This post follows on the other on the Sacrifice of Praise and Thanksgiving to complete my thoughts on the Essence of the Office.
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The essence of the Daily Office must be found on one hand in Paul’s exhortation for Christians “with gratitude in your hearts [to] sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God” (Col 3:12), and, on the other hand, to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess 5:17). The two central themes here that we must keep before our eyes are the idea of the use of songs and poetic praises of God and also continuous prayer springing from deliberate acts of periodic prayer. As we consider the Daily Office and its various parts and acts, we will return time and time again to these two basic principles that form its foundation.
Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs
The Anglican mystic Evelyn Underhill (†1941) in her book Worship reinforces the poetic character of the Daily Office and the significance of that quality:
Liturgical worship shares with all ritual action the character of a work of art. Entering upon it, we leave the lower realism of daily life for the higher realism of a successive action which expresses and interprets eternal truth by the deliberate use of poetic and symbolic material. A liturgical service should therefore possess a structural unity; its general form and movement, and each of its parts, being determined by the significance of the whole. By its successive presentation of all the phases of the soul’s response to the Holy, its alternative use of history and oratory, drama and rhythm, its appeals to feeling, thought, and will, the individual is educated and gathered into the great movement of the Church. . . . Nevertheless since its main function is to suggest the Supernatural and lead men out to communion with the supernatural, it is by the methods of poetry that its chief work will be done. . . . [P]oetry still remains a chief element at least in the Daily Office, which is mainly an arrangement of psalms, canticles, and Scripture readings. (Worship, p. 119)
She goes on to remind us of the interpretive errors that occur when we attempt to read poetry literally and miss its deeper sense and direction. As she sees it, poetry in the liturgy has three main purposes:
(1) It is the carrying-medium of something which otherwise wholly eludes representation: the soul’s deep and awestruck apprehension of the numinous. . . .
(2) It can universalize particulars; giving an eternal reference to those things of time in and through which God speaks to men. . . .
(3) It is a powerful stimulant of the transcendental sense . . .
All these characters of poetry are active in good liturgy, and indeed constitute an important part of its religious value. Moreover, poetry both enchants and informs, addressing its rhythmic and symbolic speech to regions of the mind which are inaccessible to argument, and evoking movements of awe and love which no exhortation can obtain. It has meaning at many levels, and welds together all those who use it; overriding their personal moods and subduing them with a grave loveliness. (Worship, p. 120)
Great art—great poetry—is that which can capture our minds and hearts, and suffuse reality with a new light, a new perspective. It helps us see our ordinary, everyday world as not so ordinary, and cracks open everyday reality to help us see the beauty, the glory, and the wonder that is concealed therein. It helps us see new possibilities; it helps us see grander movements.
This is my best perspective on Scripture: it invites us into a different way of seeing the world and our relationships within it. It invites us to experience the whole cosmos arrayed around the throne of God as portrayed in the heavenly throne-room depicted in Revelation 4-6, and leads us to speculate about what it means to live in a world where justice, mercy, and loving-kindness are fundamental guiding principles. We are invited to recognize our own world transformed and suffused with the light of God and to function as mirrors, lenses, and crystals, reflecting—focusing—diffusing—the divine light, casting it through our facets upon the world and people around us.
The Office with its language of poetry reminds us and orients us to this level of understanding and reflection. Too, it can help us get beyond a literalism and dogmatism that can either frustrate or limit our sense of the holy and the divine. The Athanasian Creed can be a hard pill for many to swallow. On one hand, it’s chalk full of complicated and philosophical technical terms. On the other, it ends with a declaration of damnation containing a certainty that seems to arrogate to itself a judgment properly left with God alone. The Episcopal Church has never been comfortable with it; Bishop Seabury (†1796), the first American Episcopal bishop, wrote that he was never convinced of the propriety of reading it in church, yet did want to include it along the same lines as the articles of faith to show that we hold the common faith of the West. Indeed, the 1979 revision is the only American prayer book to include it. Especially as modern people, we don’t know what to do with it—but the monks did! They sang it as a canticle complete with antiphons at Sunday Prime, the poetic and musical setting potentially subverting its dogmatism and softening its philosophical formality in song.
After speaking of the eight individual hours that formed the Daily Office in the West, Underhill draws them together and unites them with their purpose:
The complete Divine Office, then, . . . is best understood when regarded as a spiritual and artistic unity; so devised, that the various elements of praise, prayer, and reading, and the predominately poetic and historic material from which it is built up, contribute to one single movement of the corporate soul, and form together one single act of solemn yet exultant worship. This act of worship is designed to give enduring and impersonal expression to eternal truths; and unite the here and now earthly action of the Church with the eternal response of creation to its origin. It is her “Sacred Chant,” and loses some of its quality and meaning when its choral character is suppressed: for in it, the demands of a superficial realism are set aside, in favour of those deeper realities which can only be expressed under poetic and musical forms. (Worship, 124-5)
The more we sing of the Office, the more in touch we are with these melodies, harmonies, and rhythms of which she speaks. Yet, even if we are reading it alone in our rooms, we can still find the cadences there.
On a purely literary level, we can go through the Office step by step and note the presence of the poetry and music at every step. The psalms form the heart of the office. We respond to the Scripture readings with canticles, most of which are infused and inspired by the psalms—or songs like them. The suffrages themselves are verses of psalms recombined and related to one another in new ways. The collects and prayers speak in the language of the psalms and Scriptures.
As we pray the Office and sing it—whether aloud or in our hearts—we are incarnating the Pauline injunction to sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God and to one another. As its poetry becomes more deeply a part of us, as these songs become more fully implanted within our hearts, they leads us to a more beautiful lens for locating God at work in our world.
To Pray Without Ceasing
This notion of having the songs and psalms implanted in our hearts and consciousness leads us in to the second principle, to pray without ceasing. If we wish to learning the meaning of this phrase, we must turn our eyes to the Desert Fathers and Mothers for it was they who devoted their entire efforts to live its meaning.
The fourth century was a tumultuous time for the Church as Constantine’s Edict of Milan in 313 meant an end to persecution and brought with it a tacit sign of imperial favor. (Christianity wouldn’t actually become the official religion of the empire until 380 under Theodosius.) While the easing of restrictions against Christianity brought in a wave of converts—some no doubt embracing it for political gain—this same easing equally triggered a crisis of spirituality. For decades, Christian authenticity had been bound up with martyrdom; fidelity to the way of the cross was identified with the willingness to die a martyr’s death. With martyrdom at the hands of the authorities no longer an option, where was an earnest Christian to turn?
The answer came in the form of the desert. Christians who sought to embody the commands of Scripture sold their possessions, renounced family life, and sought lives of prayer and austerity in the deserts, either on their own or in the company of like-minded souls. This way of life, which would flower into monasticism and feed the church spiritually for centuries to come, was popularized by bishops and theologians who wrote inspiring accounts of the lives of simple men and the spiritual riches they uncovered. The great bishop Athanasius (†373) penned the Life of Antony which chronicled the life and spirituality of one of the earliest desert saints and spread word of the movement across the Greek-speaking world. Not to be outdone, the ascetic and scholar Jerome (†367), living in a monastery in Jerusalem, wrote a number of lives that sought to supplement (or replace) the Life of Antony, bringing knowledge of the desert life to the Latin-speaking church. The first great systematic works of Western Christian spirituality, John Cassian’s (†435) Institutes and Conferences, were written for the benefit of his monastery in Gaul, containing remembrances of his youthful spiritual dialogues with heroes of the Egyptian and Palestinian deserts.
As we sift through the literature of the early monastic movement and the desert saints who founded it, we come back time and time again to this injunction to “pray without ceasing,” to praying of some form of the Daily Office, and a fundamental belief that the use of the Office was the key to praying without ceasing. The characteristic pattern of desert life is captured in a brief description of how Antony lived:
The money he earned from his work he gave to the poor, apart from what he needed to buy bread, and he prayed often, for he learned that one should pray to the Lord without ceasing. He also listened attentively to the Scriptures so that nothing should slip from his mind. He preserved all the Lord’s commandments, keeping them safe in his memory rather than in books. (Life of Antony 3, Early Christian Lives, p. 10)
Note the way that work, prayer, and memorization of the Scriptures are interconnected here. This way of life is further clarified by an episode where a desert hermit was disputing with a group of uber-pietists called the Euchites or Messalians concerning prayer without ceasing:
Some of the monks who are called Euchites went to Enaton to see Abba Lucius. The old man asked them, ‘What is your manual work?’ They said, ‘We do not touch manual work but as the Apostle says, we pray without ceasing.’ The old man asked them if they did not eat and they replied they did. So he said to them, ‘When you are eating, who prays for you then?’ Again he asked them if they did not sleep and they replied they did. And he said to them, ‘When you are asleep, who prays for you then?’ They could not find any answer to give him. He said to them, ‘Forgive me, but you do not act as you speak. I will show you how, while doing my manual work, I pray without interruption. I sit down with God, soaking my reeds and plaiting my ropes, and I say, “God have mercy on me; according to your great goodness and according to the multitude of your mercies, save me from my sins [Ps 51:1,2].”’ So he asked them if this were not prayer and they replied it was. Then he said to them, ‘So when I have spent the whole day working and praying, making thirteen pieces of money more or less, I put two pieces of money outside the door and I pay for my food with the rest of the money. He who takes the two pieces of money prays for me when I am eating and sleeping; so, by the grace of God, I fulfill the precept to pray without ceasing.’ (Sayings of the Desert Fathers, p. 120-1)
This blend of piety and practicality is found throughout this early literature. The life described is one filled with basic manual labor—weaving ropes or baskets made from the leaves of the desert palms or scratching out subsistence gardens from the rocky soil—suffused with constant prayer. Indeed, the Egyptian monks in particular were famous for prayers that were “brief but frequent.”
The prayer recited by Abba Lucius is an adaptation of the start of Psalm 51. Reading through the Life of Antony and the description that Athanasius gives of Antony’s struggles in spiritual travail, a pattern emerges. At a great turning point in Antony’s life, during a struggle with demons that left him both physically and spiritually battered he retained his faith and focus by ceaselessly chanting, “If they place an encampment against me, my heart will not fear” (Ps 27:3). When people came from the cities, hoping to find him dead, he would pray verses from Ps 68:1-2 and Ps 118:10. Throughout the literature, the words of the psalms are constantly appearing through their prayers and discussions. In truth their whole conversations are shot through with Scripture, but consistently the psalms predominate. In fact, the Egyptian “brief but frequent” prayers that appear in the corpus are almost always drawn from Scripture and the psalms. One of the works of Evagrius of Pontus (†399) consists entirely of one-liners from Scripture to be used for prayer in a host of situations organized in relation to the eight vices identified by the desert monks.
For these monks—many of whom were illiterate—Scripture came through hearing. Preeminently, Scripture was heard and memorized in the Daily Offices. The foundation of the Office gave them the words they needed to meditate in the midst of their work and to truly pray without ceasing no matter what they were doing.
Perhaps the preeminent connection between the Scriptures, the psalms, and praying without ceasing comes from the second conference on prayer recorded by John Cassian. Abba Isaac says that the whole goal of the monastic way of life can be summed up like this: “This, I say, is the end [goal] of all perfection–that the mind purged of every carnal desire may daily be elevated to spiritual things, until one’s whole way of life and all the yearnings of one’s heart become and single and continuous prayer” (Conferences 10.7.3). Cassian’s companion Germanus asks how this sort of focus can be achieved. The reply from Abba Isaac is that there is one particular formula for meditation that can secure this result:
The formula for this discipline and prayer that you are seeking, then, shall be presented to you. Every monk who longs for the continual awareness of God should be in the habit of meditating on it ceaselessly in his heart, after having driven out every kind of thought, because he will be unable to hold fast to it in any other way than by being freed from all bodily cares and concerns. Just as this was handed down to us by a few of the oldest fathers who were left, so also we pass it on to none but the most exceptional, who truly desire it. This, then, is the devotional formula proposed to you as absolutely necessary for possessing the perpetual awareness of God: ‘O God, make speed to save me; O Lord, make haste to help me’ [Ps 70:1]. (Conferences 10.10.2)
Yes, this is the line that is used as a verse and response to open each of the prayer offices. No, that’s not an accident.
John Cassian makes the explicit connection between the Daily Office and the continuous prayer of the Egyptian monks in his other big book, the Institutes, but he does so by framing it in the midst of one of the disputes about monastic practice. By the end of the fourth century, there were two major centers of monastic practice—the deserts of Egypt and the deserts of Palestine. They had different ways of praying the Daily Office. The Egyptian model was the same in format as what appears to have been done in many of the early cathedrals of the period—one public service in the morning and another in the evening. Twelve psalms were sung, then there was a reading from the Old Testament, then one from the New Testament. That was it for the day. The Palestinian model was to gather more frequently. Jerome, writing from his monastery in Bethlehem, advises this:
Further, although the apostle bids us to ‘pray without ceasing,’ and although to the saints their very sleep is a supplication, we ought to have fixed hours of prayer, that if we are detained by work, the time may remind us of our duty. Prayers, as everyone knows, ought to be said at the third, sixth, and ninth hours, at dawn and at evening. . . . We should rise two or three times in the night and go over the parts of Scripture which we know by heart. (Letter 22. 37)
and instructs the parents of a young virgin dedicated to the church to train her in the same way: “She ought to rise at night to recite prayers and psalms; to sing hymns in the morning; at the third, sixth, and ninth hours to take her place in the line to do battle for Christ; and lastly to kindle her lamp and to offer her evening sacrifice” (Letter 107.9).
The Egyptians responded rather harshly. One characteristic response comes from the Egyptian-trained Epiphanius:
The Blessed Epiphanius, Bishop of Cyprus, was told this by the abbot of a monastery he had in Palestine, ‘By your prayers we do not neglect our appointed round of psalmody, but we are very careful to recite [the prayer offices of] Terce, Sext and None.’ Then Epiphanius corrected them with the following comment, ‘It is clear you do not trouble about the other hours of the day, if you cease from prayer. The true monk should have prayer and psalmody continuously in his heart.’ (Sayings of the Desert Fathers, p. 57)
Thus, he suggested that by having more set hours of the day, the monks were neglecting this continual prayer of the heart and instead were satisfied only to pray when the clock told them it was time to do so. Frankly, this is kind of a cheap shot. An argument could equally be made that since the Palestinian monks were hearing the psalms more, they had better opportunity to memorize them and keep them always in their hearts—but the (Egyptian) sayings don’t see fit to give us the Palestinian abbot’s response!
In light of this argument between the two parties, John Cassian tries to take a middle path. After explaining the Egyptian system, and before talking about how to pray the day hours, he says this:
For, among [the Egyptians as opposed to the monasteries of Palestine and Mesopotamia] the offices that we are obliged to render to the Lord at different hours and at intervals of time [i.e., the day offices of Terce, Sext, and None] to the call of the summoner, are celebrated continuously and spontaneously throughout the course of the whole day, in tandem with their work. For they are constantly doing manual labor alone in their cells in such a way that they almost never omit meditating on the psalms and on other parts of Scripture, and to this they add entreaties and prayers at every moment, taking up the whole day in offices that we celebrate at fixed times. Hence, apart from the evening and
Morning Prayer for 3/20/2026
Friday after the Fourth Sunday in Lent
(Commemoration of Cuthbert, Bishop of Lindesfarne, 687)
(Commemoration of Cuthbert, Bishop, 687)
Pre-Office Angelus [+][-]
V. The Angel of the Lord announced to Mary
R. And she conceived by the Holy Spirit.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
V. Behold the handmaid of the Lord
R. Be it unto me according to your word
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
V. And the Word was made flesh.
R. And dwelled among us.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray:
Pour your grace into our hearts, O Lord,
that we who have known the incarnation of your Son Jesus Christ,
announced by an angel to the Virgin Mary,
may by his cross and passion be brought to the glory of his resurrection;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
R. The angel of the Lord announced unto Mary;
V. And she conceived by the Holy Ghost.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and at the hour of our death. Amen.
R. Behold the handmaid of the Lord:
V. Be it unto me according to Thy word.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and at the hour of our death. Amen.
R. And the Word was made flesh:
V. And dwelt among us.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and at the hour of our death. Amen.
V. Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray:
We beseech Thee, O Lord, pour thy grace into our hearts,
that we who have known the incarnation of thy Son Jesus Christ,
announced by an angel to the Virgin Mary,
may by his cross and passion be brought to the glory of His resurrection,
who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him; neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his laws which he set before us. Daniel 9:9, 10
To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgivenesses, because we have rebelled against him and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God by following his laws which he set before us. Daniel 9:9, 10
Confession of Sin [+][-]
Dearly beloved, we have come together in the presence of Almighty God our heavenly Father, to render thanks for the great benefits that we have received at his hands, to set forth his most worthy praise, to hear this holy Word, and to ask, for ourselves and on behalf of others, those things that are necessary for our life and our salvation. And so that we may prepare ourselves in heart and mind to worship him, let us kneel in silence, and with penitent and obedient hearts confess our sins, that we may obtain forgiveness by his infinite goodness and mercy.
Silence may be kept.
Almighty and most merciful Father, we have erred and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep, we have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts, we have offended against thy holy laws, we have left undone those things which we ought to have done, and we have done those things which we ought not to have done. But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us, spare thou those who confess their faults, restore thou those who are penitent, according to thy promises declared unto mankind in Christ Jesus our Lord; and grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake, that we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life, to the glory of thy holy Name. Amen.
The Almighty and merciful Lord grant us absolution and remission of all our sins, true repentance, amendment of life, and the grace and consolation of his Holy Spirit. Amen.
Dearly beloved, we have come together in the presence of Almighty God our heavenly Father, to set forth his praise, to hear his holy Word, and to ask, for ourselves and on behalf of others, those things that are necessary for our life and our salvation. And so that we may prepare ourselves in heart and mind to worship him, let us kneel in silence, and with penitent and obedient hearts confess our sins, that we may obtain forgiveness by his infinite goodness and mercy.
Silence may be kept.
Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.
Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life. Amen.
The Invitatory and Psalter
V. Lord, open our lips.
R. 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 will be for ever. Amen.
V. O Lord, open thou our lips.
R. And our mouth shall show forth thy praise.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost: *
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Psalm 95
The Lord is full of compassion and mercy: O come, let us adore him.
The Lord is full of compassion and mercy: O come, let us adore him.
O come, let us sing unto the Lord; *
let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our salvation.
and show ourselves glad in him with psalms.
The Lord is full of compassion and mercy: O come, let us adore him. [+][-]
For the Lord is a great God, *
and a great King above all gods.
In his hand are all the corners of the earth, *
and the strength of the hills is his also.
The sea is his and he made it, *
and his hands prepared the dry land.
The Lord is full of compassion and mercy: O come, let us adore him.
O come, let us worship and fall down *
and kneel before the Lord our Maker.
For he is the Lord our God, *
and we are the people of his pasture
and the sheep of his hand.
The Lord is full of compassion and mercy: O come, let us adore him.
Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts
as in the provocation,
and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness;
When your fathers tempted me, *
proved me, and saw my works.
The Lord is full of compassion and mercy: O come, let us adore him.
Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, *
It is a people that do err in their hearts,
for they have not known my ways.
Unto whom I sware in my wrath, *
that they should not enter into my rest.
The Lord is full of compassion and mercy: O come, let us adore him.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost: *
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
The Lord is full of compassion and mercy: O come, let us adore him.
The Lord is full of compassion and mercy: O come, let us adore him.
Psalm 95
The Lord is full of compassion and mercy: Come let us adore him.
The Lord is full of compassion and mercy: Come let us adore him.
Come, let us sing to the LORD; *
let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving *
and raise a loud shout to him with psalms.
The Lord is full of compassion and mercy: Come let us adore him.[+][-]
For the LORD is a great God, *
and a great King above all gods.
In his hand are the caverns of the earth, *
and the heights of the hills are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it, *
and his hands have molded the dry land.
The Lord is full of compassion and mercy: Come let us adore him.
Come, let us bow down, and bend the knee, *
and kneel before the LORD our Maker.
For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. *
Oh, that today you would hearken to his voice!
The Lord is full of compassion and mercy: Come let us adore him.
Harden not your hearts,
as your forebears did
in the wilderness, *
at Meribah, and on that day at Massah,
when they tempted me.
They put me to the test, *
though they had seen my works.
The Lord is full of compassion and mercy: Come let us adore him.
Forty years long I detested that generation and said, *
"This people are wayward in their hearts;
they do not know my ways."
So I swore in my wrath, *
"They shall not enter into my rest."
The Lord is full of compassion and mercy: Come let us adore him.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:*
As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
The Lord is full of compassion and mercy: Come let us adore him.
The Lord is full of compassion and mercy: Come let us adore him.
The Psalm or Psalms Appointed
Psalm 102 Domine, exaudi
O hear me and that right soon.
1 HEAR my prayer, O LORD, *
and let my crying come unto thee.
2 Hide not thy face from me in the time of my trouble; *
incline thine ear unto me when I call; O hear me, and that right soon.
3 For my days are consumed away like smoke, *
and my bones are burnt up as it were a firebrand.
4 My heart is smitten down, and withered like grass; *
so that I forget to eat my bread.
5 For the voice of my groaning, *
my bones will scarce cleave to my flesh.
6 I am become like a pelican in the wilderness, *
and like an owl that is in the desert.
7 I have watched, and am even as it were a sparrow, *
that sitteth alone upon the housetop.
8 Mine enemies revile me all the day long; *
and they that are mad upon me are sworn together against me.
9 For I have eaten ashes as it were bread, *
and mingled my drink with weeping;
10 And that, because of thine indignation and wrath; *
for thou hast taken me up, and cast me down.
11 My days are gone like a shadow, *
and I am withered like grass.
12 But thou, O LORD, shalt endure for ever, *
and thy remembrance throughout all generations.
13 Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Sion; *
for it is time that thou have mercy upon her, yea, the time is come.
14 And why? thy servants think upon her stones, *
and it pitieth them to see her in the dust.
15 The nations shall fear thy Name, O LORD; *
and all the kings of the earth thy majesty;
16 When the LORD shall build up Sion, *
and when his glory shall appear;
17 When he turneth him unto the prayer of the poor destitute, *
and despiseth not their desire.
18 This shall be written for those that come after, *
and the people which shall be born shall praise the LORD.
19 For he hath looked down from his sanctuary; *
out of the heaven did the LORD behold the earth;
20 That he might hear the mournings of such as are in captivity, *
and deliver them that are appointed unto death;
21 That they may declare the Name of the LORD in Sion, *
and his worship at Jerusalem;
22 When the peoples are gathered together, *
and the kingdoms also, to serve the LORD.
23 He brought down my strength in my journey, *
and shortened my days.
24 But I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of mine age; *
as for thy years, they endure throughout all generations.
25 Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth, *
and the heavens are the work of thy hands.
26 They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: *
they all shall wax old as doth a garment;
27 And as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed; *
but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.
28 The children of thy servants shall continue, *
and their seed shall stand fast in thy sight.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost: *
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
O hear me and that right soon.
Psalm 103 Benedic, anima mea
Praise the LORD O my soul and forget not all his benefits.
1 PRAISE the LORD, O my soul; *
and all that is within me, praise his holy Name.
2 Praise the LORD, O my soul, *
and forget not all his benefits:
3 Who forgiveth all thy sin, *
and healeth all thine infirmities;
4 Who saveth thy life from destruction, *
and crowneth thee with mercy and loving-kindness;
5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things, *
making thee young and lusty as an eagle.
6 The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment *
for all them that are oppressed with wrong.
7 He showed his ways unto Moses, *
his works unto the children of Israel.
8 The LORD is full of compassion and mercy, *
long-suffering, and of great goodness.
9 He will not alway be chiding; *
neither keepeth he his anger for ever.
10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins; *
nor rewarded us according to our wickednesses.
11 For look how high the heaven is in comparison of the earth; *
so great is his mercy also toward them that fear him.
12 Look how wide also the east is from the west; *
so far hath he set our sins from us.
13 Yea, like as a father pitieth his own children; *
even so is the LORD merciful unto them that fear him.
14 For he knoweth whereof we are made; *
he remembereth that we are but dust.
15 The days of man are but as grass; *
for he flourisheth as a flower of the field.
16 For as soon as the wind goeth over it, it is gone; *
and the place thereof shall know it no more.
17 But the merciful goodness of the LORD endureth for ever and ever upon them that fear him; *
and his righteousness upon children's children;
18 Even upon such as keep his covenant, *
and think upon his commandments to do them.
19 The LORD hath prepared his seat in heaven, *
and his kingdom ruleth over all.
20 O praise the LORD, ye angels of his, ye that excel in strength; *
ye that fulfil his commandment, and hearken unto the voice of his word.
21 O praise the LORD, all ye his hosts; *
ye servants of his that do his pleasure.
22 O speak good of the LORD, all ye works of his, in all places of his dominion: *
praise thou the LORD, O my soul.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost: *
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Praise the LORD O my soul and forget not all his benefits.
Psalm 102 Domine, exaudi
O hear me and that right soon.
Incline your ear to me; when I call, make haste to answer me,
1 LORD, hear my prayer, and let my cry come before you; *
hide not your face from me in the day of my trouble.
2 Incline your ear to me; *
when I call, make haste to answer me,
3 For my days drift away like smoke, *
and my bones are hot as burning coals.
4 My heart is smitten like grass and withered, *
so that I forget to eat my bread.
5 Because of the voice of my groaning *
I am but skin and bones.
6 I have become like a vulture in the wilderness, *
like an owl among the ruins.
7 I lie awake and groan; *
I am like a sparrow, lonely on a house-top.
8 My enemies revile me all day long, *
and those who scoff at me have taken an oath against me.
9 For I have eaten ashes for bread *
and mingled my drink with weeping.
10 Because of your indignation and wrath *
you have lifted me up and thrown me away.
11 My days pass away like a shadow, *
and I wither like the grass.
12 But you, O LORD, endure for ever, *
and your Name from age to age.
13 You will arise and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to have mercy upon her; *
indeed, the appointed time has come.
14 For your servants love her very rubble, *
and are moved to pity even for her dust.
15 The nations shall fear your Name, O LORD, *
and all the kings of the earth your glory.
16 For the LORD will build up Zion, *
and his glory will appear.
17 He will look with favor on the prayer of the homeless; *
he will not despise their plea.
18 Let this be written for a future generation, *
so that a people yet unborn may praise the LORD.
19 For the LORD looked down from his holy place on high; *
from the heavens he beheld the earth;
20 That he might hear the groan of the captive *
and set free those condemned to die;
21 That they may declare in Zion the Name of the LORD, *
and his praise in Jerusalem;
22 When the peoples are gathered together, *
and the kingdoms also, to serve the LORD.
23 He has brought down my strength before my time; *
he has shortened the number of my days;
24 And I said, "O my God, do not take me away in the midst of my days; *
your years endure throughout all generations.
25 In the beginning, O LORD, you laid the foundations of the earth, *
and the heavens are the work of your hands;
26 They shall perish, but you will endure; they all shall wear out like a garment; *
as clothing you will change them, and they shall be changed;
27 But you are always the same, *
and your years will never end.
28 The children of your servants shall continue, *
and their offspring shall stand fast in your sight."
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost: *
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:*
As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
O hear me and that right soon.
Incline your ear to me; when I call, make haste to answer me,
Psalm 103 Benedic, anima mea
Praise the LORD O my soul and forget not all his benefits.
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.
1 Bless the LORD, O my soul, *
and all that is within me, bless his holy Name.
2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, *
and forget not all his benefits.
3 He forgives all your sins *
and heals all your infirmities;
4 He redeems your life from the grave *
and crowns you with mercy and loving-kindness;
5 He satisfies you with good things, *
and your youth is renewed like an eagle's.
6 The LORD executes righteousness *
and judgment for all who are oppressed.
7 He made his ways known to Moses *
and his works to the children of Israel.
8 The LORD is full of compassion and mercy, *
slow to anger and of great kindness.
9 He will not always accuse us, *
nor will he keep his anger for ever.
10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins, *
nor rewarded us according to our wickedness.
11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, *
so is his mercy great upon those who fear him.
12 As far as the east is from the west, *
so far has he removed our sins from us.
13 As a father cares for his children, *
so does the LORD care for those who fear him.
14 For he himself knows whereof we are made; *
he remembers that we are but dust.
15 Our days are like the grass; *
we flourish like a flower of the field;
16 When the wind goes over it, it is gone, *
and its place shall know it no more.
17 But the merciful goodness of the LORD endures for ever on those who fear him, *
and his righteousness on children's children;
18 On those who keep his covenant *
and remember his commandments and do them.
19 The LORD has set his throne in heaven, *
and his kingship has dominion over all.
20 Bless the LORD, you angels of his, you mighty ones who do his bidding, *
and hearken to the voice of his word.
21 Bless the LORD, all you his hosts, *
you ministers of his who do his will.
22 Bless the LORD, all you works of his, in all places of his dominion; *
bless the LORD, O my soul.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost: *
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:*
As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
Praise the LORD O my soul and forget not all his benefits.
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.
Psalm 102 Domine, exaudi
O hear me and that right soon.
1 HEAR my prayer, O LORD, *
and let my crying come unto thee.
2 Hide not thy face from me in the time of my trouble; *
incline thine ear unto me when I call; O hear me, and that right soon.
3 For my days are consumed away like smoke, *
and my bones are burnt up as it were a firebrand.
4 My heart is smitten down, and withered like grass; *
so that I forget to eat my bread.
5 For the voice of my groaning, *
my bones will scarce cleave to my flesh.
6 I am become like a pelican in the wilderness, *
and like an owl that is in the desert.
7 I have watched, and am even as it were a sparrow, *
that sitteth alone upon the housetop.
8 Mine enemies revile me all the day long; *
and they that are mad upon me are sworn together against me.
9 For I have eaten ashes as it were bread, *
and mingled my drink with weeping;
10 And that, because of thine indignation and wrath; *
for thou hast taken me up, and cast me down.
11 My days are gone like a shadow, *
and I am withered like grass.
12 But thou, O LORD, shalt endure for ever, *
and thy remembrance throughout all generations.
13 Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Sion; *
for it is time that thou have mercy upon her, yea, the time is come.
14 And why? thy servants think upon her stones, *
and it pitieth them to see her in the dust.
15 The nations shall fear thy Name, O LORD; *
and all the kings of the earth thy majesty;
16 When the LORD shall build up Sion, *
and when his glory shall appear;
17 When he turneth him unto the prayer of the poor destitute, *
and despiseth not their desire.
18 This shall be written for those that come after, *
and the people which shall be born shall praise the LORD.
19 For he hath looked down from his sanctuary; *
out of the heaven did the LORD behold the earth;
20 That he might hear the mournings of such as are in captivity, *
and deliver them that are appointed unto death;
21 That they may declare the Name of the LORD in Sion, *
and his worship at Jerusalem;
22 When the peoples are gathered together, *
and the kingdoms also, to serve the LORD.
23 He brought down my strength in my journey, *
and shortened my days.
24 But I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of mine age; *
as for thy years, they endure throughout all generations.
25 Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth, *
and the heavens are the work of thy hands.
26 They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: *
they all shall wax old as doth a garment;
27 And as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed; *
but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.
28 The children of thy servants shall continue, *
and their seed shall stand fast in thy sight.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost: *
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
O hear me and that right soon.
Psalm 102 Domine, exaudi
Incline your ear to me; when I call, make haste to answer me,
1 LORD, hear my prayer, and let my cry come before you; *
hide not your face from me in the day of my trouble.
2 Incline your ear to me; *
when I call, make haste to answer me,
3 For my days drift away like smoke, *
and my bones are hot as burning coals.
4 My heart is smitten like grass and withered, *
so that I forget to eat my bread.
5 Because of the voice of my groaning *
I am but skin and bones.
6 I have become like a vulture in the wilderness, *
like an owl among the ruins.
7 I lie awake and groan; *
I am like a sparrow, lonely on a house-top.
8 My enemies revile me all day long, *
and those who scoff at me have taken an oath against me.
9 For I have eaten ashes for bread *
and mingled my drink with weeping.
10 Because of your indignation and wrath *
you have lifted me up and thrown me away.
11 My days pass away like a shadow, *
and I wither like the grass.
12 But you, O LORD, endure for ever, *
and your Name from age to age.
13 You will arise and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to have mercy upon her; *
indeed, the appointed time has come.
14 For your servants love her very rubble, *
and are moved to pity even for her dust.
15 The nations shall fear your Name, O LORD, *
and all the kings of the earth your glory.
16 For the LORD will build up Zion, *
and his glory will appear.
17 He will look with favor on the prayer of the homeless; *
he will not despise their plea.
18 Let this be written for a future generation, *
so that a people yet unborn may praise the LORD.
19 For the LORD looked down from his holy place on high; *
from the heavens he beheld the earth;
20 That he might hear the groan of the captive *
and set free those condemned to die;
21 That they may declare in Zion the Name of the LORD, *
and his praise in Jerusalem;
22 When the peoples are gathered together, *
and the kingdoms also, to serve the LORD.
23 He has brought down my strength before my time; *
he has shortened the number of my days;
24 And I said, "O my God, do not take me away in the midst of my days; *
your years endure throughout all generations.
25 In the beginning, O LORD, you laid the foundations of the earth, *
and the heavens are the work of your hands;
26 They shall perish, but you will endure; they all shall wear out like a garment; *
as clothing you will change them, and they shall be changed;
27 But you are always the same, *
and your years will never end.
28 The children of your servants shall continue, *
and their offspring shall stand fast in your sight."
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost: *
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:*
As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
Incline your ear to me; when I call, make haste to answer me,
The Lessons
A Reading from Exodus 2:1-22
And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi. And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink. And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him. And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river's side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it. And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews' children. Then said his sister to Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee? And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child's mother. And Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the women took the child, and nursed it. And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water. And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren. And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand. And when he went out the second day, behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together: and he said to him that did the wrong, Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow? And he said, Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian? And Moses feared, and said, Surely this thing is known. Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well. Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father's flock. And the shepherds came and drove them away: but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock. And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, How is it that ye are come so soon to day? And they said, An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also drew water enough for us, and watered the flock. And he said unto his daughters, And where is he? why is it that ye have left the man? call him, that he may eat bread. And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter. And she bare him a son, and he called his name Gershom: for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land.
