THE THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT: GAUDETE SUNDAY
Sunday, December 13 at 9:30 am | Morning Prayer, Rite I
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The order of this service can also be found in The Book of Common Prayer, page 42. Spoken responses are in bold typeface.
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Welcome & Greeting
Opening Sentence
Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Isaiah 40:3
Confession of Sin
Officiant
Dearly beloved, we have come together in the presence of Almighty God our heavenly Father, to render thanks for the great benefits that we have received at his hands, to set forth his most worthy praise, to hear his holy Word, and to ask, for ourselves and on behalf of others, those things that are necessary for our life and our salvation. And so that we may prepare ourselves in heart and mind to worship him, let us kneel in silence, and with penitent and obedient hearts confess our sins, that we may obtain forgiveness by his infinite goodness and mercy.
Silence is kept.
Officiant and People
Almighty and most merciful Father,
we have erred and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep,
we have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts,
we have offended against thy holy laws,
we have left undone those things which we ought to have done,
and we have done those things which we ought not to have done.
But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us,
spare thou those who confess their faults,
restore thou those who are penitent,
according to thy promises declared unto mankind
in Christ Jesus our Lord;
and grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake,
that we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life,
to the glory of thy holy Name. Amen.
The Priest stands and says
The Almighty and merciful Lord grant you ✠ absolution and remission of all your sins, true repentance, amendment of life, and the grace and consolation of his Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Invitatory and Psalter
Officiant ✠ O Lord, open thou our lips.
People And our mouth shall show forth thy praise.
Officiant Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
People As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Officiant Praise ye the Lord.
People The Lord’s Name be praised.
Antiphon
Officiant Our King and Savior draweth nigh:
People O come, let us adore him.
Psalm 95 Venite, exultemus
Officiant and People
O come, let us sing unto the Lord; *
let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our salvation.
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, *
and show ourselves glad in him with psalms.
For the Lord is a great God, *
and a great King above all gods.
In his hand are all the corners of the earth, *
and the strength of the hills is his also.
The sea is his and he made it, *
and his hands prepared the dry land.
O come, let us worship and fall down *
and kneel before the Lord our Maker.
For he is the Lord our God, *
and we are the people of his pasture
and the sheep of his hand.
Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts *
as in the provocation,
and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness;
When your fathers tempted me, *
proved me, and saw my works.
Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, *
It is a people that do err in their hearts,
for they have not known my ways;
Unto whom I sware in my wrath, *
that they should not enter into my rest.
Antiphon
Officiant Our King and Savior draweth nigh:
People O come, let us adore him.
Then follows the psalm or psalms appointed.
Psalm 63 Deus, Deus meus
Officiant and People
1 O God, thou art my God; *
early will I seek thee.
2 My soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh also longeth after thee, *
in a barren and dry land where no water is.
3 Thus have I looked for thee in holiness, *
that I might behold thy power and glory.
4 For thy loving-kindness is better than life itself: *
my lips shall praise thee.
5 As long as I live will I magnify thee in this manner, *
and lift up my hands in thy Name.
6 My soul shall be satisfied, even as it were with marrow and fatness, *
when my mouth praiseth thee with joyful lips.
7 Have I not remembered thee in my bed, *
and thought upon thee when I was waking?
8 Because thou hast been my helper; *
therefore under the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.
9 My soul hangeth upon thee; *
thy right hand hath upholden me.
10 These also that seek the hurt of my soul, *
they shall go under the earth.
11 Let them fall upon the edge of the sword, *
that they may be a portion for foxes.
12 But the King shall rejoice in God; all they also that swear by him shall be commended; *
for the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Psalm 98 Cantate Domino
Officiant and People
1 O sing unto the Lord a new song; *
for he hath done marvellous things.
2 With his own right hand, and with his holy arm, *
hath he gotten himself the victory.
3 The Lord declared his salvation; *
his righteousness hath he openly showed in the sight of the heathen.
