Evening Prayer: Saturday 31 March 2018

March 31, 2018

Holy Saturday (Easter Eve)
Evening Prayer – The Suffering Christ

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: Lord, hear my prayer;*
answer me in your righteousness. (Ps. 143.1)

Opening (from Psalm 143)

1 I spread out my hands to you;*
my soul gasps to you like a thirsty land.
2 O Lord, make haste to answer me; my spirit fails me;*
do not hide your face from me
or I shall be like those who go down to the Pit.
3 Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord,*
for I flee to you for refuge.
4 Teach me to do what pleases you, for you are my God;*
let your good Spirit lead me on level ground.

Glory to the Father…

or a suitable hymn

Psalm 142
1 I cry to the Lord with my voice;*
to the Lord I make loud supplication.
2 I pour out my complaint before him*
and tell him all my trouble.
3 When my spirit languishes within me, you know my path;*
in the way wherein I walk they have hidden a trap for me.
4 I look to my right hand and find no one who knows me;*
I have no place to flee to, and no one cares for me.
5 I cry out to you, O Lord;*
I say, ‘You are my refuge,
my portion in the land of the living.’
6 Listen to my cry for help, for I have been brought very low;*
save me from those who pursue me,
for they are too strong for me.
7 Bring me out of prison, that I may give thanks to your name;*
when you have dealt bountifully with me,
the righteous will gather around me.

God our consoler and redeemer, save your people coerced and made captive by the powers of evil, and bring us into the way of freedom and liberty prepared by the sacrifice of your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ.

Conclusion 1 Peter 2

1 Christ our Lord suffered for us, leaving us an example,*
that we should follow in his steps.
2 He committed no sin, no guile was found on his lips;*
when he was reviled he did not revile in return.
3 When he suffered he did not threaten,*
but trusted in God who judges justly.
4 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree,*
that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.
5 By his wounds we have been healed;*
for we were straying like sheep,
6 But now we have returned*
to the shepherd and guardian of our souls.

Glory to the Father…

Antiphon: Lord, hear my prayer; answer me in your righteousness

READING(S)

Romans 8.1-11

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed it cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.

 

Response Ps. 140.6

I have said to the Lord, You are my God.
I have said to the Lord, You are my God
Listen, O Lord, to my supplication.
You are my God.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
I have said to the Lord, You are my God.

MAGNIFICAT

Magnificat Antiphon: Destroy this temple* and in three days I will raise it up, says
the Lord.

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: Destroy this temple* and in three days I will raise it up, says
the Lord.

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

O God,
creator of heaven and earth:
as the crucified body of your dear Son was laid in the tomb,
and rested on this holy Sabbath;
so may we await with him
the coming of the third day,
and rise with him to newness of life;
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who now 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.