to do your will, O my God;
your law is deep in my heart.'”
10  I proclaimed righteousness in the great congregation; *
behold, I did not restrain my lips;
and that, O LORD, you know.
11  Your righteousness have I not hidden in my heart;
I have spoken of your faithfulness and your deliverance; *
I have not concealed your love and faithfulness from the great congregation.
12  You are the LORD;
do not withhold your compassion from me; *
let your love and your faithfulness keep me safe for ever,
13  For innumerable troubles have crowded upon me;
my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see; *
they are more in number than the hairs of my head,
and my heart fails me.
14  Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me; *
O LORD, make haste to help me.

15  Let them be ashamed and altogether dismayed
who seek after my life to destroy it; *
let them draw back and be disgraced
who take pleasure in my misfortune.
16  Let those who say “Aha!” and gloat over me be confounded, *
because they are ashamed.
17  Let all who seek you rejoice in you and be glad; *
let those who love your salvation continually say,
“Great is the LORD!”
18  Though I am poor and afflicted, *
the Lord will have regard for me.
19  You are my helper and my deliverer; *
do not tarry, O my God.

Psalm 54

1  Save me, O God, by your Name; *
in your might, defend my cause.
2  Hear my prayer, O God; *
give ear to the words of my mouth.
3  For the arrogant have risen up against me,
and the ruthless have sought my life, *
those who have no regard for God.
4  Behold, God is my helper; *
it is the Lord who sustains my life.
5  Render evil to those who spy on me; *
in your faithfulness, destroy them.
6  I will offer you a freewill sacrifice *
and praise your Name, O LORD, for it is good.
7  For you have rescued me from every trouble, *
and my eye has seen the ruin of my foes.

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.

Richard Upjohn, architect: St. Peter’s, Albany, New York. He was a co-founder of the American Institute of Architects and published a sketchbook of wood-frame churches for country parishes, in a much loved (and widely copied) style called “Carptenter Gothic.” (Matt Wade)

THE LESSONS
Isaiah 10:5-19 (NRSV)

Ah, Assyria, the rod of my anger—
the club in their hands is my fury!
Against a godless nation I send him,
and against the people of my wrath I command him,
to take spoil and seize plunder,
and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
But this is not what he intends,
nor does he have this in mind;
but it is in his heart to destroy,
and to cut off nations not a few.
For he says:
“Are not my commanders all kings?
Is not Calno like Carchemish?
Is not Hamath like Arpad?
Is not Samaria like Damascus?
As my hand has reached to the kingdoms of the idols
whose images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,
shall I not do to Jerusalem and her idols
what I have done to Samaria and her images?”

When the Lord has finished all his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, he will punish the arrogant boasting of the king of Assyria and his haughty pride. For he says:

“By the strength of my hand I have done it,
and by my wisdom, for I have understanding;
I have removed the boundaries of peoples,
and have plundered their treasures;
like a bull I have brought down those who sat on thrones.
My hand has found, like a nest,
the wealth of the peoples;
and as one gathers eggs that have been forsaken,
so I have gathered all the earth;
and there was none that moved a wing,
or opened its mouth, or chirped.”

Shall the ax vaunt itself over the one who wields it,
or the saw magnify itself against the one who handles it?
As if a rod should raise the one who lifts it up,
or as if a staff should lift the one who is not wood!
Therefore the Sovereign, the LORD of hosts,
will send wasting sickness among his stout warriors,
and under his glory a burning will be kindled,
like the burning of fire.
The light of Israel will become a fire,
and his Holy One a flame;
and it will burn and devour
his thorns and briers in one day.
The glory of his forest and his fruitful land
the LORD will destroy, both soul and body,
and it will be as when an invalid wastes away.
The remnant of the trees of his forest will be so few
that a child can write them down.

Canticle: Second Song of Isaiah
Isaiah 55:6-11

Seek the Lord while he wills to be found; *
call upon him when he draws near.
Let the wicked forsake their ways *
and the evil ones their thoughts;
And let them turn to the Lord, and he will have compassion, *
and to our God, for he will richly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, *
nor your ways my ways, says the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, *
so are my ways higher than your ways,
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
For as rain and snow fall from the heavens *
and return not again, but water the earth,
Bringing forth life and giving growth, *
seed for sowing and bread for eating,
So is my word that goes forth from my mouth; *
it will not return to me empty;
But it will accomplish that which I have purposed, *
and prosper in that for which I sent it.

