Lenten Morning Prayer

Morning Prayer for Lent

From Ash Wednesday to the Fifth Sunday of Lent

The Gathering of the Community

Introductory Responses

We cast our burdens upon you, O Lord,

and you will sustain us.

Create in us clean hearts, O God,

and renew a right spirit within us.

Cast us not away from your presence

and take not your Holy Spirit from us.

Give us the joy of your saving help again

and sustain us with your bountiful Spirit.

Blessed are you, O Lord, day by day,

the God of our salvation who bears our burdens.

Morning Prayer continues with the Psalm.

The Proclamation of the Word of God

The Psalm

A Psalm from the Daily Office Lectionary, the Weekday Eucharistic Lectionary or the Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings is said or sung.  The following short list of Psalms may be used. [i]

Sundays           Psalm 51

Mondays          Psalm 3

Tuesdays          Psalm 6

Wednesdays     Psalm 11

Thursdays        Psalm 12

Fridays             Psalm 32

Saturdays         Psalm 61

After the Psalm, Morning Prayer continues with the Reading.

The Reading

A Reading from the Daily Office Lectionary, the Weekday Eucharistic Lectionary or the Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings is said or sung.  The following short list of Readings may be used. [ii]

Sundays           Romans 6.3-5

Mondays          Joel 2.12-14

Tuesdays          1 Corinthians 9.24-27

Wednesdays     Romans 7.21-25a

Thursdays        Isaiah 58.6-9a

Fridays             Matthew 6.1-4

Saturdays         Luke 10.38-42

After a period of silent reflection one of the following may be said.

The Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

or

Hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.

Thanks be to God.

or

Holy Word, Holy Wisdom.

Thanks be to God.

After the Reading, Morning Prayer continues the Responsory or the Canticle or both.  If two Readings are read, then the Responsory follows the first Reading and the Canticle the second.

The Responsory

The Responsory is said or sung.

Incline your ear to me;

make haste to answer when I call.

Incline your ear to me;

make haste to answer when I call.

Lord, hear my prayer,

and let my cry come before you.

Make haste to answer when I call.

Hide not your face form me

in the day of my trouble.

Make haste to answer when I call.

You, O Lord, endure for ever,

and your name from age to age.

Make haste to answer when I call.

You will arise and have compassion on Zion,

for it is time to have pity upon her.

Make haste to answer when I call.

Glory to God, Source of all being, eternal Word and Holy Spirit.

Incline your ear to me;

make haste to answer when I call.

Morning Prayer continues [with the second Reading or] the Canticle or an Affirmation of Faith.

The Canticle

‘The Song of Zechariah’ or one of the seasonal canticles, ‘The New Jerusalem’ or ‘A Song of the Wilderness’, may be said or sung.

The Song of Zechariah  (Luke 1.68-79)

Blessed are you, Lord, the God of Israel, *

            you have come to your people and set them free.

You have raised up for us a mighty Saviour, *

            born of the house of your servant David.

Through your holy prophets, *

            you promised of old to save us from our enemies,

from the hands of all who hate us, *

            to show mercy to our forebears,

            and to remember your holy covenant.

This was the oath you swore to our father Abraham: *

            to set us free from the hands of our enemies,

            free to worship you without fear.

And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, *

            for you will go before the Lord to prepare the way,

to give God’s people knowledge of salvation *

            by the forgiveness of their sins.

In the tender compassion of our God *

            the dawn from on high shall break upon us,

to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, *

            and to guide our feet into the way of peace. [iii]

Or

A Song from Ezekiel (Ezekiel 36.24-28)

I will take you from the nations, *

            and gather you from all the countries,

            and bring you home to your own land.

I will sprinkle clean water upon you, *

            and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses,

            and from all your idols I will cleanse you.

A new heart I will give you, *

            and a new spirit I will put within you;

and I will remove from your body the heart of stone *

            and give you a heart of flesh.

I will put my spirit within you, *

            and make you follow my statues

            and be careful to observe my ordinances.

Then you shall live in the land *

            I gave to your ancestors;

and you shall be my people *

            and I will be your God. [iv]

Or

The Song of Manasseh (Manasseh 1a, 2, 4, 6, 7a, b, 9a, c, 11, 12, 14b, 15b)

Lord almighty and God of our ancestors, *  

            you who made heaven and earth in all their glory:

all things tremble with awe at your presence, *

            before your great and mighty power.

Immeasurable and unsearchable is your promised mercy, *

            for you are God, Most High.

You are full of compassion, long-suffering and very merciful, *

            and you relent at human suffering.

O God, according to your great goodness, *

            you have promised forgiveness for repentance

            to those who have sinned against you.

