Morning Prayer (Mattins) in Contemporary Language

¶ Morning Prayer
Epiphany Season
Saturday, 25 January 2025
The Conversion of Paul
Last 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 66

Refrain: All the earth shall worship you, O Lord.

1 Be joyful in God, all the earth; ♦
sing the glory of his name;
sing the glory of his praise.

2 Say to God, ‘How awesome are your deeds! ♦
Because of your great strength
your enemies shall bow before you.

3 ‘All the earth shall worship you, ♦
sing to you, sing praise to your name.’ R

4 Come now and behold the works of God, ♦
how wonderful he is in his dealings with humankind.

5 He turned the sea into dry land;
the river they passed through on foot; ♦
there we rejoiced in him.

6 In his might he rules for ever;
his eyes keep watch over the nations; ♦
let no rebel rise up against him. R

7 Bless our God, O you peoples; ♦
make the voice of his praise to be heard,

8 Who holds our souls in life ♦
and suffers not our feet to slip.

9 For you, O God, have proved us; ♦
you have tried us as silver is tried.

10 You brought us into the snare; ♦
you laid heavy burdens upon our backs.

11 You let enemies ride over our heads;
we went through fire and water; ♦
but you brought us out into a place of liberty. R

12 I will come into your house with burnt offerings
and will pay you my vows, ♦
which my lips uttered
and my mouth promised when I was in trouble.

13 I will offer you fat burnt sacrifices
with the smoke of rams; ♦
I will sacrifice oxen and goats. R

14 Come and listen, all you who fear God, ♦
and I will tell you what he has done for my soul.

15 I called out to him with my mouth ♦
and his praise was on my tongue.

16 If I had nursed evil in my heart, ♦
the Lord would not have heard me,

17 But in truth God has heard me; ♦
he has heeded the voice of my prayer.

18 Blessed be God, who has not rejected my prayer, ♦
nor withheld his loving mercy from me.

Refrain: All the earth shall worship you, O Lord.

How generous is your goodness, O God,
how great is your salvation,
how faithful is your love;
help us to trust you in trial
and praise you in deliverance;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm 147.13-end

Refrain: Great is our Lord and mighty in power.

13 Sing praise to the Lord, O Jerusalem; ♦
praise your God, O Zion;

14 For he has strengthened the bars of your gates ♦
and has blest your children within you.

15 He has established peace in your borders ♦
and satisfies you with the finest wheat. R

16 He sends forth his command to the earth ♦
and his word runs very swiftly.

17 He gives snow like wool ♦
and scatters the hoarfrost like ashes.

18 He casts down his hailstones like morsels of bread; ♦
who can endure his frost? R

19 He sends forth his word and melts them; ♦
he blows with his wind and the waters flow.

20 He declares his word to Jacob, ♦
his statutes and judgements to Israel.

21 He has not dealt so with any other nation; ♦
they do not know his laws.
Alleluia.

Refrain: Great is our Lord and mighty in power.

Compassionate God,
as you know each star you have created,
so you know the secrets of every heart;
in your loving mercy bring to your table
all who are fearful and broken,
all who are wounded and needy,
that our hungers may be satisfied
in the city of your peace;
through Christ who is our peace.

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.

Ezekiel 3.22-end

Then the hand of the Lord was upon me there; and he said to me, Rise up, go out into the valley, and there I will speak with you. So I rose up and went out into the valley; and the glory of the Lord stood there, like the glory that I had seen by the river Chebar; and I fell on my face. The spirit entered into me, and set me on my feet; and he spoke with me and said to me: Go, shut yourself inside your house. As for you, mortal, cords shall be placed on you, and you shall be bound with them, so that you cannot go out among the people; and I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, so that you shall be speechless and unable to reprove them; for they are a rebellious house. But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God’; let those who will hear, hear; and let those who refuse to hear, refuse; for they are a rebellious house.

Canticle

The following, or another suitable canticle, may be said or sung

Refrain:

AllThe Lord has anointed me
and sent me to bring good news to the oppressed. Alleluia.

1The Spirit of the Lord is upon me ♦
because he has anointed me.

2He has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, ♦
to bind up the broken-hearted,

3To proclaim liberty to the captives, ♦
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

4To proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour, ♦
to comfort all who mourn,

5To give them a garland instead of ashes, ♦
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit,

6That they may be called oaks of righteousness, ♦
the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.

7For as the earth puts forth her blossom, ♦
and as seeds in the garden spring up,

8So shall the Lord God make righteousness and praise ♦
blossom before all the nations.

9You shall be called priests of the Lord; ♦
they shall speak of you as ministers of our God.

Isaiah 61.1-3, 11, 6a

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.

AllThe Lord has anointed me
and sent me to bring good news to the oppressed. Alleluia.

Scripture Reading

One or more readings appointed for the day are read.

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

Philippians 3.1-14

Finally, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord.

To write the same things to you is not troublesome to me, and for you it is a safeguard.

Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of those who mutilate the flesh! For it is we who are the circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and boast in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh—even though I, too, have reason for confidence in the flesh.

If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on towards the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.

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:

AllYou did not choose me but I chose you
and I appointed you to go out and bear fruit, fruit that shall last. 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:

AllYou did not choose me but I chose you
and I appointed you to go out and bear fruit, fruit that shall last. 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

Almighty God,
who caused the light of the gospel
to shine throughout the world
through the preaching of your servant Saint Paul:
grant that we who celebrate his wonderful conversion
may follow him in bearing witness to your truth;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
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.