Evening

The Officiant may begin Evening Prayer by reading an opening sentence of Scripture. One of the following, or a sentence from among those provided at the end of the Office (pages 54–56), is customary.

Let my prayer be set forth in your sight as incense, and let the lifting up of my hands be an evening sacrifice.

PSALM 141:2

The Officiant says to the People

Dearly beloved, the Scriptures teach us to acknowledge our many sins and offenses, not concealing them from our heavenly Father, but confessing them with humble and obedient hearts that we may obtain forgiveness by his infinite goodness and mercy. We ought at all times humbly to acknowledge our sins before Almighty God, but especially when we come together in his presence to give thanks for the great benefits we have received at his hands, to declare his most worthy praise, to hear his holy Word, and to ask, for ourselves and on behalf of others, those things which are necessary for our life and our salvation. Therefore, draw near with me to the throne of heavenly grace.

Silence is kept. All kneeling.

Almighty and most merciful Father, we have erred and strayed from your ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against your 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; and apart from your grace, there is no health in us. O Lord, have mercy upon us. Spare all those who confess their faults. Restore all those who are penitent, according to your promises declared to all people in Christ Jesus our Lord. And grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake, that we may now live a godly, righteous, and sober life, to the glory of your holy Name. Amen.

A Deacon or layperson remains kneeling and prays

Grant to your faithful people, merciful Lord, pardon and peace; that we may be cleansed from all our sins, and serve you with a quiet mind; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

All stand.

The following or some other suitable hymn or Psalm may be sung or said.

PHOS HILARON

O gladsome 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 praises, 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 APPOINTED

22, 23

¹My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?

²O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest.

³Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.

⁴In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them.

⁵To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

⁶But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people.

⁷All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;

⁸“He trusts in the LORD; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”

⁹Yet you are he who took me from the womb; you made me trust you at my mother's breasts.

¹⁰On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother's womb you have been my God.

¹¹Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help.

¹²Many bulls encompass me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me;

¹³they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion.

¹⁴I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast;

¹⁵my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death.

¹⁶For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet —

¹⁷I can count all my bones — they stare and gloat over me;

¹⁸they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.

¹⁹But you, O LORD, do not be far off! O you my help, come quickly to my aid!

²⁰Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dog!

²¹Save me from the mouth of the lion! You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!

²²I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:

²³You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!

²⁴For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him.

²⁵From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will perform before those who fear him.

²⁶The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the LORD! May your hearts live forever!

²⁷All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you.

²⁸For kingship belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations.

²⁹All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, even the one who could not keep himself alive.

³⁰Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;

³¹they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it.

¹The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

²He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.

³He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

⁴Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

⁵You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

⁶Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

At the end of the Psalms the Gloria Patri (Glory be...) is sung or said

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

One or more Lessons, as appointed, are read, the Reader first saying

A citation giving chapter and verse may be added.

¹Behold, a day is coming for the LORD, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst.

²For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

³Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle.

⁴On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that 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 one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward.

⁵And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.

⁶On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost.

⁷And there shall be a unique day, which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light.

⁸On 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.

⁹And the LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day the LORD will be one and his name one.

¹⁰The 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 winepresses.

¹¹And it shall be inhabited, for there shall never again be a decree of utter destruction. Jerusalem shall dwell in security.

¹²And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples that wage war against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.

¹³And on that day a great panic from the LORD shall fall on them, so that each will seize the hand of another, and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of the other.

¹⁴Even Judah will fight at Jerusalem. And the wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be collected, gold, silver, and garments in great abundance.

¹⁵And a plague like this plague shall fall on the horses, the mules, the camels, the donkeys, and whatever beasts may be in those camps.

¹⁶Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths.

¹⁷And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them.

¹⁸And if the family of Egypt does not go up and present themselves, then on them there shall be no rain; there shall be the plague with which the LORD afflicts the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths.

¹⁹This shall be the punishment to Egypt and the punishment to all the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths.

²⁰And on that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “Holy to the LORD.” And the pots in the house of the LORD shall be as the bowls before the altar.

²¹And every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holy to the LORD of hosts, so that all who sacrifice may come and take of them and boil the meat of the sacrifice in them. And there shall no longer be a trader in the house of the LORD of hosts on that day.

After each Lesson the Reader may say

Or the Reader may say

The following Canticles are normally sung or said after each of the lessons. The Officiant may also use a Canticle drawn from the Supplemental Canticles (pages 79–88) or an appropriate song of praise.

My soul magnifies the Lord, * and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; For he has regarded * the lowliness of his handmaiden. For behold, from now on, * all generations will call me blessed; For he that is mighty has magnified me, * and holy is his Name. And his mercy is on those who fear him, * throughout all generations. He has shown the strength of his arm; * he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has brought down the mighty from their thrones, * and has exalted the humble and meek. He has filled the hungry with good things, * and the rich he has sent empty away. He, remembering his mercy, has helped his servant Israel, * as he promised to our fathers, Abraham and his seed for ever. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; * as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

¹Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple.

²But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

³As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

⁴And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray.

⁵For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray.

⁶And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.

⁷For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.

⁸All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.

⁹“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake.

¹⁰And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another.

¹¹And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.

¹²And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.

¹³But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

¹⁴And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

¹⁵“So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),

¹⁶then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

¹⁷Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house,

¹⁸and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak.

¹⁹And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days!

²⁰Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath.

²¹For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.

²²And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.

²³Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it.

²⁴For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.

²⁵See, I have told you beforehand.

²⁶So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it.

²⁷For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

²⁸Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

Lord, now let your servant depart in peace, * according to your word. For my eyes have seen your salvation, * which you have prepared before the face of all people; To be a light to lighten the Gentiles, * and to be the glory of your people Israel. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; * as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Officiant and People together, all standing

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

The People kneel or stand.

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.

The Officiant then prays one or more of the following Collects, always beginning with the Collect of the Day (usually the Collect of the Sunday or Principal Feast and of any of the weekdays following, or of the Holy Day being observed) found on pages 598–640. It is traditional to pray the Collects for Peace and Aid against Perils daily. Alternatively, one may pray the Collects on a weekly rotation, using the suggestions in italics.

COLLECT OF THE DAY

18th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Keep, O Lord, your household the Church in continual godliness, that through your protection it may be free from all adversities, and devoutly serve you in good works, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

COLLECT OF THE DAY

Francis of Assisi, Friar and Deacon, Reformer of the Church, 1226

O God, by your grace your servant Francis of Assisi, kindled by the flame of your love, became a burning and shining light in your Church, turning pride into humility and error into truth: Grant that we may be set aflame with the same spirit of love and discipline, and walk before you as children of light; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

A COLLECT FOR RESURRECTION HOPE

Sunday

Lord God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ triumphed over the powers of death and prepared for us our place in the new Jerusalem: Grant that we, who have this day given thanks for his resurrection, may praise you in that City of which he is the light, and where he lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.

Unless the Great Litany or the Eucharist is to follow, one of the following prayers for mission is added. If the Great Litany is used, it follows here, or after a hymn or anthem, and concludes the Office.

O God and Father of all, whom the whole heavens adore: Let the whole earth also worship you, all nations obey you, all tongues confess and bless you, and men, women, and children everywhere love you and serve you in peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Before the close of the Office one or both of the following prayers may be used.

Officiant and People

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 our selves 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.

Almighty God, you have given us grace at this time, with one accord to make our common supplications to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will grant their requests: Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen.

The Officiant says one of these concluding sentences (and the People may be invited to join)

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen.

2 CORINTHIANS 13:14