Now a man from the house of Levi went and took to wife a daughter of Levi. The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. And when she could hide him no longer she took for him a basket made of bulrushes, and daubed it with bitumen and pitch; and she put the child in it and placed it among the reeds at the river's brink. And his sister stood at a distance, to know what would be done to him. Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, and her maidens walked beside the river; she saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid to fetch it. When she opened it she saw the child; and lo, the babe was crying. She took pity on him and said, "This is one of the Hebrews' children." Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, "Shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?" And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Go." So the girl went and called the child's mother. And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Take this child away, and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages." So the woman took the child and nursed him. And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son; and she named him Moses, for she said, "Because I drew him out of the water." One day, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and looked on their burdens; and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his people. He looked this way and that, and seeing no one he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. When he went out the next day, behold, two Hebrews were struggling together; and he said to the man that did the wrong, "Why do you strike your fellow?" He answered, "Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?" Then Moses was afraid, and thought, "Surely the thing is known." When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh, and stayed in the land of Mid'ian; and he sat down by a well. Now the priest of Mid'ian had seven daughters; and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father's flock. The shepherds came and drove them away; but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock. When they came to their father Reu'el, he said, "How is it that you have come so soon today?" They said, "An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and even drew water for us and watered the flock." He said to his daughters, "And where is he? Why have you left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread." And Moses was content to dwell with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zippo'rah. She bore a son, and he called his name Gershom; for he said, "I have been a sojourner in a foreign land."
Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman. The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a fine baby, she hid him three months. When she could hide him no longer she got a papyrus basket for him, and plastered it with bitumen and pitch; she put the child in it and placed it among the reeds on the bank of the river. His sister stood at a distance, to see what would happen to him. The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her attendants walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid to bring it. When she opened it, she saw the child. He was crying, and she took pity on him, "This must be one of the Hebrews' children," she said. Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, "Shall I go and get you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?" Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Yes." So the girl went and called the child's mother. Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will give you your wages." So the woman took the child and nursed it. When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and she took him as her son. She named him Moses, "because," she said, "I drew him out of the water." One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and saw their forced labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his kinsfolk. He looked this way and that, and seeing no one he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. When he went out the next day, he saw two Hebrews fighting; and he said to the one who was in the wrong, "Why do you strike your fellow Hebrew?" He answered, "Who made you a ruler and judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?" Then Moses was afraid and thought, "Surely the thing is known." When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh. He settled in the land of Midian, and sat down by a well. The priest of Midian had seven daughters. They came to draw water, and filled the troughs to water their father's flock. But some shepherds came and drove them away. Moses got up and came to their defense and watered their flock. When they returned to their father Reuel, he said, "How is it that you have come back so soon today?" They said, "An Egyptian helped us against the shepherds; he even drew water for us and watered the flock." He said to his daughters, "Where is he? Why did you leave the man? Invite him to break bread." Moses agreed to stay with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah in marriage. She bore a son, and he named him Gershom; for he said, "I have been an alien residing in a foreign land."
Here ends the Reading.
A Song of Penitence Kyrie Pantokrator
Prayer of Manasseh 1-2, 4, 6-7, 11-15
O Lord, Almighty God of our fathers, *
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and of their righteous seed;
Who hast made heaven and earth, *
with all the ornament thereof;
Whom all men fear, *
and tremble before thy power.
But thy merciful promise *
is unmeasurable and unsearchable;
For thou art the most high Lord, of great compassion,
long-suffering, very merciful, *
and repentest of the evils of men.
Thou, O Lord, according to thy great goodness
hast promised repentence and forgiveness *
to them that have sinned against thee.
And of thine infinite mercies
hast appointed repentence unto sinners, *
that they may be saved.
Now therefore I bow the knee of my heart, *
beseeching thee of grace.
I have sinned, O Lord, I have sinned, *
and I acknowledge mine iniquities:
Wherefore I humbly beseech thee, forgive me,
O Lord, forgive me *
and destroy me not with mine iniquities.
Be not angry with me for ever, by reserving evil for me: *
neither condemn me into the lower parts of the earth.
For thou art the God, even the God of them that repent: *
and in me thou wilt show all thy goodness.
For thou wilt save me, that am unworthy, *
according to thy great mercy.
Therefore I will praise thee for ever all the days of my life: *
for all the powers of the heavens do praise thee,
And thine is the glory *
for ever and ever. Amen.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost: *
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
A Song of Penitence Kyrie Pantokrator
Prayer of Manasseh 1-2, 4, 6-7, 11-15
O Lord and Ruler of the hosts of heaven, *
God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
and of all their righteous offspring:
You made the heavens and the earth, *
with all their vast array.
All things quake with fear at your presence; *
they tremble because of your power.
But your merciful promise is beyond all measure; *
it surpasses all that our minds can fathom.
O Lord, you are full of compassion, *
long-suffering, and abounding in mercy.
You hold back your hand; *
you do not punish as we deserve.
In your great goodness, Lord,
you have promised forgiveness to sinners, *
that they may repent of their sin and be saved.
And now, O Lord, I bend the knee of my heart, *
and make my appeal, sure of your gracious goodness.
I have sinned, O Lord, I have sinned, *
and I know my wickedness only too well.
Therefore I make this prayer to you: *
Forgive me, Lord, forgive me.
Do not let me perish in my sin, *
nor condemn me to the depths of the earth.
For you, O Lord, are the God of those who repent, *
and in me you will show forth your goodness.
Unworthy as I am, you will save me,
in accordance with your great mercy, *
and I will praise you without ceasing all the days of my life.
For all the powers of heaven sing your praises, *
and yours is the glory to ages of ages. Amen.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:*
As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
A Song of Penitence Kyrie Pantokrator
Prayer of Manasseh 1-2, 4, 6-7, 11-15
O Lord, Almighty God of our fathers, *
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and of their righteous seed;
Who hast made heaven and earth, *
with all the ornament thereof;
Whom all men fear, *
and tremble before thy power.
But thy merciful promise *
is unmeasurable and unsearchable;
For thou art the most high Lord, of great compassion,
long-suffering, very merciful, *
and repentest of the evils of men.
Thou, O Lord, according to thy great goodness
hast promised repentence and forgiveness *
to them that have sinned against thee.
And of thine infinite mercies
hast appointed repentence unto sinners, *
that they may be saved.
Now therefore I bow the knee of my heart, *
beseeching thee of grace.
I have sinned, O Lord, I have sinned, *
and I acknowledge mine iniquities:
Wherefore I humbly beseech thee, forgive me,
O Lord, forgive me *
and destroy me not with mine iniquities.
Be not angry with me for ever, by reserving evil for me: *
neither condemn me into the lower parts of the earth.
For thou art the God, even the God of them that repent: *
and in me thou wilt show all thy goodness.
For thou wilt save me, that am unworthy, *
according to thy great mercy.
Therefore I will praise thee for ever all the days of my life: *
for all the powers of the heavens do praise thee,
And thine is the glory *
for ever and ever. Amen.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost: *
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
A Song of Penitence Kyrie Pantokrator
Prayer of Manasseh 1-2, 4, 6-7, 11-15
O Lord and Ruler of the hosts of heaven, *
God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
and of all their righteous offspring:
You made the heavens and the earth, *
with all their vast array.
All things quake with fear at your presence; *
they tremble because of your power.
But your merciful promise is beyond all measure; *
it surpasses all that our minds can fathom.
O Lord, you are full of compassion, *
long-suffering, and abounding in mercy.
You hold back your hand; *
you do not punish as we deserve.
In your great goodness, Lord,
you have promised forgiveness to sinners, *
that they may repent of their sin and be saved.
