¶ Morning Prayer
Lent
Sunday, 19 March 2023
The Fourth Sunday of Lent
(Mothering Sunday)
mothering-sunday

Preparation

O Lord, open our lips
Alland our mouth shall proclaim your praise.

Hear our voice, O Lord, according to your faithful love,
Allaccording to your judgement give us life.

One or more of the following is said or sung:

this or another prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, God of compassion and mercy,
to you be praise and glory for ever.
In the darkness of our sin,
your light breaks forth like the dawn
and your healing springs up for deliverance.
As we rejoice in the gift of your saving help,
sustain us with your bountiful Spirit
and open our lips to sing your praise.
Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
AllBlessed be God for ever.

a suitable hymn, or A Song of Penitence

1Have mercy on me, O God, in your great goodness; ♦
according to the abundance of your compassion
blot out my offences.

2Wash me thoroughly from my wickedness ♦
and cleanse me from my sin.

3For I acknowledge my faults ♦
and my sin is ever before me.

4Against you only have I sinned ♦
and done what is evil in your sight,

5So that you are justified in your sentence ♦
and righteous in your judgement.

6Cast me not away from your presence ♦
and take not your holy spirit from me.

7Give me again the joy of your salvation ♦
and sustain me with your gracious spirit;

8Then shall I teach your ways to the wicked ♦
and sinners shall return to you.

9Deliver me from my guilt, O God,
the God of my salvation, ♦
and my tongue shall sing of your righteousness.

Psalm 51.1-5, 12-15

AllGlory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.

This opening prayer may be said

The night has passed, and the day lies open before us;
let us pray with one heart and mind.

Silence is kept.

As we rejoice in the gift of this new day,
so may the light of your presence, O God,
set our hearts on fire with love for you;
now and for ever.
AllAmen.

The Word of God

Psalmody

The appointed psalmody is said.

Psalm 19

Refrain: The commandment of the Lord is pure
and gives light to the eyes.

1 The heavens are telling the glory of God ♦
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.

2 One day pours out its song to another ♦
and one night unfolds knowledge to another.

3 They have neither speech nor language ♦
and their voices are not heard,

4 Yet their sound has gone out into all lands ♦
and their words to the ends of the world.

5 In them has he set a tabernacle for the sun, ♦
that comes forth as a bridegroom out of his chamber
and rejoices as a champion to run his course.

6 It goes forth from the end of the heavens
and runs to the very end again, ♦
and there is nothing hidden from its heat. R

7 The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; ♦
the testimony of the Lord is sure
and gives wisdom to the simple.

8 The statutes of the Lord are right and rejoice the heart; ♦
the commandment of the Lord is pure
and gives light to the eyes.

9 The fear of the Lord is clean and endures for ever; ♦
the judgements of the Lord are true
and righteous altogether.

10 More to be desired are they than gold,
more than much fine gold, ♦
sweeter also than honey,
dripping from the honeycomb.

11 By them also is your servant taught ♦
and in keeping them there is great reward. R

12 Who can tell how often they offend? ♦
O cleanse me from my secret faults!

13 Keep your servant also from presumptuous sins
lest they get dominion over me; ♦
so shall I be undefiled,
and innocent of great offence.

14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your sight, ♦
O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.

Refrain: The commandment of the Lord is pure
and gives light to the eyes.

Christ, the sun of righteousness,
rise in our hearts this day,
enfold us in the brightness of your love
and bear us at the last to heaven’s horizon;
for your love’s sake.

Each psalm or group of psalms may end with

AllGlory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.

If there are two Scripture readings, the first may be read here, or both may be read after the canticle.

Isaiah 43.1-7

But now thus says the Lord,
   he who created you, O Jacob,
   he who formed you, O Israel:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
   I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
   and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
   and the flame shall not consume you.
For I am the Lord your God,
   the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour.
I give Egypt as your ransom,
   Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you.
Because you are precious in my sight,
   and honoured, and I love you,
I give people in return for you,
   nations in exchange for your life.
Do not fear, for I am with you;
   I will bring your offspring from the east,
   and from the west I will gather you;
I will say to the north, ‘Give them up’,
   and to the south, ‘Do not withhold;
bring my sons from far away
   and my daughters from the end of the earth—
everyone who is called by my name,
   whom I created for my glory,
   whom I formed and made.’

