WEEK C
O Lord, open our lips:
and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
Glory to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;*
as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be forever. Amen.
PSALMODY
Antiphon: Be joyful in God, all you lands;*
Sing the glory of his name!
Opening – From Psalms 66 and 92
All the earth bows down before you,*
sings to you, sings out your name.
Bless our God, you peoples;*
make the voice of his praise to be heard.
It is a good thing to give thanks to the Lord,*
and to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
to tell of your loving-kindness early in the morning*
and of your faithfulness in the night season.
Glory to the Father…
Psalm 40
I waited patiently upon the Lord;*
he stooped to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the desolate pit, out of the mire and clay;*
he set my feet upon a high cliff and made my footing sure.
He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God;*
many shall see, and stand in awe,
and put their trust in the Lord.
Happy are they who trust in the Lord!*
they do not resort to evil spirits or turn to false gods.
Great things are they that you have done, O Lord my God!
how great your wonders and your plans for us!*
there is none who can be compared with you.
Oh, that I could make them known and tell them!*
but they are more than I can count.
In sacrifice and offering you take no pleasure*
(you have given me ears to hear you);
Burnt-offering and sin-offering you have not required,*
and so I said, ‘Behold, I come.
In the roll of the book it is written concerning me:*
“I love to do your will, O my God;
your law is deep in my heart.”’
I proclaimed righteousness in the great congregation;*
behold, I did not restrain my lips;
and that, O Lord, you know.
Your righteousness have I not hidden in my heart;
I have spoken of your faithfulness and your deliverance;*
I have not concealed your love and faithfulness from the
great congregation.
You are the Lord;
do not withhold your compassion from me;*
let your love and your faithfulness keep me safe for ever,
For innumerable troubles have crowded upon me;
my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see;*
they are more in number than the hairs of my head,
and my heart fails me.
Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me;*
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Let them be ashamed and altogether dismayed
who seek after my life to destroy it;*
let them draw back and be disgraced
who take pleasure in my misfortune.
Let those who say ‘Aha!’ and gloat over me be confounded,*
because they are ashamed.
Let all who seek you rejoice in you and be glad;*
let those who love your salvation continually say,
‘Great is the Lord!’
Though I am poor and afflicted,*
the Lord will have regard for me.
You are my helper and my deliverer;*
do not tarry, O my God.
Glory to the Father . . .
God our saviour, hear our prayer for all who suffer at the hands of others, and especially for those who suffer for the sake of justice. Raise and comfort them, and lead us all in the paths of loving service. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen
Conclusion (from Isaiah 12)
Behold God is my salvation;*
I will trust and not be afraid;
the Lord God is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.
With joy you will draw water*
from the wells of salvation.
Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name;*
make known his deeds among the nations.
Sing to the Lord for he has done gloriously;*
let this be known in all the earth.
Shout and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Sion,*
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.
Glory to the Father…
Antiphon: Be joyful in God, all you lands;*
Sing the glory of his name!
READINGS
Zechariah 14: 1-11
See, a day is coming for the Lord, when the plunder taken from you will be divided in your midst. For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses looted and the women raped; half the city shall go into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives, which lies before Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley; so that half of the Mount shall withdraw northwards, and the other half southwards. And you shall flee by the valley of the Lord’s mountain, for the valley between the mountains shall reach to Azal; and you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of King Uzziah of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.
On that day there shall not be either cold or frost. And there shall be continuous day (it is known to the Lord), not day and not night, for at evening time there shall be light.
On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea; it shall continue in summer as in winter.
And the Lord will become king over all the earth; on that day the Lord will be one and his name one.
The whole land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. But Jerusalem shall remain aloft on its site from the Gate of Benjamin to the place of the former gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s wine presses. And it shall be inhabited, for never again shall it be doomed to destruction; Jerusalem shall abide in security.
Romans 15: 7-13
Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of the truth of God in order that he might confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,
‘Therefore I will confess you among the Gentiles,
and sing praises to your name’;
and again he says,
‘Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people’;
and again,
‘Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,
and let all the peoples praise him’;
and again Isaiah says,
‘The root of Jesse shall come,
the one who rises to rule the Gentiles;
in him the Gentiles shall hope.’
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Silence
Response (Ps. 63:4)
V. I will bless you Lord as long as I live.
R. I will bless you Lord as long as I live.
V. And lift up my hands in your name.
R. As long as I live.
V. Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
R. I will bless you Lord as long as I live.
BENEDICTUS
Benedictus Antiphon: In tender compassion,*
God’s dawn has broken upon us.
Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel,*
for he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty saviour,*
born of the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old*
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all that hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our forebears,*
and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:*
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear,*
holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.
You my child shall be called the prophet of the Most High,*
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
to give his people knowledge of salvation*
by the forgiveness of all their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God*
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of
death,*
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Glory be to the Father.
Benedictus Antiphon: In tender compassion,*
God’s dawn has broken upon us.
PRAYERS
Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
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.
Do not bring us to the time of trial,
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours,
now and forever. Amen.
Collects
Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well-beloved Son, our Lord and King: grant that the peoples of the earth, now divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his gentle and loving rule; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
God most holy, we give you thanks for bringing us out of the shadow of night into the light of morning; and we ask you for the joy of spending this day in your service, so that when evening comes, we may once more give you thanks, through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord. Amen.
Let us bless the Lord:
Thanks be to God!
The Lord bless us and preserve us from all evil;
and bring us to life eternal. Amen.
