Daily Office

Praise the Lord.
Praise God in his holy place.

Praise him in the sky, his stronghold.
Praise him for his deeds of power.
Praise him for his boundless greatness.

Lord, you are the pure and eternal fount of goodness, who justly turned away from us, and in loving kindness had mercy upon us. You hated, and were reconciled; you cursed, and blessed; you banished us from Paradise, and called us back; you stripped off the fig leaves, an unseemly covering, and clothed us in a costly garment; you opened the prison, and released the condemned; you sprinkled us with clean water, and cleansed us from our uncleanness.

No longer will Adam be ashamed when called by you, nor hide himself, convicted by his conscience, cowering in the thicket of Paradise. No longer will the flaming sword encircle Paradise and bar the entrance to those who draw near; but all is turned to joy for us who were the heirs of sin. Paradise, yes, heaven itself, is opened to humankind; and creation, in the world and above the world, once at variance with itself, is knit together in friendship; and we are made to join in the angels' song, offering to God the worship of their praise.

For all these things, then, let us sing to God that hymn of joy which lips touched by the Spirit long ago sang aloud:

Let my soul rejoice in the Lord,
for he has clothed me with a garment of salvation,
and put upon me a robe of gladness;
as on a bridegroom he has set a crown upon me,
and as a bride he has adorned me with beauty.

And truly the Adorner of the bride is Christ, who is, and was, and shall be, blessed now and for evermore.

Amen.

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God, and knows God. The person who doesn’t love doesn’t know God, for God is love.

If someone says ‘I love God,’ and yet hates others, they are a liar. For the person who does not love their brother or sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. Indeed, we have this command from Christ: Those who love God must also love each other.

Lord Jesus Christ,
you carry the lost sheep back into the fold in your arms,
and you graciously hear the confession of the tax collector;
mercifully forgive all my guilt and sin.

Lord, you hear the penitent thief,
you have prepared an inheritance of mercy for your people,
and have not withheld pardon from the sinner;
hear the prayers of your servants according to your mercy.

Amen.

Nothing should be done out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility lift others up above yourselves, considering not only your own interests but also the interests of others.

Gloria Patri

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.

Divine Spirit,
illumine to me the words of the Lord.

Show me the wealth of glory
that lies beneath the old familiar stories.

Teach me the depths of meaning
hidden in the songs of Zion.

Raise me to the heights of aspiration
that is reached by the wings of the prophet.

Lift me to the summit of faith
that is trod by the feet of the apostle.

Open my eyes,
that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.

Amen.

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
    he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
    born of the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old,
that he would save us from our enemies,
    from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
    and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham,
    to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
Free to worship him without fear,
    holy and righteous in his sight
    all the days of our life.

You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High,
    for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
To give his people knowledge of salvation
    by the forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God
    the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
    and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Our [ Father / Mother / Creator ] in heaven,
Hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done on earth
as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our [ trespasses / sins ]
as we forgive those who [ trespass / sin ] against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Amen.

God, the protector of all those who trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy — increase and multiply on us your mercy; that you being our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we finally lose not the things eternal. Grant this, heavenly Father, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Followed by

Amen.

God, you have made of one blood all nations of the earth, and your will is that all your children should be gathered into one family of love: break down, we pray you, the walls that divide us; deliver us from hardness of heart and from contempt for those who differ from us; and hasten the time when all shall dwell together in that peace which passes understanding, knowing you as Father and one another as brothers and sisters; through Jesus Christ our Lord, in whom there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, but all are one. Amen.

We thank you for the good things of this life: for food and clothing and shelter; for work to do and zest in the doing of it. We thank you for the perpetual touch of the divine in life, for the image of yourself in the human soul; for the vigor of youth, the wisdom of age, and for all the lessons of experience; the steps by which we climb to higher things; for the courage of the brave, the indignation of the righteous, the kindness of the thoughtful, and all that makes us human and keeps us Godlike.

Amen.

The Lord bless us and keep us;
the Lord make his face to shine upon us,
and be gracious to us;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon us,
and give us peace.

Amen.