THE PENITENTIAL ORDER
Bless the Lord who forgiveth all our sins.
His mercy endureth for ever.
The Decalogue
God spake these words, and said:
I am the Lord thy God who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have none other gods but me.
Lord, have mercy upon us,
and incline our hearts to keep this law.
Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven image, nor the
likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the earth
beneath, or in the water under the earth; thou shalt not bow down to them, nor worship them.
Lord, have mercy upon us,
and incline our hearts to keep this law.
Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain.
Lord, have mercy upon us,
and incline our hearts to keep this law.
Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day.
Lord, have mercy upon us,
and incline our hearts to keep this law.
Honor thy father and thy mother.
Lord, have mercy upon us,
and incline our hearts to keep this law.
Thou shalt do no murder.
Lord, have mercy upon us,
and incline our hearts to keep this law.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Lord, have mercy upon us,
and incline our hearts to keep this law.
Thou shalt not steal.
Lord, have mercy upon us,
and incline our hearts to keep this law.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
Lord, have mercy upon us,
and incline our hearts to keep this law.
Thou shalt not covet.
Lord, have mercy upon us,
and write all these thy laws in our hearts, we beseech thee.
Let us humbly confess our sins unto Almighty God.
Most merciful God,
we confess that we have sinned against thee
in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved thee with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
For the sake of thy Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us and forgive us;
that we may delight in thy will,
and walk in thy ways,
to the glory of thy Name. Amen.
Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life. Amen.
LITURGY OF THE WORD
The Lord be with you.
And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.
The Collect
Gracious Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be the true bread which giveth life to the world: Evermore give us this bread, that he may live in us, and we in him; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
The Lesson
Joshua 5:9-12
The LORD said to Joshua, “This day I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” And so the name of that place is called Gilgal to this day. While the people of Israel were encamped in Gilgal they kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month at evening in the plains of Jericho. And on the morrow after the passover, on that very day, they ate of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. And the manna ceased on the morrow, when they ate of the produce of the land; and the people of Israel had manna no more, but ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.
Psalm 32
1 Happy are they whose transgressions are forgiven, *
and whose sin is put away!
2 Happy are they to whom the Lord imputes no guilt, *
and in whose spirit there is no guile!
3 While I held my tongue, my bones withered away, *
because of my groaning all day long.
4 For your hand was heavy upon me day and night; *
my moisture was dried up as in the heat of summer.
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you, *
and did not conceal my guilt.
6 I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” *
Then you forgave me the guilt of my sin.
7 Therefore all the faithful will make their prayers to you in
time of trouble; *
when the great waters overflow,
they shall not reach them.
8 You are my hiding-place;
you preserve me from trouble; *
you surround me with shouts of deliverance.
9 “I will instruct you and teach you in the way that you
should go; *
I will guide you with my eye.
10 Do not be like horse or mule,
which have no understanding; *
who must be fitted with bit and bridle,
or else they will not stay near you.”
11 Great are the tribulations of the wicked; *
but mercy embraces those who trust in the Lord.
12 Be glad, you righteous, and rejoice in the Lord; *
shout for joy, all who are true of heart.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now and will be forever. Amen.
The Epistle
2 Corinthians 5:16-21
From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once regarded Christ from a human point of view, we regard him thus no longer. If any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. So we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
The Gospel
Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32
Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear Jesus. And the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” So he told them this parable. Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons; and the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that falls to me.’ And he divided his living between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took his journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in loose living. And when he had spent everything, a great famine arose in that country, and he began to be in want. So he went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have fed on the pods that the swine ate; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was yet at a distance, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet; and bring the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and make merry; for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to make merry. Now his elder son was in the field; and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what this meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has received him safe and sound.’ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command; yet you never gave me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your living with harlots, you killed for him the fatted calf!’ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to make merry and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’ ”
The Sermon
The Nicene Creed
I believe in one God,
the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
and of all things visible and invisible;
And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the only-begotten Son of God,
begotten of his Father before all worlds,
God of God, Light of Light,
very God of very God,
begotten, not made,
being of one substance with the Father;
by whom all things were made;
who for us men and for our salvation
came down from heaven,
and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary,
and was made man;
and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered and was buried;
and the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures,
and ascended into heaven,
and sitteth on the right hand of the Father;
and he shall come again, with glory,
to judge both the quick and the dead;
whose kingdom shall have no end.
And I believe in the Holy Ghost the Lord, and Giver of Life,
who proceedeth from the Father and the Son;
who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped
and glorified;
who spake by the Prophets.
And I believe one holy Catholic and Apostolic Church;
I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins;
and I look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
The Offertory
Walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself for us, an offering and sacrifice to God.
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Spiritual Communion
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of thy Holy Ghost. Amen.
Lord, I cannot seek Thee
On Thine altar throne,
Yet I may receive Thee,
Weary and alone.
When, before Thine altar,
Crowds adoring kneel,
There in very essence,
Thou didst come to heal.
Far from Priest and altar,
Christ, to Thee I cry,
Come to me in spirit,
Let me feel Thee nigh.
In my silent worship,
Let me share the feast,
Be Thy love the altar,
By Thyself the Priest. Amen.
O most blessed Saviour, in union with the faithful at every altar of Thy Church where Thy blessed Body and Blood are being offered to the Father, I desire to offer Thee praise and thanksgiving, I present to Thee my soul and body with the earnest wish that I may always be united to Thee. And since I cannot now receive Thee sacramentally into my heart, I unite myself to Thee and embrace Thee with all the affections of my soul. Amen.
Come, Lord Jesus, and dwell in my heart.
Anima Christi
Soul of Christ, be my sanctification.
Body of Christ, be my salvation;
Blood of Christ, fill all my veins;
Water from the side of Christ, wash, wash out my stains;
Passion of Christ, my comfort be;
O good Jesu, listen to me;
Within Thy wounds I fain would hide;
Ne’er to be parted from Thy side;
Guard me when the foe assails me;
Guide me when my feet shall fail me;
Bid me come to Thee above,
With Thy Saints to sing Thy love,
For ever and ever. Amen.
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
