New Zealand priest, liturgical expert and blogger Bosco Peters with Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori; she's visiting New Zealand and Australia this week. See Bosco's links in the sidebar.
Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness; let the whole earth tremble before him. Psalm 96:9
INVITATORY & PSALTER
O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Alleluia.
Hymn: O Gracious Light
Phos hilaron
O gracious Light,
pure brightness of the 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 the worlds.
Psalm 128
Happy are they all who fear the LORD, *
and who follow in his ways!
You shall eat the fruit of your labor; *
happiness and prosperity shall be yours.
Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine within your house, *
your children like olive shoots round about your table.
The man who fears the LORD *
shall thus indeed be blessed.
The LORD bless you from Zion, *
and may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life.
May you live to see your children’s children; *
may peace be upon Israel.
Psalm 129
“Greatly have they oppressed me since my youth,” *
let Israel now say;
“Greatly have they oppressed me since my youth, *
but they have not prevailed against me.”
The plowmen plowed upon my back *
and made their furrows long.
The LORD, the Righteous One, *
has cut the cords of the wicked.
Let them be put to shame and thrown back, *
all those who are enemies of Zion.
Let them be like grass upon the housetops, *
which withers before it can be plucked;
Which does not fill the hand of the reaper, *
nor the bosom of him who binds the sheaves;
So that those who go by say not so much as,
“The LORD prosper you. *
We wish you well in the Name of the LORD.”
Psalm 130
Out of the depths have I called to you, O LORD;
LORD, hear my voice; *
let your ears consider well the voice of my supplication.
If you, LORD, were to note what is done amiss, *
O LORD, who could stand?
For there is forgiveness with you; *
therefore you shall be feared.
I wait for the LORD; my soul waits for him; *
in his word is my hope.
My soul waits for the LORD,
more than watchmen for the morning, *
more than watchmen for the morning.
O Israel, wait for the LORD, *
for with the LORD there is mercy;
With him there is plenteous redemption, *
and he shall redeem Israel from all their sins.
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 LESSON
Matthew 21:33-46 (NRSV)
Jesus said, “Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.’ So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”
They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time.” Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the scriptures: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our eyes’? Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom. The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.”
When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. They wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet.
Canticle: The Song of Simeon
Nunc dimittis
Luke 2:29-32
Lord, you now have set your servant free *
to go in peace as you have promised;
For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior, *
whom you have prepared for all the world to see:
A Light to enlighten the nations, *
and the glory of your people 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 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.
THE PRAYERS
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.
That this evening may be holy, good, and peaceful,
We entreat you, O Lord.
That your holy angels may lead us in paths of peace and goodwill,
We entreat you, O Lord.
That we may be pardoned and forgiven for our sins and offenses,
We entreat you, O Lord.
That there may be peace to your Church and to the whole world,
We entreat you, O Lord.
That we may depart this life in your faith and fear,
and not be condemned before the great judgment seat of Christ,
We entreat you, O Lord.
That we may be bound together by your Holy Spirit
in the communion of all your saints,
entrusting one another and all our life to Christ,
We entreat you, O Lord.
Collect of the Day: Pentecost Proper 8
Almighty God, you have built your Church upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone: Grant us so to be joined together in unity of spirit by their teaching, that we may be made a holy temple acceptable to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
[For Persons with HIV/AIDS
By Stephen Helmreich
O Lord Jesus, Healer of our every ill, during your ministry you cured those who suffered from both the disease and the stigma of leprosy. Now we confront the global epidemic of HIV/AIDS. Today, as before, support and heal all people living with the disease, comfort those who have lost friends or lovers, strengthen and encourage families, caregivers and activists in their daily tasks, guide doctors and researchers on their quest, lead politicians and governments to policies of compassion, and enlighten those whose hearts are filled with prejudice, hate, and error. Amen.]
A Collect for Protection
O God, the life of all who live, the light of the faithful, the strength of those who labor, and the repose of the dead: We thank you for the blessings of the day that is past, and humbly ask for your protection through the coming night. Bring us in safety to the morning hours; through him who died and rose again for us, your Son our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Prayer for Mission
O God and Father of all, whom the whole heavens adore: Let the whole earth also worship you, all nations obey you, all tongues confess and bless you, and men and women everywhere love you and serve you in peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
(Please offer your own intercessions and thanksgivings here.)
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
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 for ever and ever. Amen.++
What a blessing this site is for this retired old fool with 40 years as a Franciscan tertiary and the expectation of praying the Daily Office. Right now it is so helpful to call up the page/email than wrestle with the books. I really do though, wish for St Chrysostom’s prayer EACH time to keep me praying for other tertiaries also praying the Office world-wide AND those also using this site/email.
Many, many thanks and peace to you and all!
Kale,Tssf
All right, Kale, you win – somewhat.
We’ve made a list of our current scheme of optional prayers, which range from 1-3 per Office, and we’ve decided to upgrade to 3 per Office.
We now have room to add St. Chrys, currently running only twice a week (and MP only), three more times: Sunday night, Tuesday night and Saturday morning.
The other daily options will now (or soon) appear at least twice a week, without deleting any prayers we currently offer. I made up a chart ‘n’ everything.
Some people like the Prayer for Web Visitors, so it will get one more rotation, and Haiti’s staying in even if I did write it myself. So are For Those We Love, For the Aged, For the Sick and For Monastic Orders and Vocations. Our main site gives even more options.
Perhaps I’ve been overscrupulous and unbalanced because of my own original motivations in doing this thing:
1. To say my prayers twice a day;
2. To bring people to Christ, or back to Christ.
#2 led me to keep the service as short and sweet as possible. We almost never include the longer options in the lectionary.
#1 of course has happened for almost six years now. #2 has been fulfilled a little, usually with/for people who quit going to church but now want to return in some way. Maybe our best function has been to give new Episcopalians a resource they can handle on their own, learn from, ask questions without embarrassment, etc.
But gradually I’ve understood that our core audience is dedicated Christians of a variety of traditions, all of whom are welcome here. In recent months I’ve developed a slogan to express this, Your Online Chapel of Ease™. You’re not the only one who gets tired of juggling books or taking them on airplanes, buses and trains. They’re heavy, they’re clumsy and people feel conspicuous praying in public.
Lately with the explosion of iPhones, iPads, BlackBerrys and other gadgets, as well as social media like Facebook, being accessible to the faithful has overtaken my original idea. So it’s time to change, three extra prayers every time.
I bet you have St. Chrys memorized when we don’t include it. You can still pray for your tertiaries, you don’t really need us for that. We always include, Please add your own prayers here.
I’m glad for your feedback and comments. This is a growing, evolving thing as I hear from more people. Dr. Derek Olsen, who’s soon to offer his own Office site, calls mine an organic garden; I take it his more elaborate one will rely not on daily postings, but on computer programming that runs like Swiss clockwork. I’m supposed not to be jealous, and after all he’s a friend, so I hope he simply expands the “market” of people who pray the Office. My home parish has three churches in the same block and we all get on swimmingly, with a joint procession in the streets on Palm Sunday and several shared ministries.
Which brings me back to reason #1: I do this so I pray twice a day, and the fact that many others come along for the ride makes this a sacred responsibility, which is a joy to meet except when it isn’t.
Thanks, and God bless all Our Web Visitors.
Josh