Daily Office for Our Times

Common Prayer

Redeeming the Soul of the World Through Love and Prayer

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Morning Prayer

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Fifth Thursday of Easter

Theme for Thursday: God's Abundance

We offer to God our worship, with thanksgiving for our homes and the material blessings of our lives. And as we give thanks, we remember people who are homeless and live in poverty and we pray for parishioners dedicated to serving the poor and righting the inequities of our society.

Sentence for the Week

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6

Confession of Sin Optional: Show confession...

The Invitatory and Psalter

O God, let our mouths proclaim your praise.

Let our hearts rejoice in your goodness.

Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom, thanksgiving and honor, power and might be to our God for ever and ever. Amen! Alleluia!

Canticle

Jubilate   Psalm 100

Alleluia. The Lord is risen indeed:
Come let us adore him. Alleluia.

Be joyful in God, all you lands;*

serve with gladness and come before God's presence with a song.

For we know that you are God;*

you yourself have made us, and we are yours;
we are your people and the sheep of your pasture.

We shall enter your gates with thanksgiving, go into your courts with praise, *

give thanks to you and call upon your Name.

For you are good; your mercy is everlasting; *

and your faithfulness endures from age to age.

Alleluia. The Lord is risen indeed:
Come let us adore him. Alleluia.

The Psalms Appointed

Psalm 70 Deus, in adjutorium

Be pleased, O God, to deliver me;*

O God, make haste to help me.

Let those who seek my life be ashamed and altogether dismayed;*

let those who take pleasure in my misfortune draw back and be disgraced.

Let those who say to me "Aha!" and gloat over me turn back,*

because they are ashamed.

Let all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you;*

let those who love your salvation say for ever, "Great is the Holy One!"

But as for me, I am poor and needy;*

come to me speedily, O God.

You are my helper and my deliverer;*

O God, do not tarry.

Psalm 71 In te, Domine, speravi

In you, O God, have I taken refuge;*

let me never be ashamed.

In your righteousness, deliver me and set me free;*

incline your ear to me and save me.

Be my strong rock, a castle to keep me safe;*

you are my crag and my stronghold.

Deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked,*

from the clutches of the evildoer and the oppressor.

For you are my hope, O God,*

my confidence since I was young.

I have been sustained by you ever since I was born; from my mother's womb you have been my strength;*

my praise shall be always of you.

I have become a portent to many,*

but you are my refuge and my strength.

Let my mouth be full of your praise*

and your glory all the day long.

Do not cast me off in my old age;*

forsake me not when my strength fails.

For my enemies are talking against me,*

and those who lie in wait for my life take counsel together.

They say that God has forsaken me, that they may pursue and seize me*

because there is none who will save.

O God, be not far from me;*

come quickly to help me, O my God.

Let those who set themselves against me be put to shame and be disgraced;*

let those who seek to do me evil be covered with scorn and reproach.

But I shall always wait in patience,*

and shall praise you more and more.

My mouth shall recount your mighty acts and saving deeds all day long,*

though I cannot know the number of them.

I will begin with your mighty works, O God;*

I will recall your righteousness, yours alone.

O God, you have taught me since I was young,*

and to this day I tell of your wonderful works.

And now that I am old and gray-headed, O God, do not forsake me,*

till I make known your strength to this generation and your power to all who are to come.

Your righteousness, O God, reaches to the heavens;*

you have done great things; who is like you, O God?

You have shown me great troubles and adversities,*

but you will restore my life and bring me up again from the deep places of the earth.

You strengthen me more and more;*

you enfold and comfort me,

Therefore I will praise you upon the lyre for your faithfulness, O my God;*

I will sing to you with the harp, O Holy One of Israel.

My lips will sing with joy when I play to you,*

and so will my soul, which you have redeemed.

My tongue will proclaim your righteousness all day long,*

for they are ashamed and disgraced who sought to do me harm.

All Glory to the Loving One, Source of our being, Eternal Word, and Life-Giving Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

The First Lesson

A Reading from Wisdom of Solomon 14:27—15:3

The worship of idols not to be named
is the beginning and cause and end of every evil.

