--Today is the Feast of Saint Cyril--
Lent
I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' Luke 15:18, 19

Saint and Major Saints' Days
You are no longer strangers and sojourners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God. Ephesians 2:19

Confession of Sin

Most merciful God,
I confess that I have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what I have done, and by what I have left undone. I have not loved you with my whole heart; I have not loved my neighbors as myself. I am truly sorry and I humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on me and forgive me; that I may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.

The Absolution
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

O God make speed to save us, O Lord make haste to help us

O Gracious Light,
pure brightness of everliving Father in heaven
O Jesus Christ holy and blessed!
Now as we come to the setting of the sun
and our eyes behold the vesper light
we sing your praises O God: Father Son and Holy Spirit.
You are worthy at all times to be praised by happy voices
O Son of God, O Giver of Life
and to be glorified through all worlds.
The Lord is full of compassion and mercy: Come let us adore him.

?The Psalms are unique for the evening, the other lessions can be read in total or those you have not included in Morning Prayer

The Lessons

Psalm 136

⁽¹⁾ Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. His love endures forever. ⁽²⁾ Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures forever. ⁽³⁾ Give thanks to the Lord of lords: His love endures forever. ⁽⁴⁾ to him who alone does great wonders, His love endures forever.

⁽⁵⁾ who by his understanding made the heavens, His love endures forever. ⁽⁶⁾ who spread out the earth upon the waters, His love endures forever. ⁽⁷⁾ who made the great lights-- His love endures forever. ⁽⁸⁾ the sun to govern the day, His love endures forever.

⁽⁹⁾ the moon and stars to govern the night; His love endures forever. ⁽¹⁰⁾ to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt His love endures forever. ⁽¹¹⁾ and brought Israel out from among them His love endures forever. ⁽¹²⁾ with a mighty hand and outstretched arm; His love endures forever.

⁽¹³⁾ to him who divided the Red Sea asunder His love endures forever. ⁽¹⁴⁾ and brought Israel through the midst of it, His love endures forever. ⁽¹⁵⁾ but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea; His love endures forever. ⁽¹⁶⁾ to him who led his people through the desert, His love endures forever.

⁽¹⁷⁾ who struck down great kings, His love endures forever. ⁽¹⁸⁾ and killed mighty kings-- His love endures forever. ⁽¹⁹⁾ Sihon king of the Amorites His love endures forever. ⁽²⁰⁾ and Og king of Bashan-- His love endures forever.

⁽²¹⁾ and gave their land as an inheritance, His love endures forever. ⁽²²⁾ an inheritance to his servant Israel; His love endures forever. ⁽²³⁾ to the One who remembered us in our low estate His love endures forever. ⁽²⁴⁾ and freed us from our enemies, His love endures forever.

⁽²⁵⁾ and who gives food to every creature. His love endures forever. ⁽²⁶⁾ Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Jeremiah Chapter 13

⁽¹⁾ This is what the LORD said to me: 'Go and buy a linen belt and put it around your waist, but do not let it touch water.' ⁽²⁾ So I bought a belt, as the LORD directed, and put it around my waist. ⁽³⁾ Then the word of the LORD came to me a second time: ⁽⁴⁾ Take the belt you bought and are wearing around your waist, and go now to Perath and hide it there in a crevice in the rocks.'

⁽⁵⁾ So I went and hid it at Perath, as the LORD told me. ⁽⁶⁾ Many days later the LORD said to me, 'Go now to Perath and get the belt I told you to hide there.' ⁽⁷⁾ So I went to Perath and dug up the belt and took it from the place where I had hidden it, but now it was ruined and completely useless. ⁽⁸⁾ Then the word of the LORD came to me:

⁽⁹⁾ This is what the LORD says: 'In the same way I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. ⁽¹⁰⁾ These wicked people, who refuse to listen to my words, who follow the stubbornness of their hearts and go after other gods to serve and worship them, will be like this belt-- completely useless! ⁽¹¹⁾ For as a belt is bound around a man's waist, so I bound the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah to me,' declares the LORD, 'to be my people for my renown and praise and honor. But they have not listened.'

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Romans Chapter 6

⁽¹²⁾ Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. ⁽¹³⁾ Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. ⁽¹⁴⁾ For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. ⁽¹⁵⁾ What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!

⁽¹⁶⁾ Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey-- whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? ⁽¹⁷⁾ But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. ⁽¹⁸⁾ You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. ⁽¹⁹⁾ I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness.

⁽²⁰⁾ When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. ⁽²¹⁾ What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! ⁽²²⁾ But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. ⁽²³⁾ For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

John Chapter 8

⁽⁴⁷⁾ He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.' ⁽⁴⁸⁾ The Jews answered him, 'Aren't we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?' ⁽⁴⁹⁾ I am not possessed by a demon,' said Jesus, 'but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. ⁽⁵⁰⁾ I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge.

⁽⁵¹⁾ I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.' ⁽⁵²⁾ At this the Jews exclaimed, 'Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that if anyone keeps your word, he will never taste death. ⁽⁵³⁾ Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?' ⁽⁵⁴⁾ Jesus replied, 'If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me.

⁽⁵⁵⁾ Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and keep his word. ⁽⁵⁶⁾ Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.' ⁽⁵⁷⁾ You are not yet fifty years old,' the Jews said to him, 'and you have seen Abraham!' ⁽⁵⁸⁾ I tell you the truth,' Jesus answered, 'before Abraham was born, I am!'

⁽⁵⁹⁾ At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.

The Gospel of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

?A canticle is a hymn, or other Christian song of praise with lyrics taken from biblical texts

The Canticles

The First Song of Isaiah       Kyrie Pantokrator Isaiah 12:2 to 6
 
Surely, it is God who saves me;
  I will trust in him and not be afraid.
For the Lord is my stronghold
and my sure defense,
  and he will be my Savior.
Therefore you shall draw water with rejoicing
  from the springs of salvation.
And on that day you shall say,
  Give thanks to the Lord and call upon his Name;
Make his deeds known among the peoples;
  see that they remember that his Name is exalted.
Sing the praises of the Lord,
for he has done great things,
  and this is known in all the world.
Cry aloud, inhabitants of Zion, ring out your joy,
  for the great one in the midst of you is the Holy One of Israel.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.


The Song of Mary       Magnificat Luke 1:46-55  
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior;
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel,
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
The promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. 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 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.

The Prayers

The Lord's Prayer   Traditional
Suffrages     A

Seasonal Collect:  Third Sunday in Lent
Almighty God, you know that we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

Collect of the Day: Almighty God, who after the creation of the world rested from all your works and sanctified a day of rest for all your creatures: Grant that we, putting away all earthly anxieties, may be duly prepared for the service of your sanctuary, and that our rest here upon earth may be a preparation for the eternal rest promised to your people in heaven; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Prayer for Mission: O God, you manifest in your servants the signs of your presence: Send forth upon us the spirit of love that in companionship with one another your abounding grace may increase among us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Personal Prayers and Reflection

This is a time to pause, consider and listen. Pray for yourself and others.


Closing Prayers   Thanksgiving

Conclude with following
Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine: Glory to him from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20,21



This concludes the Daily Morning Prayer
Go in Peace to Love and Serve the Lord