¶
Morning Prayer
Easter Season
Thursday, 25 April 2024
Mark the Evangelist
Preparation
O Lord, open our lips
Alland our mouth shall
proclaim your praise.
In your resurrection, O Christ,
Alllet heaven and earth
rejoice. Alleluia.
One or more of the following is said or sung:
this or another prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, Lord God of our salvation,
to you be praise and glory for ever.
As once you ransomed your people from Egypt
and led them to freedom in the promised land,
so now you have delivered us from the dominion of darkness
and brought us into the kingdom of your risen Son.
May we, the first fruits of your new creation,
rejoice in this new day you have made,
and praise you for your mighty acts.
Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
AllBlessed be God for ever.
a suitable hymn, or the Easter Anthems
1Christ our passover
has been sacrificed for us: ♦
so let us celebrate the feast,
2not with the old leaven
of corruption and wickedness: ♦
but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
1 Corinthians 5.7b, 8
3Christ once raised from
the dead dies no more: ♦
death has no more dominion over him.
4In dying he died to
sin once for all: ♦
in living he lives to God.
5See yourselves therefore
as dead to sin: ♦
and alive to God in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 6.9-11
6Christ has been raised
from the dead: ♦
the first fruits of those who sleep.
7For as by man came death:
♦
by man has come also the resurrection of the dead;
8for as in Adam all die:
♦
even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1 Corinthians 15.20-22
AllGlory 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.
This opening prayer may be said
The night has passed, and the day lies open before us;
let us pray with one heart and mind.
Silence is kept.
As we rejoice in the gift of this new day,
so may the light of your presence, O God,
set our hearts on fire with love for you;
now and for ever.
AllAmen.
The Word of God
Psalmody
The appointed psalmody is said.
Psalm 37.23-end
Refrain: The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord.
23 When your steps are guided by the Lord ♦
and you delight in his way,
24 Though you stumble, you shall not fall headlong, ♦
for the Lord holds you fast by the hand.
25 I have been young and now am old, ♦
yet never have I seen the righteous forsaken,
or their children begging their bread.
26 All the day long they are generous in lending, ♦
and their children also shall be blest. R
27 Depart from evil and do good ♦
and you shall abide for ever.
28 For the Lord loves the thing that is right ♦
and will not forsake his faithful ones.
29 The unjust shall be destroyed for ever, ♦
and the offspring of the wicked shall be rooted out.
30 The righteous shall possess the land ♦
and dwell in it for ever. R
31 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, ♦
and their tongue speaks the thing that is right.
32 The law of their God is in their heart ♦
and their footsteps shall not slide.
33 The wicked spy on the righteous ♦
and seek occasion to slay them.
34 The Lord will not leave them in their hand, ♦
nor let them be condemned when they are judged. R
35 Wait upon the Lord and keep his way; ♦
he will raise you up to possess the land,
and when the wicked are uprooted, you shall see it.
36 I myself have seen the wicked in great power ♦
and flourishing like a tree in full leaf.
37 I went by and lo, they were gone; ♦
I sought them, but they could nowhere be found.
38 Keep innocence and heed the thing that is right, ♦
for that will bring you peace at the last. R
39 But the sinners shall perish together, ♦
and the posterity of the wicked shall be rooted out.
40 The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord; ♦
he is their stronghold in the time of trouble.
41 The Lord shall stand by them and deliver them; ♦
he shall deliver them from the wicked and shall save them,
because they have put their trust in him.
Refrain: The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord.
Blessed and holy God,
ever merciful and forgiving,
may we turn from what is evil
and do what is good in your sight,
for you have saved us by the cross of your Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Psalm 148.1-end
Refrain: O praise the name of the Lord.
1 Alleluia.
Praise the Lord from the heavens; ♦
praise him in the heights.
2 Praise him, all you his angels; ♦
praise him, all his host.
3 Praise him, sun and moon; ♦
praise him, all you stars of light.
4 Praise him, heaven of heavens, ♦
and you waters above the heavens.
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord; ♦
for he commanded and they were created.
6 He made them fast for ever and ever; ♦
he gave them a law which shall not pass away. R
7 Praise the Lord from the earth, ♦
you sea monsters and all deeps;
8 Fire and hail, snow and mist, ♦
tempestuous wind, fulfilling his word;
9 Mountains and all hills, ♦
fruit trees and all cedars;
10 Wild beasts and all cattle, ♦
creeping things and birds on the wing;
11 Kings of the earth and all peoples, ♦
princes and all rulers of the world;
12 Young men and women,
old and young together; ♦
let them praise the name of the Lord.
13 For his name only is exalted, ♦
his splendour above earth and heaven.
14 He has raised up the horn of his people
and praise for all his faithful servants, ♦
the children of Israel, a people who are near him.
Alleluia.
Refrain: O praise the name of the Lord.
O glorious God,
your whole creation sings your marvellous work;
may heaven’s praise so echo in our hearts
that we may be good stewards of the earth;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Each psalm or group of psalms may end with
AllGlory 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.
If there are two Scripture readings, the first may be read here, or both may be read after the canticle.
Isaiah 62.6-10
Upon your walls, O Jerusalem,
I have posted sentinels;
all day and all night
they shall never be silent.
You who remind the Lord,
take no rest,
and give him no rest
until he establishes Jerusalem
and makes it renowned throughout the earth.