For their worshipers either rave in exultation,
or prophesy lies, or live unrighteously, or readily commit perjury;

for because they trust in lifeless idols
they swear wicked oaths and expect to suffer no harm.

But just penalties will overtake them on two counts;
because they thought wrongly about God in devoting themselves to idols,

and because in deceit they swore unrighteously through contempt for holiness.

For it is not the power of the things by which people swear,
but the just penalty for those who sin,

that always pursues the transgression of the unrighteous.

But you, our God, are kind and true,
patient, and ruling all things in mercy.

For even if we sin we are yours, knowing your power;
but we will not sin, because we know that you acknowledge us as yours.

For to know you is complete righteousness,
and to know your power is the root of immortality.

A time of silence may be kept.

Officiant   For the word of God in scripture,
for the Word of God among us,
for the Word of God within us.

People      Thanks be to God.

Canticle

The Third Song of Isaiah   Surge, illuminare

Arise, shine, for your light has come,*

and the glory of the Lord has dawned upon you.

For behold, darkness covers the land;*

deep gloom enshrouds the peoples.

But over you the Lord will rise,*

and God's glory will appear upon you.

Nations will stream to your light,*

and kings to the brightness of your dawning.

Your gates will always be open;*

by day or night they will never be shut.

They will call you, The City of the Lord,*

The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

Violence will no more be heard in your land,*

ruin or destruction within your borders.

You will call your walls,*

Salvation, and all your portals, Praise.

The sun will no more be your light by day;*

by night you will not need the brightness of the moon.

The Lord will be your everlasting light,*

and your God will be your glory.

All Glory to the Loving One, Source of our being, Eternal Word, and Life-Giving Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

The Second Lesson

A Reading from Romans 14:1-12

Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions. Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat only vegetables. Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgment on those who eat; for God has welcomed them. Who are you to pass judgment on servants of another? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

Some judge one day to be better than another, while others judge all days to be alike. Let all be fully convinced in their own minds. Those who observe the day, observe it in honor of the Lord. Also those who eat, eat in honor of the Lord, since they give thanks to God; while those who abstain, abstain in honor of the Lord and give thanks to God.

We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.

Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it is written,

“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall give praise to God.”

So then, each of us will be accountable to God.

A time of silence may be kept.

Officiant   For the word of God in scripture,
for the Word of God among us,
for the Word of God within us.

People      Thanks be to God.

Canticle

The Priestly Call 1 Peter 2:4-10

Come to him, a living stone,

though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God's sight.

Like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood,

to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

See, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious;

and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.

To you then who believe, he is precious;

The stone that the builders rejected has become the very head of the corner,

You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people,

in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people;

once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

All Glory to the Loving One, Source of our being, Eternal Word, and Life-Giving Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

The Prayers

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray.

Eternal Spirit, Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver,

Source of all that is and that shall be,

Father and Mother of us all,

Loving God, in whom is heaven:

The hallowing of your name echo through the universe!

The way of your justice be followed by the peoples of the world!

Your heavenly will be done by all created beings!

Your commonwealth of peace and freedom sustain our hope and come on earth.

With the bread we need for today, feed us.

In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us.

In times of temptation and test, strengthen us.

From trials too great to endure, spare us.

From the grip of all that is evil, free us.

For you reign in the glory of the power that is love, now and forever. Amen.

Suffrages

Suffrage A

V.  Show us your mercy, O God;

R.  And grant us your salvation.

V.  Clothe your ministers with righteousness;

R.  Let your people sing with joy.

V.  Give peace, O God, in all the world;

R.  For only in you can we live in safety.

V.  O God, keep this nation under your care;

R.  And guide us in the way of justice and truth.

V.  Let your way be known upon earth;

R.  Your saving health among all nations.

V.  Let not the needy, O God, 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 your Holy Spirit.

Collect for the Week

Almighty God, whom truly to know is everlasting life: Grant us so perfectly to know your Son Jesus Christ to be the way, the truth, and the life, that we may steadfastly follow his steps in the way that leads to eternal life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Collect for the Diocese

Collect for God's Abundance

Almighty God we thank you that you sent your son Jesus into our world, not so we could have less death, but that we would have life and and have it abundantly. Grant us grace to humbly walk with Jesus, and be as liberal with your abundant love as he was, and is, and will be forever more. Amen

Prayers for People Engaged in Poverty & Economic Justice Ministries

We pray for people engaged in empowering people to live with greater financial security and the freedom to choose the direction of their lives.
Amen.