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.

There is all kinds of filth in the Bible, but it isn’t the pig St. Peter is accusing of immoral choices.

2 Peter 2:17-22 (NRSV)

These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm; for them the deepest darkness has been reserved. For they speak bombastic nonsense, and with licentious desires of the flesh they entice people who have just escaped from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption; for people are slaves to whatever masters them. For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overpowered, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment that was passed on to them. It has happened to them according to the true proverb,
“The dog turns back to its own vomit,”
and,
“The sow is washed only to wallow in the mud.”

Canticle: A Song to the Lamb
Revelation 4:11, 5:9-10, 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, *
for ever and for evermore.

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.

Andrei Rublev: John the Baptist

Matthew 11:2-15 (NRSV)

When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”

As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written, ‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John came; and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. Let anyone with ears listen!”

THE APOSTLES’ CREED

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
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,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and 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 be with you.
And also with you.
Let us 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.
Save us from the time of trial,
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours,
now and for ever. Amen.

V.  Help us, O God our Savior;
R.  Deliver us and forgive us our sins.
V.  Look upon your congregation;
R.  Give to your people the blessing of peace.
V.  Declare your glory among the nations;
R.  And your wonders among all peoples.
V.  Do not let the oppressed be shamed and turned away;
R.  Never forget the lives of your poor.
V.  Continue your loving-kindness to those who know you;
R.  And your favor to those who are true of heart.
V.  Satisfy us by your loving-kindness in the morning;
R.  So shall we rejoice and be glad all the days of our life.

John LaFarge, 1889: Butterflies and Foliage (Boston Museum of Fine Arts)

Collect of the Day: Ralph Adams Cram & Richard Upjohn, Architects, 1942, 1878, & John LaFarge, Artist, 1910

Gracious God, we thank you for the vision of Ralph Adams Cram, John LaFarge, and Richard Upjohn, whose harmonious revival of the Gothic enriched our churches with a sacramental understanding of reality in the face of secular materialism; and we pray that we may honor your gifts of the beauty of holiness given through them, for the glory of Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

Collect for Ember Day: For those to be ordained
especially Maria and Leslie of this congregation, to be ordained deacons tonight

Almighty God, the giver of all good gifts, in your divine providence you have appointed various orders in your Church: Give your grace, we humbly pray, to all who are called to any office and ministry for your people; and so fill them with the truth of your doctrine and clothe them with holiness of life, that they may faithfully serve before you, to the glory of your great Name and for the benefit of your holy Church; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

A Collect for Fridays

Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord. Amen.

Friday Morning Prayer List

For the Poor of every nation
For the cold and hungry
For those who minister among them
Parish food pantries, gardens and orchards

For Those Facing Danger & Oppression
Christians persecuted in China, Sudan, Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Turkey India and Pakistan
Muslims persecuted in India, Myanmar, Europe & the USA
Hindus persecuted in Bangladesh
(((Jews))) all over the world
All women and girls of the world
LGBTs in places of violence, especially youth worldwide
Victims of human trafficking
Archbishops Paul Yazigi and John Ibrahim, Syria, abducted 3 years ago, fate unknown
Rev. Andrew Brunson, American missionary detained in Turkey

Please add your own intercessions, supplications and thanksgivings here.

Collect for Mission

Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace: So clothe us in your Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you; for the honor of your Name. Amen.

A Prayer of St. Chrysostom

Almighty God, you have given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplications to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will be in the midst of them: Fulfil now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen.

Webcast Dismissal
by Josh Thomas

O God, we’re ready to depart now to begin the rest of our morning. Thank you for this time together to worship you, to see and listen to each other over miles and time zones. We ask your blessing on the concerns and joys each of us has brought with us, that you will be with N., N., and each of our viewers as we go about our day. Be present in our encounters with others, and give us awareness of you in our solitude. Help us do good work and live good lives, in unity with your Son and Holy Spirit. And now, with one voice,

Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Now to him who is able to keep you from falling, and to present you without blemish before the presence of his glory with rejoicing, to the only God our Savior, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all time and now and for ever. Amen. Jude 24-25++

VIDEO: O magnum mysterium (Tomas Victoria; Latin) – Choir of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York City, 1993