27.03.2020
Morning Prayer – The Fifth Sunday in Lent – Passion Sunday
Sunday 29 March 2020
Welcome to the third week of Sunday Resources which have been prepared to cater for those who are unable to attend services at this time of Coronavirus concerns. You can find below the full text of a Service of Morning Prayer for use on Sunday. There are links to printable orders of service at the bottom of the page along with other useful information.
MORNING PRAYER FOR USE ON SUNDAY – 29 March 2020
The FIFTH Sunday in Lent (Passion Sunday)
The Gathering of God’s People
INTRODUCTION
We have come together
in the name of Christ
to offer our praise and thanksgiving,
to hear and receive God’s holy word,
to seek the forgiveness of our sins,
and to pray for the needs of the world,
that by the power of the Holy Spirit
we may give ourselves to the service of God.
O Lord, open our lips,
and our mouth will proclaim your praise.
Let us worship the Lord.
All praise to his name.
Blessed are you,
God of compassion and mercy,
to you be praise and glory for ever.
In the darkness of our sin,
your light breaks forth like the dawn
and your healing springs up for deliverance.
As we rejoice in the gift of your saving help,
sustain us with your bountiful Spirit
and open our lips to sing your praise.
Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God for ever.
Hymn of Praise: CH104 “O for a thousand tongues to sing”(vs. 1, 2, 4 and 6)
Listen to and sing along with this hymn at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-dEfvz6Vms
O for a thousand tongues to sing
my dear Redeemer’s praise,
the glories of my God and King,
the triumphs of his grace!
Jesus! the name that charms our fears,
that bids our sorrows cease;
‘tis music in the sinner’s ears,
‘tis life, and health, and peace!
He speaks; and, listening to his voice,
new life the dead receive;
the mournful broken hearts rejoice;
the humble poor believe.
My gracious Master and my God,
assist me to proclaim,
to spread through all the earth abroad
the honours of your name.
Charles Wesley (1707–88)
SENTENCES OF SCRIPTURE
Your word is a lantern to my feet
and a light upon our path. cf Psalm 119:105
O Lord, your word is everlasting:
it stands firm for ever in the heavens. cf Psalm 119: 89
Let us then receive the word of the Lord:
so may the light of your presence shine into our hearts.
Proclaiming and Receiving the Word
The reading below may be read, or an audio version listened to at:
https://www.biblica.com/bible/niv/ezekiel/37/
The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me to and fro among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, ‘Son of man, can these bones live?’ I said, ‘Sovereign Lord, you alone know.’
Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to these bones and say to them, “Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”’
So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.”’ So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet – a vast army.
Then he said to me: ‘Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, “Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.” Therefore prophesy and say to them: “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.”’
After the reading silence may be kept.
The Psalm: Psalm 130
Listen to and sing along with this psalm at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cug9GYTTO4c
Out of the deep have I called unto thee, O Lord; / Lord, hear my calling.
O let thine ears consider well / the voice of my complaint.
If thou, Lord, wilt be extreme to mark what is done amiss, / O Lord, who may abide it?
But there is forgiveness with thee; / therefore shalt thou be feared.
I look for the Lord; my soul doth wait for him: / in his word is my trust
My soul looketh for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, / yea, more than watchmen for the morning.
O Israel, trust in the Lord, for with the Lord there is mercy, / and with him is plenteous redemption.
And he shall redeem Israel / from all his sins.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning; is now, and ever shall be; world without end. Amen.
The Second Reading: Romans 8: 6–11
The reading below may be read, or an audio version listened to at:
https://www.biblica.com/bible/niv/romans/8/
The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.
You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.
After the reading silence may be kept.
Hymn before the Gospel: CH293 “Breathe on me, Breath of God”
Listen to and sing along with this hymn at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=871nwbJ3uV0
Breathe on me, Breath of God,
fill me with life anew,
that I may love what thou dost love,
and do what thou wouldst do.
Breathe on me, Breath of God,
until my heart is pure;
until with thee I will my will
to do and to endure.
Breathe on me, Breath of God,
till I am wholly thine;
until this earthly part of me
glows with thy fire divine.
Breathe on me, Breath of God,
so shall I never die,
but live with thee the perfect life
for all eternity.
Edwin Hatch (1835–89)
based on Job 33: 4
The reading below may be read, or an audio version listened to at:
https://www.biblica.com/bible/niv/john/11/
Now a man named Lazarus was ill. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay ill, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) So the sisters sent word to Jesus, ‘Lord, the one you love is ill.’
When he heard this, Jesus said, ‘This illness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.’ Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed where he was two more days, and then he said to his disciples, ‘Let us go back to Judea.’
‘But Rabbi,’ they said, ‘a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?’
