Morning Prayer (Mattins) in Contemporary Language

¶ Morning Prayer
Epiphany Season
Friday, 24 January 2025
Francis de Sales, Bishop of Geneva, Teacher of the Faith, 1622 [Lesser Festival]
Seventh Day of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

Preparation

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

Your light springs up for the righteous
Alland all the peoples have seen your glory.

One or more of the following is said or sung:

this or another prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Sovereign God,
king of the nations,
to you be praise and glory for ever.
From the rising of the sun to its setting
your name is proclaimed in all the world.
As the Sun of Righteousness dawns in our hearts
anoint our lips with the seal of your Spirit
that we may witness to your gospel
and sing your praise in all the earth.
Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
AllBlessed be God for ever.

a suitable hymn, or Jubilate – A Song of Joy

1O be joyful in the Lord, all the earth; ♦
serve the Lord with gladness
and come before his presence with a song.

2Know that the Lord is God; ♦
it is he that has made us and we are his;
we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.

3Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise; ♦
give thanks to him and bless his name.

4For the Lord is gracious; his steadfast love is everlasting, ♦
and his faithfulness endures from generation to generation.

Psalm 100

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 27

Refrain: The Lord is my light and my salvation.

1 The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom then shall I fear? ♦
The Lord is the strength of my life;
of whom then shall I be afraid?

2 When the wicked, even my enemies and my foes,
came upon me to eat up my flesh, ♦
they stumbled and fell.

3 Though a host encamp against me,
my heart shall not be afraid, ♦
and though there rise up war against me,
yet will I put my trust in him.

4 One thing have I asked of the Lord
and that alone I seek; ♦
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,

5 To behold the fair beauty of the Lord ♦
and to seek his will in his temple.

6 For in the day of trouble
he shall hide me in his shelter; ♦
in the secret place of his dwelling shall he hide me
and set me high upon a rock.

7 And now shall he lift up my head ♦
above my enemies round about me;

8 Therefore will I offer in his dwelling an oblation
with great gladness; ♦
I will sing and make music to the Lord. R

9 Hear my voice, O Lord, when I call; ♦
have mercy upon me and answer me.

10 My heart tells of your word, ‘Seek my face.’ ♦
Your face, Lord, will I seek.

11 Hide not your face from me, ♦
nor cast your servant away in displeasure.

12 You have been my helper; ♦
leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.

13 Though my father and my mother forsake me, ♦
the Lord will take me up.

14 Teach me your way, O Lord; ♦
lead me on a level path,
because of those who lie in wait for me.

15 Deliver me not into the will of my adversaries, ♦
for false witnesses have risen up against me,
and those who breathe out violence.

16 I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord ♦
in the land of the living.

17 Wait for the Lord;
be strong and he shall comfort your heart; ♦
wait patiently for the Lord.

Refrain: The Lord is my light and my salvation.

God, our light and our salvation,
illuminate our lives,
that we may see your goodness in the land of the living,
and, looking on your beauty,
may be changed into the likeness of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm 149

Refrain: Sound praises to the Lord, all the earth.

1 Alleluia.
O sing to the Lord a new song; ♦
sing his praise in the congregation of the faithful.

2 Let Israel rejoice in their maker; ♦
let the children of Zion be joyful in their king.

3 Let them praise his name in the dance; ♦
let them sing praise to him with timbrel and lyre.

4 For the Lord has pleasure in his people ♦
and adorns the poor with salvation. R

5 Let the faithful be joyful in glory; ♦
let them rejoice in their ranks,

6 With the praises of God in their mouths ♦
and a two-edged sword in their hands;

7 To execute vengeance on the nations ♦
and punishment on the peoples;

8 To bind their kings in chains ♦
and their nobles with fetters of iron;

9 To execute on them the judgement decreed: ♦
such honour have all his faithful servants.
Alleluia.

Refrain: Sound praises to the Lord, all the earth.

Glorious and redeeming God,
give us hearts to praise you all our days
and wills to reject the world’s deceits,
that we may bind the evils of our age
and proclaim the good news of salvation
in Jesus Christ our Lord.

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.

Hosea 1.1 - 2.1

The word of the Lord that came to Hosea son of Beeri, in the days of Kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah of Judah, and in the days of King Jeroboam son of Joash of Israel.

When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, ‘Go, take for yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord.’ So he went and took Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.

And the Lord said to him, ‘Name him Jezreel; for in a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. On that day I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.’

She conceived again and bore a daughter. Then the Lord said to him, ‘Name her Lo-ruhamah, for I will no longer have pity on the house of Israel or forgive them. But I will have pity on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the Lord their God; I will not save them by bow, or by sword, or by war, or by horses, or by horsemen.’

When she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived and bore a son. Then the Lord said, ‘Name him Lo-ammi, for you are not my people and I am not your God.’

Yet the number of the people of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which can be neither measured nor numbered; and in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people’, it shall be said to them, ‘Children of the living God.’ The people of Judah and the people of Israel shall be gathered together, and they shall appoint for themselves one head; and they shall take possession of the land, for great shall be the day of Jezreel.

Say to your brother, Ammi, and to your sister, Ruhamah.

Canticle

A Song of the New Jerusalem, or another suitable canticle, for example, number 31 (page 582) or number 36 (page 587), may be said

Refrain:

AllAbove you the Holy One arises,
and above you God’s glory appears. Alleluia.

1Arise, shine out, for your light has come, ♦
the glory of the Lord is rising upon you.

2Though night still covers the earth, ♦
and darkness the peoples;

3Above you the Holy One arises, ♦
and above you God’s glory appears.

4The nations will come to your light, ♦
and kings to your dawning brightness.

5Your gates will lie open continually, ♦
shut neither by day nor by night.

6The sound of violence shall be heard no longer in your land, ♦
or ruin and devastation within your borders.

7You will call your walls, Salvation, ♦
and your gates, Praise.

8No more will the sun give you daylight, ♦
nor moonlight shine upon you;

9But the Lord will be your everlasting light, ♦
your God will be your splendour.

10For you shall be called the city of God, ♦
the dwelling of the Holy One of Israel.

Isaiah 60.1-3, 11a, 18, 19, 14b

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.

AllAbove you the Holy One arises,
and above you God’s glory appears. Alleluia.

Scripture Reading

One or more readings appointed for the day are read.

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

1 Corinthians 8

Now concerning food sacrificed to idols: we know that ‘all of us possess knowledge.’ Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. Anyone who claims to know something does not yet have the necessary knowledge; but anyone who loves God is known by him.

Hence, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that ‘no idol in the world really exists’, and that ‘there is no God but one.’ Indeed, even though there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as in fact there are many gods and many lords—yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

It is not everyone, however, who has this knowledge. Since some have become so accustomed to idols until now, they still think of the food they eat as food offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. ‘Food will not bring us close to God.’ We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling-block to the weak. For if others see you, who possess knowledge, eating in the temple of an idol, might they not, since their conscience is weak, be encouraged to the point of eating food sacrificed to idols? So by your knowledge those weak believers for whom Christ died are destroyed. But when you thus sin against members of your family, and wound their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food is a cause of their falling, I will never eat meat, so that I may not cause one of them to fall.

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

O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness;
Alllet the whole earth tremble before him.
Tell it out among the nations that the Lord is King.
AllO worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
Tell out his salvation from day to day.
AllLet the whole earth tremble before him.
Declare his glory among the nations
and his wonders among all peoples.
AllO worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness;
let the whole earth tremble before him.

from Psalm 96

Gospel Canticle

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah) is normally said, or A Song of the Blessed (page 606) may be said

Refrain:

All Those who are wise will shine as brightly as the heavens,
and those who have instructed many in virtue will shine like stars
for all eternity. Alleluia.

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:

All Those who are wise will shine as brightly as the heavens,
and those who have instructed many in virtue will shine like stars
for all eternity. Alleluia.

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

¶ The unity of the Church
¶ The peace of the world
¶ The healing of the sick
¶ The revelation of Christ to those from whom his glory is hidden
¶ All who travel

A form of prayer found on page 379 may be used.

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

Holy God,
who called your bishop Francis de Sales
to bring many to Christ through his devout life
and to renew your Church with patience and understanding:
grant that we may, by word and example,
reflect your gentleness and love to all we meet;
through Jesus Christ our 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

Believing the promises 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)

Believing the promises 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 Christ, who sends us to the nations,
give us the power of his Spirit.
AllAmen.

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