ASCENSION DAY
Evening Prayer – New Life: The Spirit
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: Give me the joy of your saving help again* and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit. (Ps. 51.13)
Opening (from Psalm 51)
1 You look for truth deep within me,*
and will make me understand wisdom secretly.
2 Purge me from my sin, and I shall be pure;*
wash me, and I shall be clean indeed.
3 Create in me a clean heart, O God,*
and renew a right spirit within me.
4 Cast me not away from your presence*
and take not your holy Spirit from me
Glory to the Father…
or a suitable hymn
Psalm 104.25-37
25 O Lord, how manifold are your works!*
in wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
26 Yonder is the great and wide sea
with its living things too many to number,*
creatures both small and great.
27 There move the ships, and there is that Leviathan,*
which you have made for the sport of it.
28 All of them look to you*
to give them their food in due season.
29 You give it to them; they gather it;*
you open your hand, and they are filled with good things.
30 You hide your face, and they are terrified;*
you take away their breath,
and they die and return to their dust.
31 You send forth your Spirit, and they are created;*
and so you renew the face of the earth.
32 May the glory of the Lord endure for ever;*
may the Lord rejoice in all his works.
33 He looks at the earth and it trembles;*
he touches the mountains and they smoke.
34 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;*
I will praise my God while I have my being.
35 May these words of mine please him;*
I will rejoice in the Lord.
36 Let sinners be consumed out of the earth,*
and the wicked be no more.
37 Bless the Lord, O my soul.*
Hallelujah!
Conclusion (from Romans 8)
1 If God is for us, who is against us?*
The God who did not spare his own Son,
will he not give us all things with him?
2 It is God who justifies; who is to condemn?*
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
3 Neither death nor life,*
nor angels nor principalities;
4 Nor things present, nor things to come,*
nor depth, nor height;
5 Nor powers, nor anything in all creation*
shall separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Glory to the Father…
Antiphon: Give me the joy of your saving help again* and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit.
READING(S)
Matthew 28:16-20
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’
Response (Ps. 147.5)
Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; alleluia, alleluia.
Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; alleluia, alleluia.
There is no limit to his wisdom.
Alleluia, alleluia.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; alleluia, alleluia.
MAGNIFICAT
Magnificat Antiphon: I will not leave you desolate, says the Lord;* I will come to you. (John 14.18)
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: I will not leave you desolate, says the Lord;* I will come to you. (John 14.18)
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 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, your Son Jesus Christ ascended to the throne of heaven that he might rule over all things as Lord. Keep the Church in the unity of the Spirit and in the bond of peace, and bring the whole of creation to worship at his feet, who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. 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.