And now, O Lord, I bend the knee of my heart, *
and make my appeal, sure of your gracious goodness.
I have sinned, O Lord, I have sinned, *
and I know my wickedness only too well.
Therefore I make this prayer to you: *
Forgive me, Lord, forgive me.
Do not let me perish in my sin, *
nor condemn me to the depths of the earth.
For you, O Lord, are the God of those who repent, *
and in me you will show forth your goodness.
Unworthy as I am, you will save me,
in accordance with your great mercy, *
and I will praise you without ceasing all the days of my life.
For all the powers of heaven sing your praises, *
and yours is the glory to ages of ages. Amen.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:*
As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
A Reading from 1 Corinthians 12:27-13:3
Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret? But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, then healers, helpers, administrators, speakers in various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way. If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way. If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Here ends the Reading.
A Song to the Lamb Dignus es
Revelation 4:11, 5:9-10, 13
Thou art worthy, O Lord, *
to receive glory and honor and power:
For thou hast created all things, *
and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
Thou art worthy, O Lamb that wast slain, *
and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood
Out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation: *
and hast made us unto our God kings and priests.
Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power *
be unto him that sitteth upon the throne
And unto the Lamb *
for ever and ever.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost: *
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
A Song to the Lamb Dignus es
Revelation 4:11, 5:9-10, 13
Splendor and honor and kingly power *
are yours by right, O Lord our God,
For you created everything that is, *
and by your will they were created and have their being;
And yours by right, O Lamb that was slain, *
for with your blood you have redeemed for God,
From every family, language, people, and nation, *
a kingdom of priests to serve our God.
And so, to him who sits upon the throne, *
and to Christ the Lamb,
Be worship and praise, dominion and splendor, *
for ever and for evermore.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:*
As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
The Song of Zechariah Benedictus Dominus Deus
Luke 1:68-79
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, *
for he hath visited and redeemed his people;
And hath raised up a mighty salvation for us *
in the house of his servant David,
As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, *
which have been since the world began:
That we should be saved from our enemies, *
and from the hand of all that hate us;
To perform the mercy promised to our forefathers, *
and to remember his holy covenant;
To perform the oath which he sware to our forefather Abraham, *
that he would give us,
That we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies *
might serve him without fear,
In holiness and righteousness before him, *
all the days of our life.
And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest, *
for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord
to prepare his ways;
To give knowledge of salvation unto his people *
for the remission of their sins,
Through the tender mercy of our God, *
whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us;
To give light to them that sit in darkness
and in the shadow of death, *
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost: *
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
The Song of Zechariah Benedictus Dominus Deus
Luke 1: 68-79
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; *
he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior, *
born of the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old,
that he would save us from our enemies, *
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers *
and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham, *
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
Free to worship him without fear, *
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, *
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
To give his people knowledge of salvation *
by the forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God *
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
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, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:*
As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
The Apostles' Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth;
And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord;
who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried.
He descended into hell.
The third day he rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven,
and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father almighty.
From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Prayers
V. The Lord be with you.
R. And also with you.And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
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.
Save us from the time of trial,
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours,
now and for ever. Amen.
Suffrages A
V. Show us your mercy, O Lord;
R. And grant us your salvation.
V. Clothe your ministers with righteousness;
R. Let your people sing with joy.
V. Give peace, O Lord, in all the world;
R. For only in you can we live in safety.
V. Lord, keep this nation under your care;
R. And guide us in the way of justice and truth.
V. Let your way be known upon earth;
R. Your saving health among all nations.
V. Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;
R. Nor the hope of the poor be taken away.
V. Create in us clean hearts, O God;
R. And sustain us with your Holy Spirit.
V. O Lord, show thy mercy upon us;
R. And grant us thy salvation.
V. Endue thy ministers with righteousness;
R. And make thy chosen people joyful.
V. Give peace, O Lord, in all the world;
R. For only in thee can we live in safety.
V. Lord, keep this nation under thy care;
R. And guide us in the way of justice and truth.
V. Let thy way be known upon earth;
R. Thy saving health among all nations.
V. Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;
R. Nor the hope of the poor be taken away.
V. Create in us clean hearts, O God;
R. And sustain us with thy Holy Spirit.
Suffrages B
V. Save your people, Lord, and bless your inheritance;
R. Govern and uphold them, now and always.
V. Day by day we bless you;
R. We praise your name for ever.
V. Lord, keep us from all sin today;
R. Have mercy upon us, Lord, have mercy.
V. Lord, show us your love and mercy;
R. For we put our trust in you.
V. In you, Lord, is our hope;
R. And we shall never hope in vain.
V. O Lord, save thy people and bless thine heritage;
R. Govern them and lift them up for ever.
V. Day by day we magnify thee;
R. And we worship thy name ever, world without end.
V. Vouchsafe, O Lord, to keep us this day without sin;
R. O Lord, have mercy upon us, have mercy upon us.
V. O Lord, let thy mercy be upon us;
R. As our trust is in thee.
V. O Lord, in thee have I trusted;
R. Let me never be confounded.
Collect of the Day
O God, who hast given us the Good News of thine abounding love in thy Son Jesus Christ: So fill our hearts with thankfulness that we may rejoice to tell abroad the good tidings we have received; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
O God, you have given us the Good News of your abounding love in your Son Jesus Christ: So fill our hearts with thankfulness that we may rejoice to proclaim the good tidings we have received; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Seasonal Collect
Almighty and everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou hast made and dost forgive the sins of all those who are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Commemoration of Cuthbert, Bishop of Lindesfarne, 687
Well done, good and faithful servant, * because thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things, saith the Lord.
V. The Lord guided the righteous in right paths.
R. And showed him the kingdom of God.
Almighty God, who didst call Cuthbert from following the flock to be a shepherd of thy people: Mercifully grant that, as he sought in dangerous and remote places those who had erred and strayed from thy ways, so we may seek the indifferent and the lost, and lead them back to thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Well done, my good and faithful servant; since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master's joy.
V. The Lord guided the righteous in right paths.
R. And showed him the kingdom of God.
Almighty God, who didst call Cuthbert from following the flock to be a shepherd of thy people: Mercifully grant that, as he sought in dangerous and remote places those who had erred and strayed from thy ways, so we may seek the indifferent and the lost, and lead them back to thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Commemoration of Cuthbert, Bishop, 687
Well done, good and faithful servant, * because thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things, saith the Lord.
V. The Lord guided the righteous in right paths.
R. And showed him the kingdom of God.
Merciful God, who didst call Cuthbert from following the flock to be a shepherd of thy people: Mercifully grant that we also may go without fear to dangerous and remote places, to seek the indifferent and the lost; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Well done, my good and faithful servant; since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master's joy.
V. The Lord guided the righteous in right paths.
R. And showed him the kingdom of God.
Merciful God, who didst call Cuthbert from following the flock to be a shepherd of thy people: Mercifully grant that we also may go without fear to dangerous and remote places, to seek the indifferent and the lost; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
A Collect for Fridays
Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Then, unless the Eucharist or a form of general intercession is to follow, one of these prayers for mission is added.
