MORNING PRAYER 2 – 15 March 2020
The third Sunday in Lent
The Gathering of God's People
SENTENCES OF SCRIPTURE
The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
				    Psalm 51: 17
Opening Hymn: CH 606 “As the deer pants for the water”
As the deer pants for the water
so my soul longs after you.
You alone are my heart’s desire
and I long to worship you.

You alone are my strength, my shield
to you alone may my spirit yield.
You alone are my heart’s desire
and I long to worship you.

I want you more than gold or silver,
only you can satisfy.
You alone are the real joy-giver
and the apple of my eye.

You’re my friend and you are my brother,
even though you are a king.
I love you more than any other,
so much more than anything.

Martin Nystrom (b. 1956)
based on Psalm 94
Listen to and sing along with this hymn at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peZudXt9faU

We come to offer to Almighty God
our worship and praise and thanksgiving,
to confess our sins and to receive God's forgiveness,
to hear his holy word proclaimed,
to bring before him our needs and the needs of the world,
and to pray that in the power of his Spirit
we may serve him and know the greatness of his love.
Let us confess our sins to God our Father.
Kneel. Silence is kept.

Heavenly Father,
we have sinned against you and against our neighbour
in thought and word and deed,
through negligence, through weakness,
through our own deliberate fault;
by what we have done
and by what we have failed to do.
We are truly sorry and repent of all our sins.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ who died for us,
forgive us all that is past;
and grant that we may serve you in newness of life
to the glory of your name. Amen.
Merciful Lord,
grant to your faithful people pardon and peace,
that we may be cleansed from all our sins,
and serve you with a quiet mind;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Proclaiming and Receiving the Word
AT MORNING PRAYER
Stand
O Lord, open our lips
and our mouth will proclaim your praise.
God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.
Glory 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.
Praise the Lord.
The Lord s name be praised.
FIRST CANTICLE
JUBILATE Psalm 100
1	O shout to the Lord in triumph all the earth;
serve the Lord with gladness
and come before his face with songs of joy.
2	Know that the Lord he is God;
it is he who has made us and we are his
we are his people and the sheep of· his pasture.
3	Come into his gates with thanksgiving
and into his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and bless his holy name.
4	For the Lord is good
his loving mercy is for ever,
his faithfulness throughout all generations.
	Glory 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.
FIRST READING
Exodus 17: 1-7
The reading below may be read, or an audio version listened to at:

https://www.biblica.com/bible/niv/exodus/17/

From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. The people quarrelled with Moses, and said, ‘Give us water to drink.’ Moses said to them, ‘Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?’ But the people thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, ‘Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?’ So Moses cried out to the Lord, ‘What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.’ 5The Lord said to Moses, ‘Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.’ Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarrelled and tested the Lord, saying, ‘Is the Lord among us or not?’ 
After the reading silence may be kept.
PSALM
Psalm 95
The Psalm below may be read, or an audio version listened to at:
https://www.biblica.com/bible/niv/psalm/95/

1 O come, let us sing to the Lord; 
   let us heartily rejoice in the rock of our salvation.
2  Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving 
   and be glad in him with psalms.
3  For the Lord is a great God 
   and a great king above all gods.
4  In his hand are the depths of the earth and the heights of the mountains are his also.
5  The sea is his, for he made it, 
   and his hands have moulded the dry land.
6  Come, let us worship and bow down and kneel before the Lord our Maker.
7  For he is our God; 
   we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.
8  O that today you would listen to his voice: 
   ‘Harden not your hearts as at Meribah, on that day at Massah in the wilderness,
9  ‘When your forebears tested me, and put me to the proof, 
   though they had seen my works.
10  ‘Forty years long I detested that generation and said, 
   “This people are wayward in their hearts; they do not know my ways.”
11  ‘So I swore in my wrath, 
   “They shall not enter into my rest.” ’

SECOND READING
Romans 5: 1-11
The reading below may be read, or an audio version listened to at:

https://www.biblica.com/bible/niv/romans/5/
Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
 
After the reading silence may be kept.

SECOND CANTICLE
TE DEUM 
Part 1
1	We praise you, O God,
we acclaim you as the Lord;
all creation worships you,
the Father everlasting.
2 	To you all angels, all the powers of heaven,
the cherubim and seraphim, sing in endless praise:
3 	Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of· your glory.
4 	The glorious company of apostles praise you;
the noble fellowship of prophets praise you.
5 	The white-robed army of martyrs praise you;
throughout the world, the holy Church acclaims you:
6 	Father, of majesty unbounded,
your true and only Son, worthy of all praise,
the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide.
Part 2
7 	You, Christ, are the King of glory,
the eternal Son of· the Father.
8 	When you took our flesh to set us free,
you humbly chose the Virgin s womb.
9	You overcame the sting of death
and opened the kingdom of heaven· to all believers
10	You are seated at God's right hand in glory:
we believe that you will come to be our judge.
11	Come then, Lord, and help your people,
bought with the price of your own blood,
12	and bring us with your saints
to glory everlasting.
Part 3
13	Save your people, Lord, and bless your inheritance:
govern and uphold them now and always.
14	Day by day we bless you:
we praise your name for ever.
15	Keep us today, Lord, from all sin:
have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy.
16	Lord, show us your love and mercy,
for we put our trust in you.
I7	In you, Lord, is our hope,
let us never be put to shame.

