Saturday after Fifth Sunday of Easter
Morning Prayer – New Life – 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: Christ has been raised from the dead:*
the first fruits of those who sleep. (1 Cor 15-20)
Opening – Easter Anthems
1 Christ our passover has been sacrificed for us;*
so let us celebrate the feast.
2 Not with the old leaven of corruption and wickedness,*
but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
3 Christ once raised from the dead dies no more;*
death has no more dominion over him.
4 In dying, he died to sin once for all;*
in living, he lives to God.
5 See yourselves therefore as dead to sin,*
and alive to God in Jesus Christ our Lord.
6 Christ has been raised from the dead,*
the first fruits of those who sleep.
7 For as by man came death,*
by man has come also the resurrection of the dead.
8 For as in Adam all die,*
even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
Glory to the Father…
or a suitable hymn
Psalm 148
1 Hallelujah!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;*
praise him in the heights.
2 Praise him, all you angels of his;*
praise him, all his host.
3 Praise him, sun and moon;*
praise him, all you shining stars.
4 Praise him, heaven of heavens,*
and you waters above the heavens.
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord;*
for he commanded, and they were created.
6 He made them stand fast for ever and ever;*
he gave them a law which shall not pass away.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,*
you sea-monsters and all deeps;
8 Fire and hail, snow and fog,*
tempestuous wind, doing his will;
9 Mountains and all hills,*
fruit trees and all cedars;
10 Wild beasts and all cattle,*
creeping things and wingèd birds;
11 Kings of the earth and all peoples,*
princes and all rulers of the world;
12 Young men and maidens,*
old and young together.
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,*
for his name only is exalted,
his splendour is over earth and heaven.
14 He has raised up strength for his people
and praise for all his loyal servants,*
the children of Israel, a people who are near him.
Hallelujah!
Blessed are you, Lord our God, creator of heaven and earth; you open our eyes to see the wonders around us, and our hearts and mouths to praise you. Now give us strength for loving service, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Conclusion (from Wisdom 10)
1 Wisdom freed a holy people and a blameless race,*
from a nation of oppressors.
2 She entered the soul of a servant of the Lord,*
and withstood fearsome rulers with wonders and signs.
3 To the saints she gave the reward of their labours,*
and led them by a marvellous road.
4 She was their shelter by day,*
and a blaze of stars by night.
5 She brought them across the Red Sea;*
she led them through mighty waters.
6 She swallowed their enemies in the waves,*
and spat them out from the depths of the sea.
7 Then, Lord, the righteous sang the glories of your name,*
and praised together your protecting hand.
8 For wisdom opened the mouths of the silent.*
and gave speech to the tongues of her children.
Glory to the Father…
Antiphon: Christ has been raised from the dead: the first fruits of those who sleep.
READING(S)
Wisdom of Solomon 19:1-8, 18-22
But the ungodly were assailed to the end by pitiless anger,
for God knew in advance even their future actions:
how, though they themselves had permitted your people to
depart
and hastily sent them out,
they would change their minds and pursue them.
For while they were still engaged in mourning,
and were lamenting at the graves of their dead,
they reached another foolish decision,
and pursued as fugitives those whom they had begged and
compelled to leave.
For the fate they deserved drew them on to this end,
and made them forget what had happened,
in order that they might fill up the punishment that their
torments still lacked,
and that your people might experience an incredible journey,
but they themselves might meet a strange death.
For the whole creation in its nature was fashioned anew,
complying with your commands,
so that your children might be kept unharmed.
The cloud was seen overshadowing the camp,
and dry land emerging where water had stood before,
an unhindered way out of the Red Sea,
and a grassy plain out of the raging waves,
where those protected by your hand passed through as one
nation,
after gazing on marvellous wonders.
For the elements changed places with one another,
as on a harp the notes vary the nature of the rhythm,
while each note remains the same.
This may be clearly inferred from the sight of what took place.
For land animals were transformed into water creatures,
and creatures that swim moved over to the land.
Fire even in water retained its normal power,
and water forgot its fire-quenching nature.
Flames, on the contrary, failed to consume
the flesh of perishable creatures that walked among them,
nor did they melt the crystalline, quick-melting kind of heavenly
food.
For in everything, O Lord, you have exalted and glorified your people,
and you have not neglected to help them at all times and in all places.
Romans 15:1-13
We who are strong ought to put up with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Each of us must please our neighbour for the good purpose of building up the neighbour. For Christ did not please himself; but, as it is written, ‘The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.’ For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope. May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of the truth of God in order that he might confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,
‘Therefore I will confess you among the Gentiles,
and sing praises to your name’;
and again he says,
‘Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people’;
and again,
‘Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,
and let all the peoples praise him’;
and again Isaiah says,
‘The root of Jesse shall come,
the one who rises to rule the Gentiles;
in him the Gentiles shall hope.’
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Silence
Response (PS.96.4)
Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised, alleluia, alleluia.
Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised,
alleluia, alleluia.
He is more to be feared than all gods.
Alleluia, alleluia.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised,
alleluia, alleluia.
BENEDICTUS
Benedictus Antiphon: I am the way,* the truth and the life, says the Lord; alleluia!
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)
Benedictus Antiphon: I am the way,* the truth and the life, says the Lord; alleluia!
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, who alone can bring harmony to the minds of your faithful people: give us grace to love the things you command, and to desire the things you promise; that, amid the uncertain changes of this world, our hearts may be firmly fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end.
Amen.
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.
