Morning Prayer of the Church

Good Friday,

April 10, 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 50 (51)                    Be merciful O Lord,  Be merciful O Lord

Be merciful O Lord, for we have sinned.

 

Silence

Psalm Prayer

 

Canticle                                                              Habakkuk 3:2-4, 13a, 15-19

Antiphon: Jesus Christ showed his love for us and freed us from our sins with his life’s blood.

 

Bishop Denis : Lord, I have heard of your fame,

I stand in awe at your deeds.

Do them again in our days,

in our days make them known!

In spite of your anger, have compassion.

 

All: God comes forth from Teman,

the Holy One comes from Mount Paran.

His splendour covers the sky

and his glory fills the earth.

His brilliance is like the light,

rays flash from his hands;

there his power is hidden.

 

Bishop Denis: You march out to save your people,

to save the one you have anointed.

You made a path for your horses in the sea,

in the raging of the mighty waters.

 

All: This I heard and I tremble with terror,

my lips quiver at the sound.

Weakness invades my bones,

my steps fail beneath me

yet I calmly wait for the doom

that will fall upon the people who assail us.

 

Bishop Denis: For even though the fig does not blossom,

nor fruit grow on the vine,

even though the olive crop fail,

and fields produce no harvest,

even though flocks vanish from the folds

and stalls stand empty of cattle,

 

All: Yet I will rejoice in the Lord

and exult in God my saviour.

The Lord my God is my strength.

He makes me leap like the deer,

he guides me to the high places.

 

Bishop Denis: Glory be to the Father…

 

All:  Jesus Christ loved us, and poured out his own blood for us to wash away

our sins.

 

Silence

Canticle Prayer

 

 

Psalm 147 (147B)

 

Antiphon: We worship your cross, O Lord, and we praise and glorify your holy resurrection, for the wood of the cross has brought joy to the world.

 

Women: O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!

Sion praise your God!

 

Men: He has strengthened the bars of your gates

he has blessed the children within you.

He established peace on your borders,

he feeds you with finest wheat.

 

Women: He sends out his word to the earth

and swiftly runs his command.

He showers down snow white as wool,

he scatters hoar-frost like ashes.

 

Men: He hurls down hailstones like crumbs.

The waters are frozen at his touch;

he sends forth his word and it melts them:

at the breath of his mouth the waters flow.

 

Women: He makes his word known to Jacob,

to Israel his laws and decrees.

He has not dealt thus with other nations;

he has not taught them his decrees.

 

Men: Glory be …

 

Antiphon: All: We worship your cross, O Lord, and we praise and glorify your holy resurrection, for the wood of the cross has brought joy to the world.

 

Silence

Psalm Prayer:

 

 

Scripture Reading                                              Isaiah 52:13-15

See, my servant will prosper;

he shall be lifted up, exalted, rise to great heights.

As the crowds were appalled on seeing him –

so disfigured did he look that he seemed no longer human –

so will the crowds be astonished at him,

and kings stand speechless before him;

for they will see something never told and witness something never heard before.

 

 

Responsory:

All say together:  Christ humbled himself for us and, in obedience, accepted death, even death on a cross.

 

Pause

 

Gospel Canticle                                                                     Benedictus

Bishop Denis:  Over his head was placed the charge against him: ‘This is Jesus, the Nazarene, the King of the Jew

 

(♪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 Over his head was placed the charge against him: ‘This is Jesus, the Nazarene, the king of the Jews.’

 

 

Prayers and intercessions

 

Bishop Denis: Faithful God, you never forsake your own. As we reflect on the passion of your Son, we pray: R. Lord, have mercy on us.

 

Reader: Strengthen us in faith, hope and love. R. Lord, have mercy on us.

 

Renew the spirits of those whose hearts are clouded by the darkness of sin, fear or sadness at this time. R. Lord, have mercy on us.

 

Keep us faithful to your will in the face of the challenges of these days. R. Lord, have mercy on us.

 

As the crucified Christ commended his spirit into your hands, may we commend our lives into your loving hands. R. Lord, have mercy on us.

 

Be with all those, in so many areas of life, who are caring for the ill, who are keeping our nation going and who are working to lead us out of the darkness of this pandemic. R. Lord, have mercy on us.

 

 

Our Father…

 

 

Concluding Prayer

Be mindful, Lord, of this your family,

for whose sake our Lord Jesus Christ, when betrayed,

did not hesitate to give himself into his enemies’ hands

and undergo the agony of the cross.

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