Jesus answered, ‘Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the day–time will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.’
After he had said this, he went on to tell them, ‘Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.’
His disciples replied, ‘Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.’ Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.
So then he told them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.’
Then Thomas (also known as Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, ‘Let us also go, that we may die with him.’
On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
‘Lord,’ Martha said to Jesus, ‘if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.’
Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’
Martha answered, ‘I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.’
Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?’
‘Yes, Lord,’ she replied, ‘I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.’
After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. ‘The Teacher is here,’ she said, ‘and is asking for you.’ When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.’
When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. ‘Where have you laid him?’ he asked.
‘Come and see, Lord,’ they replied.
Jesus wept.
Then the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him!’
But some of them said, ‘Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?’
Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. ‘Take away the stone,’ he said.
‘But, Lord,’ said Martha, the sister of the dead man, ‘by this time there is a bad odour, for he has been there four days.’
Then Jesus said, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?’
So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, ‘Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.’
When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth round his face.
Jesus said to them, ‘Take off the grave clothes and let him go.’
Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.
After the reading silence may be kept.
THE SERMON
Revd Trevor Stevenson has prepared a sermon podcast which you may listen to at:
COLLECT OF THE WORD
Life–giving God,
your Son came into the world
to free us all from sin and death:
breathe upon us with the power of your Spirit,
that we may be raised to new life in Christ,
and serve you in holiness and righteousness all our days;
through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
The Response to God’s Word
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.
PENITENCE
Compassion and forgiveness belong to the Lord our God,
though we have rebelled against him. Daniel 9: 9
O God, our loving Father in heaven,
we confess that we have sinned against you;
we have broken your commandments;
we have often been selfish,
and we have not loved you as we should.
For these, and all our sins, forgive us, we pray:
through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
May the God of love
bring us back to himself,
forgive us our sins,
and assure us of his eternal love
in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
THE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
We pray to the Lord for courage to give up other things and to give ourselves to him this Lent.
Give your Church the courage to give up her preoccupation with herself and to give more time to your mission in the world.
[We pray for …]
May the blood and water flowing from the side of Jesus
bring forgiveness to your people and help us to face the cost of proclaiming salvation.
Lord, meet us in the silence,
give us strength and hear our prayer.
Give your world the courage
to give up war, bitterness and hatred,
and to seek peace. [We pray for …]
May the shoulders of the risen Jesus, once scourged by soldiers, bear the burden of political and military conflict in our world.
Lord, meet us in the silence, give us strength and hear our prayer.
Give us the courage
to give up quarrels, strife and jealousy
in our families, neighbourhoods and communities. [We pray for …]
May the presence of the risen Jesus, his body once broken and now made whole, bring peace and direction as we live with one another.
Lord, meet us in the silence, give us strength and hear our prayer.
Give us the courage to give up our selfishness as we live for others,
and to give time, care and comfort to the sick.
[We pray for …]
May the wounded hands of Jesus bring his healing touch,
and the light of his presence fill their rooms. Lord, meet us in the silence, give us strength and hear our prayer.
Give us the courage to give up our fear of death
and to rejoice with those who have died in faith.
[Especially we hold … in our minds.]
May the feet of the risen Lord Jesus, once nailed to the cross,
walk alongside the dying and bereaved in their agony, and walk with us and all your Church through death to the gate of glory.
Lord, meet us in the silence,
give us strength and hear our prayer,
here and in eternity. Amen.
THE COLLECT OF THE DAY
who by the death and resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ
delivered and saved the world:
Grant that by faith in him who suffered on the cross,
we may triumph in the power of his victory;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
THE COLLECT OF THE SEASON OF LENT
Merciful Lord,
Grant your people grace to withstand the temptations
of the world, the flesh and the devil
and with pure hearts and minds to follow you, the only God;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Almighty and everlasting God,
you hate nothing that you have made
and forgive the sins of all those who are penitent:
Create and make in us new and contrite hearts
that we, worthily lamenting our sins
and acknowledging our wretchedness,
may receive from you, the God of all mercy,
perfect remission and forgiveness;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
PRAYER IN THE TIME OF ANY COMMON PLAGUE OR SICKNESS
O Almighty God the Lord of life and death, of health and sickness; Have pity
upon us miserable sinners, now visited with great sickness. Withdraw from
us this grievous affliction. Enlarge our charity to relieve those who need our
help. Bless the remedies applied to assist them. Give us prudence to see, and
vigour to use, those means which thy providence affords, for preventing and
alleviating such calamities. And, above all, teach us to know how frail and
uncertain our condition is, and so to number our days, that we may seriously
apply our hearts to that holy and heavenly wisdom, whilst we live here, which
may in the end bring us to life everlasting; through the merits and mediation
of Jesus Christ, thine only Son our Lord. Amen.
