Morning Prayer of the Church
Holy Saturday,
April 11, 2020
Opening Verse
Bishop Denis: O God, come to our aid.
Response: O Lord, make haste to help us.
(Making the sign of the cross) Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Hymn O Sacred Head Surrounded
O Sacred head surrounded, by crown of piercing thorn!
O bleeding head, so wounded, reviled and put to scorn!
Our sins have marred the glory of thy most holy face,
yet angel hosts adore you, and tremble as they gaze.
The Lord of ever nation was hung upon a tree;
His death was our salvation, our sins, his agony.
O Jesus, by thy Passion, thy life in us increase.
Thy death for us did fashion our pardon and our peace.
Words of welcome
PSALMODY
Psalm 63 (64)
My soul is thirsting, my soul is thirsting,
My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
Silence
Psalm Prayer:
Canticle: Isaiah 38: 10-14, 17-20
Antiphon: Bishop Denis: Save my soul from the gates of hell, Lord.
Reader: I said in the noontide of my days I must depart
I am consigned to the gates of Sheol
for the rest of my years.
All: I said, I shall not see the Lord
in the land of the living;
I shall look upon man no more
Among the inhabitants of the world
Reader: My dwelling is plucked up and removed from me
Like a shepherd’s tent
Like a weaver, I have rolled up my life
He cuts me off from the loom
All: From day to night you bring me to an end
I cry for help until morning
like a lion he breaks all my bones
from day to night you bring me to an end
Reader: Like a swallow or a crane I clamour
I moan like a dove
My eyes are weary with looking upward
Lord I am oppressed; be my security
All: Lo, it was for my welfare
That I had great bitterness
But you have held back my life
From the pit of destruction
for you have cast all my sins behind your back
Reader: For Sheol cannot thank you,
Death cannot praise you;
Those who go down to the pit
Cannot hope for your faithfulness
All: The living, the living, he thanks you
As I do this day;
The father makes known to the children
your faithfulness
Reader: The Lord will save me
And we will sing to stringed instruments
All the days of our life
At the house of the Lord.
All: Glory be…
Antiphon: All: Save my soul from the gates of hell, Lord.
Silence
Canticle Prayer
Psalm 150
Antiphon: Bishop Denis: I was dead and now I am to live forever and I hold the keys of death and of hell.
Women: Praise God in his holy place
Praise him in his mighty heavens
Praise him for his powerful deeds
Praise his surpassing greatness
Men: O praise him with sound of trumpet
Praise him with lute and harp
Praise him with timbrel and dance
Praise him with strings and pipes
Women: O praise him with resounding cymbals,
Praise him with clashing of cymbals
Let everything that lives and that breathes
Give praise to the Lord.
Men: Glory be…
All: I was dead and now I am to live forever and I hold the keys of death and of hell.
Silence
Psalm Prayer
Scripture Reading Hosea 6:1-3a
The Lord says this: They will search for me in their misery.
Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us;
he has struck us down, but he will bandage our wounds;
after a day or two he will bring us back to life, on the third day he will raise us
and we shall live in his presence. Pause
Responsory:
All say together: Christ humbled himself for us, and, in obedience accepted death, even death on a cross. Therefore God raised him to the heights and gave him the name which is above all other names.
(Pause)
Gospel Canticle Benedictus
Antiphon: Bishop: Save us, saviour of the world. By your cross and the shedding of your blood you have redeemed us. Come to help us, Lord, our God.
(♪to the air of ‘The King of Love, My Shepherd Is’)
Now bless the God of Israel (Sign of the Cross),
who comes in love and pow’r,
who raises from the royal house
deliv’rance in this hour.
Through holy prophets God has sworn
to free us from alarm,
to save us from the heavy hand
of all who wish us harm.
Remembering the covenant,
God rescues us from fear,
that we might serve in holiness
and peace from year to year.
And you, my child, shall go before
to preach to prophesy,
that all may know the tender love,
the grace of God most high.
In tender mercy, God will send
The dayspring from on high,
our rising sun, the light of life
for those who sit and sigh.
God comes to guide our way to peace
that death shall reign no more,
sing praises to the Holy One!
O worship and adore!
Antiphon: All: Save us, saviour of the world. By your cross and the shedding of your blood you have redeemed us. Come to help us, Lord, our God.
Prayers and intercessions
Bishop Denis: Let us pray to our Redeemer, who suffered for us, was buried, and rose from the dead. R. Lord, have mercy on us.
Reader: Christ our Lord, you saw your mother standing by the cross; may we share your saving passion in our time of suffering. R. Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, our Saviour, you died like a grain of wheat falling into the ground; gather us to yourself in the harvest of redemption. R. Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, our Shepherd, lying in the tomb you were hidden from people; teach us to love our real life which is hidden with you in God. R. Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, the new Adam, you went down into the world of the dead to free the just; may those who are dead in sin hear your voice and live. R. Lord, have mercy on us.
Son of the living God, we were buried with you in baptism; let us rise with you, alive to God forever. R. Lord, have mercy on us.
Our Father…
Concluding Prayer
Almighty, ever-living God,
Whose Only-Begotten Son descended to the realm of the dead,
And rose from there to glory,
Grant that your faithful people,
Who were buried with him in baptism,
May, by his resurrection, obtain eternal life. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Dismissal (sign of the cross) The Lord bless us, and keep us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen