Readings

Daily OfficeHoly EucharistHoly Days

Friday after the Third Sunday of Advent

MorningEvening

The Collect of the Day

Third Sunday of Advent

Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins, let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen.

15. For the Ministry (Ember Days)

I. For those to be ordained

Almighty God, the giver of all good gifts, in your divine providence you have appointed various orders in your Church: Give your grace, we humbly pray, to all who are [now] called to any office and ministry for your people; and so fill them with the truth of your doctrine and clothe them with holiness of life, that they may faithfully serve before you, to the glory of your great Name and for the benefit of your holy Church; 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.

15. For the Ministry (Ember Days)

II. For the choice of fit persons for the ministry

O God, you led your holy apostles to ordain ministers in every place: Grant that your Church, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, may choose suitable persons for the ministry of Word and Sacrament, and may uphold them in their work for the extension of your kingdom; through him who is the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

15. For the Ministry (Ember Days)

III. For all Christians in their vocation

Almighty and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of your faithful people is governed and sanctified: Receive our supplications and prayers, which we offer before you for all members of your holy Church, that in their vocation and ministry they may truly and devoutly serve you; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

First Sunday of Advent

Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Psalms

40

Expectans, expectaviBCP p. 640

1I waited patiently upon the Lord; *he stooped to me and heard my cry.

2He 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.

3He 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.

4Happy are they who trust in the Lord! *they do not resort to evil spirits or turn to false gods.

5Great 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.

6Oh, that I could make them known and tell them! *but they are more than I can count.

7In sacrifice and offering you take no pleasure *(you have given me ears to hear you);

8Burnt-offering and sin-offering you have not required, *and so I said, “Behold, I come.

9In 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.’”

10I proclaimed righteousness in the great congregation; *behold, I did not restrain my lips; and that, O Lord, you know.

11Your 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.

12You are the Lord; do not withhold your compassion from me; *let your love and your faithfulness keep me safe for ever,

13For 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.

14Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me; *O Lord, make haste to help me.

15Let 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.

16Let those who say “Aha!” and gloat over me be confounded, *because they are ashamed.

17Let all who seek you rejoice in you and be glad; *let those who love your salvation continually say, “Great is the Lord!”

18Though I am poor and afflicted, *the Lord will have regard for me.

19You are my helper and my deliverer; *do not tarry, O my God.

54

Deus, in nomineBCP p. 659

1Save me, O God, by your Name; *in your might, defend my cause.

2Hear my prayer, O God; *give ear to the words of my mouth.

3For the arrogant have risen up against me, and the ruthless have sought my life, *those who have no regard for God.

4Behold, God is my helper; *it is the Lord who sustains my life.

5Render evil to those who spy on me; *in your faithfulness, destroy them.

6I will offer you a freewill sacrifice *and praise your Name, O Lord, for it is good.

7For you have rescued me from every trouble, *and my eye has seen the ruin of my foes.

Daily Office Readings

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Isa. 10:5-19

5 Ah, Assyria, the rod of my anger— the club in their hands is my fury! 6 Against a godless nation I send him, and against the people of my wrath I command him, to take spoil and seize plunder, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. 7 But this is not what he intends, nor does he have this in mind; but it is in his heart to destroy, and to cut off nations not a few. 8 For he says: “Are not my commanders all kings? 9 Is not Calno like Carchemish? Is not Hamath like Arpad? Is not Samaria like Damascus? 10 As my hand has reached to the kingdoms of the idols whose images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria, 11 shall I not do to Jerusalem and her idols what I have done to Samaria and her images?” 12 When the Lord has finished all his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, he will punish the arrogant boasting of the king of Assyria and his haughty pride. 13 For he says: “By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom, for I have understanding; I have removed the boundaries of peoples, and have plundered their treasures; like a bull I have brought down those who sat on thrones. 14 My hand has found, like a nest, the wealth of the peoples; and as one gathers eggs that have been forsaken, so I have gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved a wing, or opened its mouth, or chirped.” 15 Shall the ax vaunt itself over the one who wields it, or the saw magnify itself against the one who handles it? As if a rod should raise the one who lifts it up, or as if a staff should lift the one who is not wood! 16 Therefore the Sovereign, the Lord of hosts, will send wasting sickness among his stout warriors, and under his glory a burning will be kindled, like the burning of fire. 17 The light of Israel will become a fire, and his Holy One a flame; and it will burn and devour his thorns and briers in one day. 18 The glory of his forest and his fruitful land the Lord will destroy, both soul and body, and it will be as when an invalid wastes away. 19 The remnant of the trees of his forest will be so few that a child can write them down.

2 Pet. 2:17-22

17 These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm; for them the deepest darkness has been reserved. 18 For they speak bombastic nonsense, and with licentious desires of the flesh they entice people who have just escaped from those who live in error. 19 They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption; for people are slaves to whatever masters them. 20 For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overpowered, the last state has become worse for them than the first. 21 For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment that was passed on to them. 22 It has happened to them according to the true proverb, “The dog turns back to its own vomit,” and, “The sow is washed only to wallow in the mud.”

Matt. 11:2-15

2 When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” 4 Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. 6 And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.” 7 As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? 8 What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. 9 What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is the one about whom it is written, ‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ 11 Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. 13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John came; 14 and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. 15 Let anyone with ears listen!