4 He hath remembered his mercy and truth toward the house of Israel; *
and all the ends of the world have seen the salvation of our God.
5 Show yourselves joyful unto the Lord, all ye lands; *
sing, rejoice, and give thanks.
6 Praise the Lord upon the harp; *
sing to the harp with a psalm of thanksgiving.
7 With trumpets also and shawms, *
O show yourselves joyful before the Lord, the King.
8 Let the sea make a noise, and all that therein is; *
the round world, and they that dwell therein.
9 Let the floods clap their hands, and let the hills be joyful together before the Lord; *
for he is come to judge the earth.
10 With righteousness shall he judge the world, *
and the peoples with equity.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
The Lesson
A Lesson from the Book of Isaiah: 13:6-13
Wail, for the day of the Lord is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty! Therefore all hands will be feeble, and every human heart will melt, and they will be dismayed. Pangs and agony will seize them; they will be in anguish like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at one another; their faces will be aflame. See, the day of the Lord comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the earth a desolation, and to destroy its sinners from it. For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light. I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will put an end to the pride of the arrogant, and lay low the insolence of tyrants. I will make mortals more rare than fine gold, and humans than the gold of Ophir. Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place, at the wrath of the Lord of hosts in the day of his fierce anger.
Lector Here endeth the Lesson.
Canticle: The First Song of Isaiah Ecce, Deus
Officiant and People
Behold, God is my salvation; *
I will trust, and not be afraid:
For the Lord God is my strength and my song; *
he also is become my salvation.
Therefore with joy shall ye draw water *
out of the wells of salvation.
And in that day shall ye say, *
Praise the Lord, call upon his Name,
Declare his doings among the people, *
make mention that his name is exalted.
Sing unto the Lord; for he hath done excellent things: *
this is known in all the earth.
Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: *
for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Ghost:
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, *
world without end. Amen.
The Apostles’ Creed
Officiant and People
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth;
And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord;
who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried.
He descended into hell.
The third day he rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven,
and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father almighty.
From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
✠ and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Prayers
Officiant The Lord be with you.
People And with thy spirit.
Officiant Let us pray.
Officiant and People
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
V. O Lord, show thy mercy upon us;
R. And grant us thy salvation.
V. Endue thy ministers with righteousness;
R. And make thy chosen people joyful.
V. Give peace, O Lord, in all the world;
R. For only in thee can we live in safety.
V. Lord, keep this nation under thy care;
R. And guide us in the way of justice and truth.
V. Let thy way be known upon earth;
R. Thy saving health among all nations.
V. Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;
R. Nor the hope of the poor be taken away.
V. Create in us clean hearts, O God;
R. And sustain us with thy Holy Spirit.
A Collect for Peace
O God, who art the author of peace and lover of concord, in knowledge of whom standeth our eternal life, whose service is perfect freedom: Defend us, thy humble servants, in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in thy defense, may not fear the power of any adversaries; through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
A Collect for Sundays
O God, who makest us glad with the weekly remembrance of the glorious resurrection of thy Son our Lord: Grant us this day such blessing through our worship of thee, that the days to come may be spent in thy favor; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
A Prayer for Mission
O God, who hast made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on the face of the whole earth, and didst send thy blessed Son to preach peace to them that are far off and to them that are nigh: Grant that all men everywhere may seek after thee and find thee. Bring the nations into thy fold, pour out thy Spirit upon all flesh, and hasten thy kingdom; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Silence.
The People may offer additional intercessions and thanksgivings at this time.
A Prayer of St. Chrysostom
Almighty God, who hast given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplication unto thee, and hast promised through thy well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name thou wilt be in the midst of them: Fulfill now, O Lord, the desires and petitions of thy servants as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of thy truth, and in the world to come life everlasting. Amen.
Officiant Let us bless the Lord.
People Thanks be to God.
The Office concludes as follows
✠ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with us all evermore. Amen.
2 Corinthians 13:14
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Proceed to the online bulletin for The Holy Eucharist on the 3rd Sunday of Advent: Gaudete Sunday