The Birth of Mary, Mother of the Lord
O 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 shall be for ever.
Amen.
PSALMODY
Antiphon: Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom;* your dominion endures throughout all ages. (Ps. 145.13)
Opening
VENITE
1 O come let us sing out to the Lord,*
let us shout in triumph to the rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before his face with thanksgiving*
and cry out to him joyfully in psalms.
3 For the Lord is a great God,*
and a great king above all gods.
4 In his hands are the depths of the earth,*
and the peaks of the mountains are his also.
5 The sea is his and he made it;*
his hands moulded dry land.
6 Come let us worship and bow down,*
and kneel before the Lord our maker.
7 For he himself is our God;*
we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.
8 Today if only you would hear his voice:*
‘Do not harden your hearts as Israel did in the wilderness;
9 when your fathers tested me;*
put me to proof though they had seen my works.
10 Of whom I swore in my wrath:*
“They shall not enter my rest.”’
Glory to the Father… (may be said by all)
or (from Psalm 145)
1 I will exalt you, O God my king,*
and bless your name for ever and ever.
2 All your works praise you, O Lord,*
and your faithful servants bless you.
3 They make known the glory of your kingdom*
and speak of your power;
4 that the peoples may know of your power*
and the glorious splendour of your kingdom.
Glory to the Father…
or a suitable hymn
Psalm 115
1 Not to us, O Lord, not to us,
but to your name give glory;*
because of your love and because of your faithfulness.
2 Why should the heathen say,*
‘Where then is their God?’
3 Our God is in heaven;*
whatever he wills to do he does.
4 Their idols are silver and gold,*
the work of human hands.
5 They have mouths, but they cannot speak;*
eyes have they, but they cannot see;
6 They have ears, but they cannot hear;*
noses, but they cannot smell;
7 They have hands, but they cannot feel;
feet, but they cannot walk;*
they make no sound with their throat.
8 Those who make them are like them,*
and so are all who put their trust in them.
9 O Israel, trust in the Lord;*
he is their help and their shield.
10 O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord;*
he is their help and their shield.
11 You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord;*
he is their help and their shield.
12 The Lord has been mindful of us, and he will bless us;*
he will bless the house of Israel;
he will bless the house of Aaron;
13 He will bless those who fear the Lord,*
both small and great together.
14 My the Lord increase you more and more,*
you and your children after you.
15 May you be blessed by the Lord,*
the maker of heaven and earth.
16 The heaven of heavens is the Lord’s,*
but he entrusted the earth to its peoples.
17 The dead do not praise the Lord,*
nor all those who go down into silence;
18 But we will bless the Lord,*
from this time forth for evermore.
Hallelujah!
God, you delivered Israel from the worship of false gods. Redeem, we pray, your people in every age from the pursuit of all that is worthless and untrue in human life; through Jesus our Saviour, who came to bring us life in all its fullness.
Conclusion (Isaiah 40)
1 The Lord is the everlasting God,*
the Creator of the ends of the earth,
2 who does not faint nor grow weary,*
whose understanding is unsearchable,
3 who gives power to the faint,*
increase of strength to those who have no might.
4 Even youth shall faint and be weary;*
the young shall fall exhausted.
5 But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;*
they shall mount up with wings like eagles.
6 They shall run and not be weary,*
they shall walk and not faint.
Glory to the Father…
Antiphon: Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
Your dominion endures throughout all ages.
READING(S)
Job 32:1-10, 19 – 33:1, 19-28
So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. Then Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became angry. He was angry at Job because he justified himself rather than God; he was angry also at Job’s three friends because they had found no answer, though they had declared Job to be in the wrong.Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job, because they were older than he.But when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouths of these three men, he became angry.
Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite answered:
‘I am young in years,
and you are aged;
therefore I was timid and afraid
to declare my opinion to you.
I said, “Let days speak,
and many years teach wisdom.”
But truly it is the spirit in a mortal,
the breath of the Almighty, that makes for understanding.
It is not the old that are wise,
nor the aged that understand what is right.
Therefore I say, “Listen to me;
let me also declare my opinion.”
My heart is indeed like wine that has no vent;
like new wineskins, it is ready to burst.
I must speak, so that I may find relief;
I must open my lips and answer.
I will not show partiality to any person
or use flattery towards anyone.
For I do not know how to flatter—
or my Maker would soon put an end to me!
‘But now, hear my speech, O Job,
and listen to all my words.
They are also chastened with pain upon their beds,
and with continual strife in their bones,
so that their lives loathe bread,
and their appetites dainty food.
Their flesh is so wasted away that it cannot be seen;
and their bones, once invisible, now stick out.
Their souls draw near the Pit,
and their lives to those who bring death.
Then, if there should be for one of them an angel,
a mediator, one of a thousand,
one who declares a person upright,
and he is gracious to that person, and says,
“Deliver him from going down into the Pit;
I have found a ransom;
let his flesh become fresh with youth;
let him return to the days of his youthful vigour”;
then he prays to God, and is accepted by him,
he comes into his presence with joy,
and God repays him for his righteousness.
That person sings to others and says,
“I sinned, and perverted what was right,
and it was not paid back to me.
He has redeemed my soul from going down to the Pit,
and my life shall see the light.”
Acts 13:44-52
The next sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy; and blaspheming, they contradicted what was spoken by Paul. Then both Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, ‘It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken first to you. Since you reject it and judge yourselves to be unworthy of eternal life, we are now turning to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, saying,
“I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles,
so that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.” ’
When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and praised the word of the Lord; and as many as had been destined for eternal life became believers. Thus the word of the Lord spread throughout the region. But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, and stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their region. So they shook the dust off their feet in protest against them, and went to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
Silence
Response (Ps. 86.12)
I will thank you, O Lord my God, with all my heart.
I will thank you, O Lord my God, with all my heart.
I will glorify your name for evermore.
With all my heart.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
I will thank you, O Lord my God, with all my heart.
BENEDICTUS
Benedictus Antiphon: God has set us free* to worship him.
1 Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel,*
for he has come to his people and set them free.
2 He has raised up for us a mighty saviour,*
born of the house of his servant David.
3 Through his holy prophets he promised of old*
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all that hate us.
4 He promised to show mercy to our forebears,*
and to remember his holy covenant.
5 This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:*
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
6 free to worship him without fear,*
holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.
7 You my child shall be called the prophet of the Most High,*
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
8 to give his people knowledge of salvation*
by the forgiveness of all their sins.
9 In the tender compassion of our God*
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
10 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… (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
Almighty God, who looked with favour on your servant Mary and called her to be the mother of your Son; nurture in us the humility and gentleness that found favour in your sight, that with her we may proclaim the greatness of your name and find the mercy you show to those who fear you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
(A suitable hymn)
God most holy, we give you thanks for bringing us out of the shadow of night into the light of morning; and we ask you for the joy of spending this day in your service, so that when evening comes, we may once more give you thanks, through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord.
Amen.
Let us bless the Lord:
Thanks be to God!
The Lord bless us and preserve us from all evil;
and bring us to life eternal.
Amen.