Canticle

The Song of Manasseh, or another suitable canticle, for example, number 20 (page 570), number 33 (page 584) or number 41 (page 592), may be said

Refrain:

AllFull of compassion and mercy and love
is God, the Most High, the Almighty. Alleluia.

1Lord almighty and God of our ancestors, ♦
you who made heaven and earth in all their glory:

2All things tremble with awe at your presence, ♦
before your great and mighty power.

3Immeasurable and unsearchable is your promised mercy, ♦
for you are God, Most High.

4You are full of compassion, long-suffering and very merciful, ♦
and you relent at human suffering.

5O God, according to your great goodness, ♦
you have promised forgiveness for repentance
to those who have sinned against you.

6The sins I have committed against you ♦
are more in number than the sands of the sea.

7I am not worthy to look up to the height of heaven, ♦
because of the multitude of my iniquities.

8And now I bend the knee of my heart before you, ♦
imploring your kindness upon me.

9I have sinned, O God, I have sinned, ♦
and I acknowledge my transgressions.

10Unworthy as I am, you will save me, ♦
according to your great mercy.

11For all the host of heaven sings your praise, ♦
and your glory is for ever and ever.

Manasseh 1a, 2, 4, 6, 7a, b, 9a, c, 11, 12, 14b, 15b

AllGlory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.

AllFull of compassion and mercy and love
is God, the Most High, the Almighty. Alleluia.

Scripture Reading

One or more readings appointed for the day are read.

The reading(s) may be followed by a time of silence.

Ephesians 2.8-14

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.

So then, remember that at one time you Gentiles by birth, called ‘the uncircumcision’ by those who are called ‘the circumcision’—a physical circumcision made in the flesh by human hands—remember that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us.

A suitable song or chant, or a responsory in this or another form, may follow

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul;
AllO my God, in you I trust.
You are the God of my salvation,
AllTo you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
In you I hope all the day long.
AllO my God, in you I trust.
Remember, Lord, your compassion and love,
for they are from everlasting.
AllTo you, O Lord, I lift up my soul;
O my God, in you I trust.

from Psalm 25

Gospel Canticle

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah) is normally said,
or Saviour of the World (page 644) may be said

Refrain:

AllBlessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they shall be satisfied.

1Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, ♦
who has come to his people and set them free.

2He has raised up for us a mighty Saviour, ♦
born of the house of his servant David.

3Through his holy prophets God promised of old ♦
to save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all that hate us,

4To show mercy to our ancestors, ♦
and to remember his holy covenant.

5This was the oath God swore to our father Abraham: ♦
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,

6Free to worship him without fear, ♦
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.

7And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, ♦
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,

8To give his people knowledge of salvation ♦
by the forgiveness of all their sins.

9In the tender compassion of our God ♦
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,

10To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, ♦
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Luke 1.68-79

AllGlory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.

Refrain:

AllBlessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they shall be satisfied.

Prayers

Intercessions are offered
¶ for the day and its tasks
¶ for the world and its needs
¶ for the Church and her life

Prayers may include the following concerns from the cycle on pages 364–365

¶ Those preparing for baptism and confirmation
¶ Those serving through leadership
¶ Those looking for forgiveness
¶ Those misled by the false gods of this present age
¶ All who are hungry

A form of prayer found on page 380 may be used.

The Litany on pages 400-403 may be said instead of the Prayers.

These responses may be used

Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer

(or)

Lord, hear us.
Lord, graciously hear us.

Silence may be kept.

The Collect of the day is said

Merciful Lord,
absolve your people from their offences,
that through your bountiful goodness
we may all be delivered from the chains of those sins
which by our frailty we have committed;
grant this, heavenly Father,
for Jesus Christ's sake, our blessed Lord and Saviour,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
AllAmen.

The Lord’s Prayer is said

Trusting in the compassion of God,
as our Saviour taught us, so we pray

AllOur 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.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Amen.

(or)

Trusting in the compassion of God,
let us pray with confidence as our Saviour has taught us

AllOur 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,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.

The Conclusion

May God our Redeemer show us compassion and love.
AllAmen.

Let us bless the Lord. Alleluia, alleluia.
AllThanks be to God. Alleluia, alleluia.