Gradual Hymn: CH 305 “O breath of life, come sweeping through us” 
O Breath of life, come sweeping through us,
revive thy Church with life and power.
O Breath of life, come ,cleanse, renew us,
and fit thy Church to meet this hour.

O Wind of God, come, bend us, break us,
till humbly we confess our need;
then in thy tenderness re-make us,
revive, restore for this we plead.

O Breath of love, come breathe within us,
renewing thought and will and heart;
come, love of Christ, afresh to win us,
revive thy Church in every part.

Revive us, Lord! Is zeal abating
while harvest fields are vast and white?
Revive us, Lord, the world is waiting,
equip your Church to spread the light.

Elizabeth (Betty) A. P. Head (1850-1936)

Listen to and sing along with this hymn at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAjmYffP0us

THIRD READING
from the Gospels
John 4: 5-42 
The reading below may be read, or an audio version listened to at:

https://www.biblica.com/bible/niv/john/4/
So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon. 
A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, ‘Give me a drink’. (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?’ (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, “Give me a drink”, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?’ Jesus said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.’ 
Jesus said to her, ‘Go, call your husband, and come back.’ The woman answered him, ‘I have no husband.’ Jesus said to her, ‘You are right in saying, “I have no husband”; for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.’ The woman said to him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming’ (who is called Christ). ‘When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am he, the one who is speaking to you.’ 
Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, ‘What do you want?’ or, ‘Why are you speaking with her?’ Then the woman left her water-jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, ‘Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?’ They left the city and were on their way to him. 
Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, ‘Rabbi, eat something.’ But he said to them, ‘I have food to eat that you do not know about.’ So the disciples said to one another, ‘Surely no one has brought him something to eat?’ Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. Do you not say, “Four months more, then comes the harvest”? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, “One sows and another reaps.” I sent you to reap that for which you did not labour. Others have laboured, and you have entered into their labour.’ 
Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, ‘He told me everything I have ever done.’ So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there for two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, ‘It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Saviour of the world.’

After the reading silence may be kept.
THIRD CANTICLE
BENEDICTUS The Song of Zechariah Luke 1: 68-79
1	Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel,
who has come to his people and set them free.
2 	The Lord has raised up for us a mighty saviour,
born of the house of· his servant David.
3 	Through the holy prophets God promised of old
to save us from our enemies,
from the hands of those who hate us,
4 	to show mercy to our forebears,
and to remember his holy covenant.
5 	This was the oath God swore to our father Abraham:
to set us free from the hand of· our enemies.
6 	Free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous before him all the days of· our life.
7 	And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord· to prepare his way,
8 	To give his people knowledge of salivation
by the forgiveness of all their sins.
9 	In the tender compassion of our God.
the dawn from on high shall break upon us.
10	To shine on those who dwell in darkness
and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
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.

The Prayers of the People
The Lord be with you
and also with you.
Kneel
Let us pray.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
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.
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.
Show us your mercy, O Lord,
and grant us your salvation.
O Lord, guide and defend our rulers
and grant our government wisdom.
Let your ministers be clothed with righteousness
and let your servants shout for joy.
O Lord, save your people
and bless those whom you have chosen.
Give peace in our time, O Lord,
and let your glory be over all the earth.
O God, make clean our hearts within us
and renew us by your Holy Spirit.
THE COLLECTS
THE COLLECT OF THE DAY
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. 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.
 
AT MORNING PRAYER
O Lord, our heavenly Father, almighty and everliving God,
we give you thanks for bringing us safely to this day:
Keep us from falling into sin or running into danger,
and in all things guide us to know and do your will;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Heavenly Father,
in whom we live and move and have our being:
We humbly pray that your Holy Spirit may so guide and govern us
that in all the cares and occupations of our daily life,
we may never forget your presence
but may remember that we are always walking in your sight,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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.

Prayers and thanksgivings may be said.
Closing Hymn: CH 611 “Christ be beside me”
Christ be beside me,
Christ be before me,
Christ be behind me,
King of my heart.
Christ be within me,
Christ be below me,
Christ be above me,
never to part.

Christ on my right hand,
Christ on my left hand,
Christ all around me,
shield in the strife.
Christ in my sleeping,
Christ in my sitting,
Christ in my rising, 
light of my life.

Christ be in all hearts,
thinking about me,
Christ be on all tongues
telling of me.
Christ be the vision
in eyes that see me
in ears that hear me,
Christ ever be.
James Quinn (1919-2010)
adapted from The Breastplate of St Patrick

Listen to and sing along with this hymn at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CJv4p5CuKc
Going Out as God's People
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,
be with us all evermore. Amen. 	2 Corinthians 13: 14