Book of Common Prayer 1926
ARCHBISHOP’S PRAYER IN THE TIME OF THE CORONAVIRUS
Almighty and All–loving God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
we pray to you through Christ the Healer
for those who suffer from the Coronavirus Covid–19
in Ireland and across the world.
We pray for all who reach out to those who mourn the loss
of each and every person who has dies as a result of contracting the disease.
Give wisdom to policymakers,
skill to researchers,
comfort to everyone in distress
and a sense of calm to us all in these days of uncertainty and distress.
This we ask in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord
who showed compassion to the outcast,
acceptance to the rejected
and love to those to whom no love is shown. Amen.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
Gathering our prayers and praises into one, we are bold to pray:
Our 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.
Closing Hymn:T&P 100“My hope is built on nothing less”
Listen to and sing along with this hymn at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFktMLdeFac
My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
On Christ, the solid rock, I stand –
all other ground is sinking sand,
all other ground is sinking sand.
When darkness seems to hide his face,
I rest on his unchanging grace
in every high and stormy gale,
my anchor holds within the veil.
His oath, his covenant, his blood
support me in the whelming flood;
when all around my soul gives way,
he then is all my hope and stay.
When he shall come with trumpet sound,
O may I then in him be found,
dressed in his righteousness alone,
faultless to stand before the throne.
Edward Mote (1797–1874)
Going out as God’s People
A THANKSGIVING
Blessed are you, Holy God,
creator, redeemer and life–giver;
you have spoken the world into being
and filled it with wonder and beauty.
For every blessing we have received
we give you thanks and praise.
Blessed are you, Holy God,
for people of every language and culture
and for the rich variety you give to life.
For every blessing we have received
we give you thanks and praise.
Blessed are you, Holy God,
for Jesus Christ our Saviour,
truly divine and truly human,
living and dying for us,
and going before us into heaven.
For every blessing we have received
we give you thanks and praise.
Blessed are you, Holy God,
for your Spirit, the fire of love burning in our hearts,
bringing us to faith, and calling us to holiness
in the Church and in the world.
For every blessing we have received
we give you thanks and praise.
THE DISMISSAL
We go into the world
to walk in God’s light,
to rejoice in God’s love
and to reflect God’s glory.
BLESSING
The almighty and merciful Lord,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
bless us and keep us. Amen.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
In the name of Christ. Amen.
Other Resources are:
1. You may choose from one of the following services which are available in both rtf and pdf formats. Each service includes the lectionary readings, hymns and prayers. Links to online readings and hymns are provided. You may need to skip ads which come up on YouTube.
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Morning Prayer 1 |
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Morning Prayer 2 |
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Sunday Morning Prayer |
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Urnaí na Maidine 2 |
2. This week’s Service of Morning Prayer will be broadcast on RTÉ1 television and RTÉ1 Radio 1 extra at 11 am. The service will be led by the Archbishop of Dublin. The reader will be Margaret Healion and the Revd Jack Kinkead will sing, accompanied by Klaas Jan de Vries.
3. The Dublin cathedrals each provide live web streams of services. These may be found at:
https://christchurchcathedral.ie/worship/video-stream-1/https://www.stpatrickscathedral.ie/worship/video-stream/
This Sunday, Christ Church has services at 11.00 am and 3.30 pm and St Patrick’s at 9.15 am, 11.15 am and 3.15 pm. Christ Church Cathedral also has services at 10 am and 5 pm Mondays to Fridays. Prayers may be emailed to abigail@christchurch.ie and as many as can be will be included in the daily prayers.
Details of St Patrick’s Cathedral services may be found on its website at https://www.stpatrickscathedral.ie/services/
4. A listing of various parish online services may be found on the diocesan website here. These include YouTube posts, livestreamed services and a church service conducted via live video conferencing.
5. Canon Patrick Comerford produces a weekly blog commenting on the Sunday readings. The current weeks’ commentary may be found at:https://cmelimerick.blogspot.com/2020/03/readings-hymns-and-sermon-ideas-for_23.html
6. Fr Kieran O’Mahony, a former ecumenical Canon of St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin also produces a weekly written commentary and a related podcast. These may be found at:https://www.tarsus.ie/resources/PDF-2020/A20-Lent-5.pdf and https://soundcloud.com/user-679942596/lent5a20In addition he has posted a video lecture on the readings at: https://zoom.us/rec/play/vZwqIbj5qTI3E4DH5ASDAvUoW9S1KK2sg3VPr6ANxUayVCRVYwanZrQRZrDC2RZlEDRhD8dne60_nmz4?autoplay=true&startTime=1584808726000