← Prayer Book
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, and the power, and the glory,
forever and ever. Amen.
Morning Prayer
Thursday, March 26, 2026 • Lent, Week 5 — Thursday
Opening
Lord, open my lips.
And my mouth will proclaim your praise.
O God, come to my assistance.
Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Hymn
Now in This Fast
Now in this fast, this holy season,
we turn to you, O Lord, and pray;
grant us the grace of true contrition,
to keep your ways throughout this day.
we turn to you, O Lord, and pray;
grant us the grace of true contrition,
to keep your ways throughout this day.
Let not our lips speak idle boasting;
let not our hearts be turned to pride;
but may we fast and pray in secret,
with you, O Lord, at every side.
let not our hearts be turned to pride;
but may we fast and pray in secret,
with you, O Lord, at every side.
Strengthen the frail and weak among us;
Heal the broken and contrite;
grant your forgiveness to the fallen;
and bring the wanderer back to light.
Heal the broken and contrite;
grant your forgiveness to the fallen;
and bring the wanderer back to light.
To God the Father be all glory,
and to his Son who for us died,
and to the Spirit, gift of Easter,
now and for ever glorified.
and to his Son who for us died,
and to the Spirit, gift of Easter,
now and for ever glorified.
Psalmody
Psalm 80Sing to God Our Strength
Ant. Turn to me, O Lord, and have mercy on me.
Rejoice to God our helper; shout with jubilation to the God of Jacob.
Take up a psalm and give a drum, a pleasant psaltery with a harp.
Blow the trumpet at the new moon, on the notable day of your solemnity.
For it is a precept in Israel, and a judgment for the God of Jacob.
He established it as a testimony in Joseph, when he went out from the land of Egypt.
He heard a tongue which he did not know; he removed his back from burdens.
His hands were serving in baskets.
You called out in tribulation, and I freed you; I heard you in the hidden place of the storm.
I tested you at the waters of contradiction.
Hear, my people, and I will testify against you; O Israel, if you will hear me,
there will be no new god among you, and you will not adore a foreign god.
For I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt; open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
But my people did not hear my voice, and Israel was not obedient to me.
And so I dismissed them according to the desires of their heart; they will walk in their own inventions.
If only my people had heard me; if only Israel had walked in my ways!
I would have humbled their enemies as almost nothing, and upon those who troubled them I would have sent my hand.
The enemies of the Lord have lied to him, and their time will be forever.
And he fed them from the fat of the wheat, and filled them with honey from the rock.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Ant. Turn to me, O Lord, and have mercy on me.
Psalm 81The Judge of the Gods
Ant. Turn to me, O Lord, and have mercy on me.
God has stood in the assembly of gods, and, being in their midst, he judges gods.
"How long will you judge unjustly and accept the persons of the wicked?"
"Judge for the poor and the orphan; give justice to the humble and the poor."
"Rescue the poor and the needy; free him from the hand of the sinner."
They have not known and have not understood; they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth will be shaken.
I said: "You are gods, and all of you are sons of the Most High."
"But you will die like men, and you will fall like one of the princes."
Rise up, O God, judge the earth; for you will inherit among all the nations.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Ant. Turn to me, O Lord, and have mercy on me.
Old Testament Canticle
Old Testament Canticle (Isaiah 38:10–14, 17–20)
I said in the middle of my days: "I will go to the gates of the underworld; I sought the residue of my years."
I said: "I will not see the Lord God in the land of the living. I will behold man no more."
My generation has been taken away and rolled up from me like a shepherd's tent.
My life has been cut off like a weaver's thread; while I was yet but beginning, he cut me off.
From morning even to night you will make an end of me.
I hoped until morning. He broke all my bones like a lion.
From morning even to night you will make an end of me.
I will cry like a young swallow; I will meditate like a dove.
My eyes are weak, looking upward. Lord, I suffer violence; answer for me.
Behold, in peace my bitterness is most bitter; but you have delivered my soul.
For you have cast all my sins behind your back.
For the underworld will not confess you, neither will death praise you.
Those who descend into the pit will not wait for your truth.
The living, the living, he will give praise to you, as I do this day.
The father will make known your truth to the children.
O Lord, save me, and we will sing our psalms all the days of our life in the house of the Lord.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Gospel Canticle: Benedictus (Luke 1:68-79)
The Canticle of Zechariah (Benedictus) (Luke 1:68–79)
Ant. Create a clean heart in me, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.
Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has visited and accomplished the redemption of his people.
And he has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David his servant.
As he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets, those who have been from the beginning:
Salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.
To show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant,
the oath which he swore to our father Abraham, that he would grant to us,
that being freed from the hand of our enemies, we might serve him without fear,
in holiness and justice before him, throughout all our days.
And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the face of the Lord, to prepare his ways.
To give knowledge of salvation to his people, for the remission of their sins,
through the compassionate mercy of our God, by which the Rising Sun has visited us from on high,
to illuminate those sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death, to direct our feet in the way of peace.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Ant. Create a clean heart in me, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.
Short Reading
Joel 2:12–13
Even now, says the Lord, return to me with your whole heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning; rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the Lord, your God.
Responsory
V. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love.
R. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love.
V. According to the multitude of your tender mercies,
R. blot out my transgressions.
Intercessions
With penitent hearts let us pray to the Lord, saying:
For the whole church in this holy season, that our prayer, fasting, and almsgiving may draw us closer to you: we pray to you, O Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For those preparing for baptism at Easter, that they may be strengthened in faith and filled with hope: we pray to you, O Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For those who have fallen away from the faith, that this season may be a time of return and healing: we pray to you, O Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For those who are suffering, especially those who suffer as a result of injustice, that your mercy may reach them: we pray to you, O Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For ourselves, that this Lent may bring genuine conversion of heart and renewal of our baptismal promises: we pray to you, O Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For all who are dying, that they may come at last to the hope of resurrection: we pray to you, O Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
The Lord's Prayer
Let us pray as the Lord himself has taught us:
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, and the power, and the glory,
forever and ever. Amen.
Concluding Prayer
Father of mercies, grant us the grace to enter more deeply into the mystery of your love in this holy season, that purified by penance and renewed in spirit, we may come rejoicing to Easter; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Dismissal
The Lord be with you.
And with your spirit.
May almighty God bless us: the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
Thanks be to God.