The sins I have committed against you *

            are more in number than the sands of the sea.

I am not worthy to look up to the height of heaven, *

            because of the multitude of my iniquities.

And now I bend the knee of my heart before you, *

            imploring your kindness upon me.

I have sinned, O God, I have sinned, *

            and I acknowledge my transgressions.

Unworthy as I am, you will save me, *

            according to your great mercy.

For all the host of heaven sings your praise, *

            and your glory is for ever and ever. [v]

Morning Prayer continues with an Affirmation of Faith or the Litany.

Affirmation of Faith

Either The Apostles’ Creed or the ‘Hear, O Israel’ may be said or sung.

The Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty,

creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the virgin Mary,

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,

he is seated at the right hand of the Father,

and 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. [vi]

Or

Hear, O Israel

Hear, O Israel,

the Lord our God, the Lord is one.

Love the Lord your God

with all your heart,

with all your soul,

with all your mind,

and with all your strength.

This is the first and the great commandment.

The second is like it:

Love your neighbour as yourself.

There is no commandment greater than these.

Morning Prayer continues with the Litany.

The Prayers of the Community

The Litany

The Litany is said or sung.

With confidence and trust let us pray to the God of the prodigal, saying, “God of mercy, hear our prayer.”

For the one holy catholic and apostolic Church throughout the world, God of mercy, hear our prayer.

For the mission of the Church, that in faithful witness it may preach the gospel to the ends of the earth, God of mercy, hear our prayer.

For those preparing for baptism and for their teachers and sponsors, God of mercy, hear our prayer.

For peace in the world, that a spirit of respect and reconciliation may grow among nations and peoples, God of mercy, hear our prayer.

For the poor, the persecuted, the sick and all who suffer; for refugees, prisoners and all in danger; that they may be relieved and protected, God of mercy, hear our prayer.

For all whom we have injured or offended, God of mercy, hear our prayer.

For grace to amend our lives and to further the reign of God, God of mercy, hear our prayer. [vii]

Additional intercessions, petitions and thanksgivings may be offered in silence or aloud.  After a period of silence either the Collect of the Day or one of the following Collects may be said or sung.

Lent 1

God of wilderness and water, your Son was baptized and tempted as we are.  Guide us through this season, that we may not avoid struggle, but open ourselves to blessing, through the cleansing depths of repentance and the heaven-rending words of the Spirit.  Amen. [viii]

Lent 2

Artist of souls, you sculpted a people for yourself out of the rocks of wilderness and fasting.  Help us as we take up your invitation to prayer and simplicity that the discipline of this Lenten season may sharpen our hunger for the feast of your holy friendship, and whet our thirst for the living water you offer through Jesus Christ.  Amen. [ix]

Lent 3

God of the covenant, in the glory of the cross your Son embraced the power of death and broke its hold over your people.  In this time of repentance, draw all people to yourself, that we who confess Jesus as Lord may put aside the deeds of death and accept the life of your kingdom.  Amen. [x]

Lent 4

God of the living, through baptism we pas from the shadow of death to the light of the resurrection.  Remain with us and give us hope that, rejoicing in the gift of the Spirit who gives life to our mortal flesh, we may be clothed with the garment of immortality, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen. [xi]

Morning Prayer continues with the Lord’s Prayer.

The Lord’s Prayer

Gathering our prayers and praises into one,

let us pray as our Saviour taught us,

Our 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.

Save us from the time of trial,

and deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, the power,

and the glory are yours,

now and for ever.  Amen.

Morning Prayer continues with the Dismissal.

The Sending Forth of the Community

The Dismissal

Let us bless the Lord who forgives our sins.

Thanks be to God.

Morning Prayer may conclude with the following Sentence.

Look with your compassion upon us, O Lord, so that we may learn to know you more fully and to serve you with a more perfect will.  Amen. [xii]

Note

All liturgical texts are taken from The Book of Alternative Services unless otherwise noted and may have been emended for more inclusive language.

---

[i] Common Worship:  Daily Prayer (2005), 67.

[ii] Common Worship:  Daily Prayer (2005), 67-69.

[iii] Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), 303.

[iv] The New Revised Standard Version.

[v] Common Worship:  Daily Prayer (2005), 240.

[vi] Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), 105.

[vii] The Book of Alternative Services (1985), 121-122 alt.

[viii] Revised Common Lectionary Prayers (2002), 76.

[ix] Revised Common Lectionary Prayers (2002), 76 alt.

[x] Revised Common Lectionary Prayers (2002), 76.

[xi] Revised Common Lectionary Prayers (2002), 76.

[xii] The Book of Occasional Services (2003), 26 alt.