The Holy Eucharist
PRELUDE
PROCESSIONAL LIFT UP YOUR HEADS, YE MIGHTY GATES
THE OPENING ACCLAMATION
Blessed be God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
And blessed be His kingdom, now and forever. Amen.
Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
THE GLORIA IN EXCELSIS
Glory to God in the highest,
and peace to his people on earth.
Lord God, heavenly King,
almighty God and Father,
we worship you, we give you thanks,
we praise you for your glory.
Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father,
Lord God, Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world:
have mercy on us;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father:
receive our prayer.
For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High,
Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
THE COLLECT OF THE DAY
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray.
O God, whose blessed Son came into the world that he might destroy the works of the devil and make us children of God and heirs of eternal life: Grant that, having this hope, we may purify ourselves as he is pure; that, when he comes again with power and great glory, we may be made like him in his eternal and glorious kingdom; where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
THE LITURGY OF THE WORD
THE FIRST LESSON: JOSHUA 24:1-3A, 14-25
Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel; and they presented themselves before God. And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Long ago your ancestors—Terah and his sons Abraham and Nahor—lived beyond the Euphrates and served other gods. Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan and made his offspring many.
“Now therefore revere the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. Now if you are unwilling to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”
Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods; for it is the LORD our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed; and the LORD drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God.”
But Joshua said to the people, “You cannot serve the LORD, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm, and consume you, after having done you good.” And the people said to Joshua, “No, we will serve the LORD!” Then Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” He said, “Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.” The people said to Joshua, “The LORD our God we will serve, and him we will obey.” So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made statutes and ordinances for them at Shechem.
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
PSALM 78:1-7
Attendite, popule
1 Hear my teaching, | O my | People; *
Incline your | ears to the | words of my | mouth.
2 I will open my | mouth in a | parable; *
I will declare my | mysteries of | ancient | times
3 That which we have heard and known,
and what our | fore-Fathers have | told us, *
We will not | hÏde | from their | Children.
4 We will recount to generations to come
The praiseworthy deeds and the | po-wer of the | Lord
And the wonderful | wörks | he has | done.
12 He worked marvels in the | sight of their | forefathers
In the land of | E-gypt, in the | Field of | Zoan
13 He split open the sea and | let them pass | through; *
He mad the | wa-ters stand | up like | walls
14 He led them with a | Cloud by | day, *
And all the night | through with a | glow of | fire
15 He split the hard | rocks in the | wilderness
And gave them drink as | from the | grëat | deep.
16 He brought streams | out of the | cliff,*
And the | wa-ters gushed | out like | rivers
THE SECOND LESSON: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died.
For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have died. For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel's call and with the sound of God's trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
SEQUENCE HYMN: PRAISE OUR GREAT AND GRACIOUS GOD
THE GOSPEL: MATTHEW 25:1-13
The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew.
Glory to you, Lord Christ.
Jesus said, “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise replied, ‘No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’ Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Christ.
THE SERMON: The Rev. Hank Tuell
THE NICENE CREED
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, Eternally begotten of the Father. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten not made, of one Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
THE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
(The Leader and People pray responsively)
Father, we pray for your holy Catholic Church;
That we all may be one.
Grant that every member of the Church may truly and
humbly serve you;
That your Name may be glorified by all people.
We pray for all bishops, priests, and deacons;
That they may be faithful ministers of your Word and
Sacraments.
We pray for all who govern and hold authority in the nations
of the world;
That there may be justice and peace on the earth.
Give us grace to do your will in all that we undertake;
That our works may find favor in your sight.
Have compassion on those who suffer from any grief or trouble, especially Dr. John Abraham, Generosa Aceveda, Jim Adams, Bernard Anderson, Cathy Aviolla, Harold Carrington, Matthew Cassone, Gweneth Chase, Trevor Chase, Juli Collazo, Ondeene Collymore, Carole Cramer, George Cramer, Paul DeFelice, Michael DeLuca, Jr., Francine Densieski, Arthur Elwell, Anthony Esposito, Dillon Gonzalez, Henrietta Gowac, Dice Grigg, Christopher Guarente, Dan Italiano, Teresa Jankowska, Pauline Johnson, Chris Kilpert, David Kline, Robert Lane, and all those on our prayer list.