Parish Intercessions

And we pray for our own needs and the needs of others.

Collect for Our Time

God of all mercy, keep us from a mindless acceptance of things as they are, and a longing for peace without the courage to work for justice. Let us all know in the life-threatening pandemics of disease, poverty, racism, and violence there is an inner calm that comes from faith in you, and that from this central heart of peace, there may flow a creative and courageous compassion, a deep thirst for racial justice, and a relentless proclamation of your love, to heal and reconcile your world in you through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Dismissal

Let us bless the Lord. Alleluia, Alleluia!

Thanks be to God. Alleluia, Alleluia!

The love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. Amen. Romans 5:5

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Acknowledgements: With Gratitude

Pray for Peace, Work for Justice.

This Daily Office App was created in 2020 at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Ladue, MO, as a partial response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the murder of George Floyd. Because of the pandemic we and many congregations began offering online variations of the Daily Office from the Book of Common Prayer. George Floyd's murder brought into sharp relief the racism and many other injustices in our world. We believe it is pointless to pray for peace unless we are actively working for justice in all spheres of our daily lives.

Within our congregation we have many people such as, medical personnel and teachers, who are putting their lives at risk to help create a better world. We also have numerous parishioners employed or engaged in not-for-profit agencies, research, and outreach all of which are striving to right the wrongs of our society and in the words of the Lord's Prayer, "helping God's Kingdom come on earth". To focus our need to engage in social action we have created this Daily Office with a two week cycle of social justice themes to help us:

The Episcopal Book of Common Prayer and its many companion books through out the Anglican Communion are wonderful treasure troves of prayers and resources for deepening our spiritual lives and inspiring action in the world. Such books are however are a frozen meal, they need thawing out, warming up, and seasoning with local spices. This is what this app seeks to do. It added the necessary flavors of St. Peter's, Ladue, so whether at home, in church, or travelling the world, we can continue to remember and pray for one another as we walk the way of love and make this a better world in which our children's children can love and grow into the image of God that God creates them to be.

If you would like to adapt this app for your own congregation or community setting and add your own spices and flavors please email us and we can create a specific parish option for you.

Specific Acknowledgements and Copyrights.

The service structure and the traditional psalms canticles and prayers are taken from the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer, 1979, available from The Church Hymnal Corporation, New York. Inclusive canticles and prayers have been adapted from a variety of sources including Enriching our Worship, 1998 also available from The Church Hymnal Corporation, New York.

Inclusive Psalms were taken from The Saint Helena Psalter, ©Copyright 2005 by The Order of St. Helena, Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

Specific prayers such as the Inclusive Lord’s Prayer has been taken from A New Zealand Prayerbook, ©Copyright 1989 the Church of the Province of New Zealand. This prayerbook has also provided inspiration for the inclusive Compline service and partial content to many of the collects.

In general, Biblical passages are taken from The New Revised Standard Version, ©Copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

We are also indebted to The Rev. Br. Richard Edward Helmer, BSG. the developer of the The Daily Office App who provided technical advice and resources as we developed this app.

We are also indebted to Sandie Willey and her gift of words and discerning eye as together we crafted many of the prayers as we worked to create this Daily Office for Our Times.

In the course of preparing this app we have visited many websites, read and prayed many prayers, and been inspired by many writers. To all the people who share their creativity with the world we say thank you for the beauty of your words and the times when a word becomes a sparkle of truth and a moment of transcendence.

With Gratitude
Rob Voyle,
Interim Rector, St. Peter's, 2020
Director of the Appreciative Way