Saturday after the first Sunday of Lent
Evening Prayer – Returning to God
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 shall be for ever.
Amen.
PSALMODY
Antiphon: Show me your ways, O Lord,* and teach me your paths. (Ps. 25.3)
Opening (from Psalm 25)
1 You are the God of my salvation;*
in you have I trusted all the day long.
2 Remember, O Lord, your compassion and love,*
for they are from everlasting.
3 Remember not the sins of my youth and my transgressions;*
remember me according to your love.
4 Let integrity and uprightness preserve me,*
for my hope has been in you.
Glory to the Father…
or a suitable hymn
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 him,
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 to another in the noise of your cataracts;*
all your rapids and floods have gone over me.
10 The Lord grants his loving-kindness in the daytime;*
in the night season his song 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 him,
who is the help of my countenance, and my God.
Gracious God, in the night of distress we forget the days of sun and joy. Even when we do not know your presence, preserve us from the dark torrent of despair. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 43
1 Give judgement 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 him,
who is the help of my countenance, and my God.
God of mercy, deliver those who are weighed down by fear and depression, and give them joy and gladness in your presence. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ the Lord.
Conclusion Matthew 5
1 Blessed are the poor in spirit,*
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
2 Blessed are those who mourn,*
for they shall be comforted.
3 Blessed are the meek,*
for they shall inherit the earth.
4 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,*
for they shall be satisfied.
5 Blessed are the merciful,*
for they shall obtain mercy.
6 Blessed are the pure in heart,*
for they shall see God.
7 Blessed are the peacemakers,*
for they shall be called the children of God.
8 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,*
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Glory to the Father…
Antiphon: Show me your ways, O Lord,
and teach me your paths.
READING(S)
Mark 2.23-3.6
One sabbath he was going through the cornfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, ‘Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?’ And he said to them, ‘Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food? He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and he gave some to his companions.’ Then he said to them, ‘The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.’
Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand. They watched him to see whether he would cure him on the sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man who had the withered hand, ‘Come forward.’ Then he said to them, ‘Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to kill?’ But they were silent. He looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.
Response Ps. 86.15
You, Lord, are gracious and full of compassion.
You, Lord, are gracious and full of compassion.
Slow to anger, full of kindness and truth.
Full of compassion.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
You, Lord, are gracious and full of compassion.
MAGNIFICAT
Magnificat Antiphon: If you hear his voice,* harden not your hearts (Ps. 95.7)
1 My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,*
my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour;
2 for he has looked with favour on his lowly servant;*
from this day all generations will call me blessed.
3 The Almighty has done great things for me*
and holy is his name.
4 He has mercy on those who fear him*
in every generation.
5 He has shown the strength of his arm;*
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
6 He has cast down the mighty from their thrones*
and has lifted up the lowly.
7 He has filled the hungry with good things,*
and the rich he has sent away empty.
8 He has come to the help of his servant Israel,*
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
9 the promise he made to our forebears,*
to Abraham and his children for ever.
Glory to the Father… (may be said by all)
Magnificat Antiphon: If you hear his voice,* harden not your hearts (Ps. 95.7)
PRAYERS
Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
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.
Do not bring us to the time of trial,
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours,
now and for ever.
Amen.
Collect of the Day
Almighty God,
whose Son fasted forty days in the wilderness,
and was tempted as we are, yet did not sin:
give us grace to discipline ourselves in submission to your Spirit,
that, as you know our weakness,
so we may know your power to save;
through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, world without end. Amen.
Lord God almighty, come and dispel the darkness from our hearts, that in the radiance of your brightness we may know you, the only unfading light, glorious in all eternity. Amen.
Let us bless the Lord:
Thanks be to God!
The God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing:
through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
