Evening Prayer: Thursday 5 July 2018

Thursday 5 July 2018

Thursday after Pentecost 6
Week C

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: Search me out, O God, and know my heart;*
try me and know my restless thoughts. (Ps. 139.22)

Opening (from 139)

1 You trace my journeys and my resting-places*
and are acquainted with all my ways.
2 Indeed there is not a word on my lips,*
but you, O Lord, know it altogether.
3 If I say, "Surely the darkness will cover me,*
and the light around me turn to night",
4 Darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day;*
darkness and light to you are both alike.

Glory to the Father
or a suitable Hymn

Psalm 77
1 I will cry aloud to God;*
I will cry aloud, and he will hear me.

2 In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord;*
my hands were stretched out by night and did not tire;
I refused to be comforted.

3 I think of God, I am restless,*
I ponder, and my spirit faints.

4 You will not let my eyelids close;*
I am troubled and I cannot speak.

5 I consider the days of old;*
I remember the years long past;

6 I commune with my heart in the night;*
I ponder and search my mind.

7 Will the Lord cast me off for ever?*
will he no more show his favour?

8 Has his loving-kindness come to an end for ever?*
has his promise failed for evermore?

9 Has God forgotten to be gracious?*
has he, in his anger, withheld his compassion?

10 And I said, "My grief is this:*
the right hand of the Most High has lost its power."

11 I will remember the works of the Lord,*
and call to mind your wonders of old time.

12 I will meditate on all your acts*
and ponder your mighty deeds.

13 Your way, O God, is holy;*
who is so great a god as our God?

14 You are the God who works wonders*
and have declared your power among the peoples.

15 By your strength you have redeemed your people,*
the children of Jacob and Joseph.

16 The waters saw you, O God;
the waters saw you and trembled;*
the very depths were shaken.

17 The clouds poured out water;
the skies thundered;*
your arrows flashed to and fro;

18 The sound of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
your lightnings lit up the world;*
the earth trembled and shook.

19 Your way was in the sea,
and your paths in the great waters,*
yet your footsteps were not seen.

20 You led your people like a flock*
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Glory to the Father…

God of saving power, remember us in times of sorrow and despair. Redeem us with your strength and guide us through the wilderness. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ.

Conclusion


Sirach 51

1 While I was still young, before I began my travels,*
I sought for wisdom openly in my prayers.
2 I asked for her outside the temple sanctuary,*
and I will seek her to the end.
3 She has been the delight of my heart.*
from first blossom to early fruit.
4 I have kept firmly to the true path;*
I have followed her steps since my youth.
5 I bowed my ear a little and received her;*
I found wisdom and was well instructed.
6 Glory to the One who gives me wisdom!*
I will live according to her way.
7 From the beginning I gained understanding from her;*
therefore I will never be deserted.
8 Because I longed to find her with all my heart,*
I have gained a good possession.
9 As my reward the Lord has given me a tongue*
with which I shall sing his praises.

Glory to the Father…

Antiphon: Search me out, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my restless thoughts.

READING(S)

Matthew 22.1-14

Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. Again he sent other slaves, saying, 'Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.' But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his slaves, maltreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then he said to his slaves, 'The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.' Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests.

"But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him, 'Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?' And he was speechless.Then the king said to the attendants, 'Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' For many are called, but few are chosen."

Silence

Response Psalm Sirach 51.26

Buy wisdom without money, take her yoke upon you.
Buy wisdom without money, take her yoke upon you.
Let your souls receive instruction.
Take her yoke upon you.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
Buy wisdom without money, take her yoke upon you

MAGNIFICAT

Magnificat Antiphon:

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:

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,
the protector of all who trust in you,
without whom nothing can be whole
and nothing can be holy:
increase your mercy towards us,
that, with you as our ruler and guide,
we may so enjoy the good things of time,
as not to lose the things of eternity;
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who 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.