Maundy Thursday
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 41
1 Happy are they who consider the poor and needy!*
the Lord will deliver them in the time of trouble.
2 The Lord preserves them and keeps them alive,
so that they may be happy in the land;*
he does not hand them over to the will of their enemies.
3 The Lord sustains them on their sickbed*
and ministers to them in their illness.
4 I said, ‘Lord, be merciful to me;*
heal me, for I have sinned against you.’
5 My enemies are saying wicked things about me:*
‘When will he die, and his name perish?’
6 Even if they come to see me, they speak empty words;*
their heart collects false rumours;
they go outside and spread them.
7 All my enemies whisper together about me*
and devise evil against me.
8 ‘A deadly thing,’ they say, ‘has fastened on him;*
he has taken to his bed and will never get up again.’
9 Even my best friend, whom I trusted,
who broke bread with me,*
has lifted up his heel and turned against me.
10 But you, O Lord, be merciful to me and raise me up,*
and I shall repay them.
11 By this I know you are pleased with me,*
that my enemy does not triumph over me.
12 In my integrity you hold me fast,*
and shall set me before your face for ever.
13 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,*
from age to age. Amen. Amen.
Remember us, gracious God, when we are lonely and depressed, and support us in the dark night of grief and despair, for your love is faithful and you do not forget your broken ones. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ the Lord.
Psalm 88
1 O Lord, my God, my Saviour,*
by day and night I cry to you.
2 Let my prayer enter into your presence;*
incline your ear to my lamentation.
3 For I am full of trouble;*
my life is at the brink of the grave.
4 I am counted among those who go down to the Pit;*
I have become like one who has no strength;
5 Lost among the dead,*
like the slain who lie in the grave,
6 Whom you remember no more,*
for they are cut off from your hand.
7 You have laid me in the depths of the Pit,*
in dark places, and in the abyss.
8 Your anger weighs upon me heavily,*
and all your great waves overwhelm me.
9 You have put my friends far from me;
you have made me to be abhorred by them;*
I am in prison and cannot get free.
10 My sight has failed me because of trouble;*
Lord, I have called upon you daily;
I have stretched out my hands to you.
11 Do you work wonders for the dead?*
will those who have died stand up and give you thanks?
12 Will your loving-kindness be declared in the grave?*
your faithfulness in the land of destruction?
13 Will your wonders be known in the dark?*
or your righteousness in the country where all
is forgotten?
14 But as for me, O Lord, I cry to you for help;*
in the morning my prayer comes before you.
15 Lord, why have you rejected me?*
why have you hidden your face from me?
16 Ever since my youth, I have been wretched and at the
point of death;*
I have borne your terrors with a troubled mind.
17 Your blazing anger has swept over me;*
your terrors have destroyed me;
18 They surround me all day long like a flood;*
they encompass me on every side.
19 My friend and my neighbour you have put away from me,*
and darkness is my only companion.
O Lord, when we are plunged into the darkness of despair, make known to us the wonders of your grace, for you alone are God and from you comes all our help and strength. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ.
Conclusion (from 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)
Mark 14:12-25
On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, his disciples said to him, ‘Where do you want us to go and make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?’ So he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, ‘Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him, and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, “The Teacher asks, Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?” He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.’ So the disciples set out and went to the city, and found everything as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal.
When it was evening, he came with the twelve. And when they had taken their places and were eating, Jesus said, ‘Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.’ They began to be distressed and to say to him one after another, ‘Surely, not I?’ He said to them, ‘It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the bowlwith me. For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.’
While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, ‘Take; this is my body.’ Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it. He said to them, ‘This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.’
Silence
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 Antiphons: A new commandment I give to you,* that you love one another, says the Lord. (Jn 13.34)
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)
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 (may be omitted when the Eucharist follows)
O God, your Son Jesus Christ has left to us this meal of bread and wine in which we share his body and his blood. May we who celebrate this sign of his great love show in our lives the fruits of his redemption; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
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.
