While still a child, Giovanni Bosco, a fan of the circus, put on shows featuring juggling, tightrope walking and magic tricks. The price of admission was staying afterward to say prayers.
Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. Isaiah 60:3
INVITATORY & PSALTER
O God, let our mouth proclaim your praise.
And your glory all the day long.
Praise to the holy and undivided Trinity, one God:
as it was in the beginning, is now and will be forever. Amen. Alleluia.
Psalm 100
Jubilate
Be joyful in the Lord, all you lands;
serve the Lord with gladness
and come before his presence with a song.
Know this: The Lord himself is God;
he himself has made us, and we are his;
we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and call upon his Name.
For the Lord is good;
his mercy is everlasting;
and his faithfulness endures from age to age.
Psalm 56
Have mercy on me, O God,
for my enemies are hounding me; *
all day long they assault and oppress me.
They hound me all the day long; *
truly there are many who fight against me, O Most High.
Whenever I am afraid, *
I will put my trust in you.
In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust and will not be afraid, *
for what can flesh do to me?
All day long they damage my cause; *
their only thought is to do me evil.
They band together; they lie in wait; *
they spy upon my footsteps;
because they seek my life.
Shall they escape despite their wickedness? *
O God, in your anger, cast down the peoples.
You have noted my lamentation;
put my tears into your bottle; *
are they not recorded in your book?
Whenever I call upon you, my enemies will be put to flight; *
this I know, for God is on my side.
In God the LORD, whose word I praise,
in God I trust and will not be afraid, *
for what can mortals do to me?
I am bound by the vow I made to you, O God; *
I will present to you thank-offerings;
For you have rescued my soul from death and my feet from stumbling, *
that I may walk before God in the light of the living.
Psalm 57
Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful,
for I have taken refuge in you; *
in the shadow of your wings will I take refuge
until this time of trouble has gone by.
I will call upon the Most High God, *
the God who maintains my cause.
He will send from heaven and save me;
he will confound those who trample upon me; *
God will send forth his love and his faithfulness.
I lie in the midst of lions that devour the people; *
their teeth are spears and arrows,
their tongue a sharp sword.
They have laid a net for my feet,
and I am bowed low; *
they have dug a pit before me,
but have fallen into it themselves.
Exalt yourself above the heavens, O God, *
and your glory over all the earth.
My heart is firmly fixed, O God, my heart is fixed; *
I will sing and make melody.
Wake up, my spirit;
awake, lute and harp; *
I myself will waken the dawn.
I will confess you among the peoples, O LORD; *
I will sing praise to you among the nations.
For your loving-kindness is greater than the heavens, *
and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
Exalt yourself above the heavens, O God, *
and your glory over all the earth.
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 LESSONS
Isaiah 51:17-23 (NRSV)
Rouse yourself, rouse yourself!
Stand up, O Jerusalem,
you who have drunk at the hand of the LORD
the cup of his wrath,
who have drunk to the dregs
the bowl of staggering.
There is no one to guide her
among all the children she has borne;
there is no one to take her by the hand
among all the children she has brought up.
These two things have befallen you
- who will grieve with you? -
devastation and destruction, famine and sword -
who will comfort you?
Your children have fainted,
they lie at the head of every street
like an antelope in a net;
they are full of the wrath of the LORD,
the rebuke of your God.
Therefore hear this, you who are wounded,
who are drunk, but not with wine:
Thus says your Sovereign, the LORD,
your God who pleads the cause of his people:
See, I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering;
you shall drink no more
from the bowl of my wrath.
And I will put it into the hand of your tormentors,
who have said to you,
“Bow down, that we may walk on you”;
and you have made your back like the ground
and like the street for them to walk on.
Canticle: The Song of Hannah
1 Samuel 21:1-8
My heart exults in you, O God; *
my triumph song is lifted in you.
My mouth derides my enemies, *
for I rejoice in your salvation.
There is none holy like you, *
nor any rock to be compared to you, our God.
Do not heap up prideful words or speak in arrogance; *
Only God is knowing and weighs all actions.
The bows of the mighty are broken, *
but the weak are clothed in strength.
Those once full now labor for bread, *
those who hungered now are well fed.
The childless woman has borne sevenfold, *
while the mother of many is forlorn.
God destroys and brings to life, casts down and raises up; *
gives wealth or takes it away, humbles and dignifies.
God raises the poor from the dust; *
and lifts the needy from the ash heap
To make them sit with the rulers *
and inherit a place of honor.
For the pillars of the earth are God’s *
on which the whole earth is founded.
Praise to the holy and undivided Trinity, one God: *
as it was in the beginning, is now and will be forever. Amen.
Galatians 4:1-11 (NRSV)
My point is this: heirs, as long as they are minors, are no better than slaves, though they are the owners of all the property; but they remain under guardians and trustees until the date set by the father. So with us; while we were minors, we were enslaved to the elemental spirits of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.
Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to beings that by nature are not gods. Now, however, that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and beggarly elemental spirits? How can you want to be enslaved to them again? You are observing special days, and months, and seasons, and years. I am afraid that my work for you may have been wasted.
Canticle: A Song of Christ’s Humility
Philippians 2:6-11
Though in the form of God, *
Christ Jesus did not cling to equality with God,
But emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, *
and was born in human likeness.
Being found in human form, he humbled himself *
and became obedient to death, even death on a cross.
Therefore, God has highly exalted him *
and given him the name above every name,
That at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow, *
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
And every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, *
to the glory of God the Father.
THE APOSTLES’ CREED
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
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,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and 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.
Show us your mercy, O Lord;
And grant us your salvation.
Clothe your ministers with righteousness;
Let your people sing with joy.
Give peace, O Lord, in all the world;
For only in you can we live in safety.
Lord, keep this nation under your care;
And guide us in the way of justice and truth.
Let your way be known upon earth;
Your saving health among all nations.
Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;
Nor the hope of the poor be taken away.
Create in us clean hearts, O God;
And sustain us with your Holy Spirit.
Collect of the Day: Juan Bosco, Priest, 1888
Compassionate God, you called Juan Bosco to be a teacher and father to the young: Fill us with love like his, that we may give ourselves completely to your service and to the salvation of all; through your Son Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Collect of the Day: Samuel Shoemaker, Priest and Evangelist, 1963
Holy God, we thank you for the vision of Samuel Shoemaker, priest and co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous; and we pray that we may follow his example to help others find salvation through knowledge and love of Jesus Christ our Savior; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
A Collect for the Renewal of Life
O God, the King eternal, whose light divides the day from the night and turns the shadow of death into the morning: Drive far from us all wrong desires, incline our hearts to keep your law, and guide our feet into the way of peace; that, having done your will with cheerfulness during the day, we may, when night comes, rejoice to give you thanks; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Prayer for Mission
O God, you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth, and sent your blessed Son to preach peace to those who are far off and to those who are near: Grant that people everywhere may seek after you and find you; bring the nations into your fold; pour out your Spirit upon all flesh, and hasten the coming of your kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
A Prayer of St. Chrysostom
Almighty God, you have given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplications 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: Fulfil 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 God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.++