Prayer for Mission
Lord Jesus Christ, who didst stretch out thine arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of thy saving embrace: So clothe us in thy Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those who do not know thee to the knowledge and love of thee; for the honor of thy Name. Amen
A Collect for Fridays
Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Then, unless the Eucharist or a form of general intercession is to follow, one of these prayers for mission is added.
Prayer for Mission
Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace: So clothe us in your Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you; for the honor of your Name. Amen.
Here may be sung a hymn or anthem. [+][-]
Authorized intercessions and thanksgivings may follow.
For All Sorts and Conditions [A form of general intercession] [+][-]
O God, the creator and preserver of all mankind, we humbly beseech thee for all sorts and conditions of men; that thou wouldest be pleased to make thy ways known unto them, thy saving health unto all nations. More especially we pray for thy holy Church universal; that it may be so guided and governed by thy good Spirit, that all who profess and call themselves Christians may be led into the way of truth, and hold the faith in unity of spirit, in the bond of peace, and in righteousness of life. Finally, we commend to thy fatherly goodness all those who are in any ways afflicted or distressed, in mind, body, or estate; [especially those for whom our prayers are desired]; that it may please thee to comfort and relieve them according to their several necessities, giving them patience under their sufferings, and a happy issue out of all their afflictions. And this we beg for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.
O God, the creator and preserver of all humanity, we humbly beseech you on behalf of all sorts and conditions of people; that you would be pleased to make your ways known to them, your saving health to all nations. Especially, we pray for your holy Church across the world; that it may be guided and governed by your good Spirit, so that all who profess and call themselves Christians may be led into the way of truth, and hold the faith in unity of spirit, in the bond of peace, and in righteousness of life. Finally, we commend to your fatherly goodness all those who are in any ways afflicted or distressed, in mind, body, or estate; [especially those for whom our prayers are desired]; that it may please you to comfort and relieve them according to their various needs, giving them patience under their sufferings, and a happy issue out of all their afflictions. And this we ask for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.
The General Thanksgiving [+][-]
Almighty God, Father of all mercies,
we thine unworthy servants
do give thee most humble and hearty thanks
for all thy goodness and loving kindness
to us and to all men.
We bless thee for our creation, preservation,
and all the blessings of this life;
but above all for thine inestimable love
in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ,
for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory.
And, we beseech thee,
give us that due sense of all thy mercies,
that our hearts may be unfeignedly thankful;
and that we show forth thy praise,
not only with our lips, but in our lives,
by giving up our selves to thy service,
and by walking before thee
in holiness and righteousness all our days;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
to whom, with thee and the Holy Ghost,
be all honor and glory, world without end. Amen.
Almighty God, Father of all mercies,
we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks
for all your goodness and loving-kindness
to us and to all whom you have made.
We bless you for our creation, preservation,
and all the blessings of this life;
but above all for your immeasurable love
in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ;
for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory.
And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies,
that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise,
not only with our lips, but in our lives,
by giving up our selves to your service,
and by walking before you
in holiness and righteousness all our days;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit,
be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen.
A Prayer of St. Chrysostom [+][-]
Almighty God, who hast given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplication unto thee, and hast promised through thy well beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name thou wilt be in the midst of them: Fulfill now, O Lord, the desires and petitions of thy servants as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of thy truth, and in the world to come life everlasting. Amen.
Almighty God, you have given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplication to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will be in the midst of them: Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen.
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Amen.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen. 2 Corinthians 13:14
Post-Office Marian Antiphon [+][-]
Ave Regina Caelorum
O Queen of Heaven enthroned, Hail, by angels Mistress owned
Root of Jesse, Gate of morn,Whence the world's true light was born.
Glorious Virgin, joy to thee, Lovliest whom in Heaven they see,
Fairest thou where all are fair! Plead with Christ our sins to spare.
V. Vouchsafe that we may praise thee, O holy Virgin
R. Give me strength against thine enemies.
Let us pray:
Grant, O merciful God, to our weak natures Thy protection, that we who commemorate the holy Mother of God may, by the help of her intercession, arise from our iniquities. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
V. May the divine help remain with us always.
R. And with our absent brothers and sisters. Amen.
Ave Regina Caelorum
Queen of the heavens, we hail you, hail you Mother of our Redeemer;
you the dawn, the door of morning, whence the world's true Light has risen:
joy to you, O Virgin glorious, beautiful beyond all others,
hail and all hail, O most gracious, intercede for us always to Jesus.
V. May your prayers, O holy Virgin, defend us.
R. As we contend with the powers of evil.
Let us pray:
Grant us, O merciful God, protection in our weakness, that we who celebrate the memory of the holy Mother of God may, with the aid of her intercession, triumph over our foes; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
V. May the divine help remain with us always.
R. And with our absent brothers and sisters. Amen.
So, John Cassian is, in essence, admitting that the Egyptians have a more perfect practice: the two Offices of Morning and Evening Prayer give the stern Egyptian monks all they need in order to pray without ceasing for the rest of the day. But then he goes right ahead and tells his monks to do the three day hours in Palestinian fashion! The Egyptian way may be better, but the Palestinian is easier—and is likely better training for those still needing to learn their psalms.
In essence, we can say that these two groups show us two different ways of using the Daily Office to learn how to pray without ceasing. The “Egyptian” model is to only have two long Offices with psalms and readings at both. The “Palestinian” model is to have shorter and more frequent Offices with psalmody, leaving the reading of Scripture for the long Office at night. The Palestinian model wins decisively in the West; Benedict expresses in his Rule what has become normative in the West: eight liturgical services of prayer with an additional monastic business meeting—Chapter—that itself acquires liturgical material. Indeed, this pattern of frequency in corporate recitation of the Offices gets taken to its extreme in the monasteries of Cluny to the point that up to a full eight hours of the day were spent singing liturgies!
With the creation of the Book of Common Prayer at the Reformation, Archbishop Cranmer put the Anglican churches onto the other path. Whereas for centuries the Western Church had followed the Palestinian model, Cranmer turned us back to the Egyptian model. Up until our present book, our Offices had consisted of just what the Egyptian Office had: psalms, a reading from the Old Testament, a reading from the New Testament and prayers, all done twice a day. (The 1979 book gives a “Palestinian” nod with the introduction of Noon Prayer and Compline.)
If prayer without ceasing is our goal (and why shouldn’t it be?) we must recall that the Egyptian model is the harder path. In order to fulfill the call, we would be wise to take their advice. Pray the long Offices as they’re appointed, but then—throughout the day—make our private prayers “brief but frequent.” Take a verse that strikes you in the morning. Ponder it through the day; make it your prayer. Repeat it to yourself as you sit in silence. Whisper it to yourself as you work. Roll it in your mind while you eat. Make it part of your prayer without ceasing.
This, then, is the essence of the Office—to make our spiritual sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. By speaking in “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God” our hearts are lifted and our minds expanded to see a world imbued with God. As we take the words of the psalms and the Scriptures into ourselves, we provide ourselves with the basic resources to “pray without ceasing.” The practice of the Office—whether together or alone—builds up in us the pattern of praise and points us in the way of the habitual recollection of God.