Dear St. Mark’s Family,
I hope you have been praying with me Evening Prayer. Here is the service for next week with psalms and lessons for each day leading up to Holy Thursday. I’ll be sending you services specifically appointed for Holy Thursday and Good Friday. The readings for Holy Week Evening Prayer are a good preparation for the rest of Holy Week and Easter. We read portions of the prophets that we rarely read. The passages for the Gospel of John fill in some of the story between Palm Sunday and Holy Thursday.
It is now clear that we will be unable to celebrate Easter together on the appointed day. We will celebrate in a big way on the first Sunday we are back together after the restrictions but we can still celebrate the great joy of Easter in a more subdued way. We don’t have to be physically together in the same place to pray together.
Once again let me encourage you to slow down, spend some time in prayer with the Lord.
FR. GAETZ
Evening Prayer
For the week after Lent VI
Holy Week
Beginning Monday, April 6th, 2020
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.
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 praised, 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.
Psalms and Scripture
Monday, April 6: Psalm 36:5-11, Daniel 12:1-3, John 12:1-11
Tuesday, April 7: Psalm 71:1-14 , Isaiah 49:1-3, John 12:20-36
Wednesday, April 8: Psalm 70, Isaiah 50:4-9, John 13:20-36
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 forever. 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 forever. 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 by your Holy Spirit.
The Collect of the Week
Almighty and everliving God, in your tender love for the human race you sent your Son our Savior Jesus Christ to take upon him our nature, and to suffer death upon the cross, giving us the example of his great humility: Mercifully grant that we may walk in the way of his suffering, and also share in his resurrection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
A Collect for Peace
Most holy God, the source of all good desires, all right judgments, and all just works: Give to us, your servants, that peace which the world cannot give, so that our minds may be fixed on the doing of your will, and that we, being delivered from the fear of all enemies, may live in peace and quietness; through the mercies of Christ Jesus our Savior. Amen.
The Night Collect
Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love’s sake. Amen.
Other prayers should follow:
For family and friends
For our Community
For the world
The General Thanksgiving
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 ourselves 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.
We 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. Romans 15:13
Office text from The Book of Common Prayer, 1979, of The Episcopal Church. Readings appointed by Revised Common Lectionary Calendar (Church Publishing Inc.)