The Lord has sworn by his right hand
and by his mighty arm:
I will not again give your grain
to be food for your enemies,
and foreigners shall not drink the wine
for which you have laboured;
but those who garner it shall eat it
and praise the Lord,
and those who gather it shall drink it
in my holy courts.
Go through, go through the gates,
prepare the way for the people;
build up, build up the highway,
clear it of stones,
lift up an ensign over the peoples.
Canticle
The following, or another suitable canticle, may be said or sung
Refrain:
AllThe Lord has anointed me
and sent me to bring good news to the oppressed. Alleluia.
1The Spirit of the Lord
is upon me ♦
because he has anointed me.
2He has sent me to bring
good news to the oppressed, ♦
to bind up the broken-hearted,
3To proclaim liberty
to the captives, ♦
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
4To proclaim the year
of the Lord’s favour, ♦
to comfort all who mourn,
5To give them a garland
instead of ashes, ♦
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit,
6That they may be called
oaks of righteousness, ♦
the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.
7For as the earth puts
forth her blossom, ♦
and as seeds in the garden spring up,
8So shall the Lord God
make righteousness and praise ♦
blossom before all the nations.
9You shall be called
priests of the Lord; ♦
they shall speak of you as ministers of our God.
Isaiah 61.1-3, 11, 6a
AllGlory 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.
AllThe Lord has anointed me
and sent me to bring good news to the oppressed. Alleluia.
Scripture Reading
One or more readings appointed for the day are read.
The reading(s) may be followed by a time of silence.
Acts 12.25 - 13.13
Then after completing their mission Barnabas and Saul returned to Jerusalem and brought with them John, whose other name was Mark.
Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a member of the court of Herod the ruler, and Saul. While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.
So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia; and from there they sailed to Cyprus. When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John also to assist them. When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they met a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet, named Bar-Jesus. He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and wanted to hear the word of God. But the magician Elymas (for that is the translation of his name) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul away from the faith. But Saul, also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, ‘You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? And now listen—the hand of the Lord is against you, and you will be blind for a while, unable to see the sun.’ Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he went about groping for someone to lead him by the hand. When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was astonished at the teaching about the Lord.
Then Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. John, however, left them and returned to Jerusalem;
A suitable song or chant, or a responsory in this or another form, may follow
Death is swallowed up in victory.
AllWhere, O death, is your
sting?
Christ is risen from the dead,
the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
AllDeath is swallowed up
in victory.
The trumpet will sound
and the dead shall be raised.
AllWhere, O death, is your
sting?
We shall not all sleep,
but we shall be changed.
AllDeath is swallowed up
in victory.
Where, O death, is your sting?
from 1 Corinthians 15
Gospel Canticle
The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah) is normally said,
or The Song of Christ’s Glory
(page 619) may be said
Refrain:
All
We bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers
he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus. Alleluia.
1Blessed be the Lord
the God of Israel, ♦
who has come to his people and set them free.
2He has raised up for
us a mighty Saviour, ♦
born of the house of his servant David.
3Through his holy prophets
God promised of old ♦
to save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all that hate us,
4To show mercy to our
ancestors, ♦
and to remember his holy covenant.
5This was the oath God
swore to our father Abraham: ♦
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
6Free to worship him
without fear, ♦
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
7And you, child, shall
be called the prophet of the Most High, ♦
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
8To give his people knowledge
of salvation ♦
by the forgiveness of all their sins.
9In the tender compassion
of our God ♦
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
10To shine on those who
dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, ♦
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Luke 1.68-79
AllGlory 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.
Refrain:
All
We bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers
he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus. Alleluia.
Prayers
Intercessions are offered
¶ for the day and its tasks
¶ for the world and its needs
¶ for the Church and her life
Prayers may include the following concerns from the cycle on pages 364–365
¶ The people of God, that they may proclaim
the risen Lord
¶ God’s creation, that the peoples of
the earth may meet their responsibility to care
¶ Those in despair and darkness, that they may
find the hope and light of Christ
¶ Those in fear of death, that they may find
faith through the resurrection
¶ Prisoners and captives
A form of prayer found on page 382 may be used.
These responses may be used
Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer
(or)
Lord, hear us.
Lord, graciously hear us.
Silence may be kept.
The Collect of the day is said
Almighty God,
who enlightened your holy Church
through the inspired witness of your evangelist Saint Mark:
grant that we, being firmly grounded
in the truth of the gospel,
may be faithful to its teaching both in word and deed;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
AllAmen.
The Lord’s Prayer is said
Rejoicing in God’s new creation,
as our Saviour taught us, so we pray
AllOur 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.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Amen.
(or)
Rejoicing in God’s new creation,
let us pray with confidence as our Saviour has taught us
AllOur 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,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
The Conclusion
May the risen Christ grant us the joys of eternal life.
AllAmen.
Let us bless the Lord. Alleluia, alleluia.
AllThanks be to God. Alleluia, alleluia.
©
The Archbishops' Council of the Church of England, 2000-2005
Official Common Worship apps, books and eBooks are available from
Church House Publishing.
The Bible readings (other than the psalms) are from The New Revised Standard Version Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Implemented by Simon Kershaw at
Crucix.
Implementation copyright © Simon Kershaw, 2002-2021.