That they may be delivered from their distress.
Give to the departed eternal rest, especially Fletcher Vaughn Martin, Jr..
Let light perpetual shine upon them.
We praise you for your saints who have entered into joy;
May we also come to share in your heavenly kingdom.
Let us pray for our own needs and those of others.
(Silence)
Concluding Collect
Almighty and eternal God, ruler of all things in heaven and earth: Mercifully accept the prayers of your people, and strengthen us to do your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
THE CONFESSION
Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.
Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.
Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you all your sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen you in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life.
Amen.
THE PEACE
The peace of the Lord be always with you. And also with you.
Let us offer one another a sign of peace.
THE ANNOUNCEMENTS
THE OFFERTORY HYMN: BEFORE THY THRONE, O GOD, WE KNEEL
THE GREAT THANKSGIVING - B
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give him thanks and praise.
It is right, and a good and joyful thing, always and everywhere to give thanks to
you, Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.
Therefore we praise you, joining our voices with Angels and Archangels and with
all the company of heaven, who forever sing this hymn to proclaim the glory of
your Name:
Holy, holy, holy, Lord
God of power and might.
Heaven and Earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the highest
Blessed is He who come in the name of the Lord
Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the highest,.
We give thanks to you, O God, for the goodness and love which you have
made known to us in creation; in the calling of Israel to be your people; in your
Word spoken through the prophets; and above all in the Word made flesh,
Jesus, your Son. For in these last days you sent him to be incarnate from the
Virgin Mary, to be the Savior and Redeemer of the world. In him, you have
delivered us from evil, and made us worthy to stand before you. In him, you
have brought us out of error into truth, out of sin into righteousness, out of death
into life.
On the night before he died for us, our Lord Jesus Christ took bread; and when
he had given thanks to you, he broke it, and gave it to his disciples, and said,
“Take, eat: This is my Body, which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance
of me.”
After supper he took the cup of wine; and when he had given thanks, he gave
it to them, and said, “Drink this, all of you: This is my Blood of the new Covenant,
which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you
drink it, do this for the remembrance of me.”
Therefore, according to his command, O Father,
Celebrant and People
We remember his death,
We proclaim his resurrection,
We await his coming in glory;
The Celebrant continues:
And we offer our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving to you, O Lord of all;
presenting to you, from your creation, this bread and this wine.
We pray you, gracious God, to send your Holy Spirit upon these gifts that they
may be the Sacrament of the Body of Christ and his Blood of the new
Covenant. Unite us to your Son in his sacrifice, that we may be acceptable
through him, being sanctified by the Holy Spirit. In the fullness of time, put all
things in subjection under your Christ, and bring us to that heavenly country
where, with the Virgin Mary, Saint John and all your saints, we may enter the
everlasting heritage of your sons and daughters; through Jesus Christ our Lord,
the firstborn of all creation, the head of the Church, and the author of our
salvation.
By him, and with him, and in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all honor and
glory is yours, Almighty Father, now and for ever. Amen
And now, as our Savior Christ has taught us, we are bold to sing,
THE LORD'S PRAYER
THE BREAKING OF THE BREAD
Alleluia. Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.
Therefore, let us keep the feast. Alleluia.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, grant us peace.
THE COMMUNION
COMMUNION HYMN: ABIDE WITH ME, FAST FALLS THE EVENTIDE
THE POST COMMUNION PRAYER
Let us pray.
Almighty and ever living God, we thank you for feeding us with the spiritual food of the most precious Body and Blood of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; and for assuring us in these holy mysteries that we are living members of the Body of your Son, and heirs of your eternal kingdom. And now, Father, send us out to do the work you have given us to do, to love and serve you as faithful witnesses of Christ our Lord. To him, to you, and to the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and forever. Amen.
THE BLESSING
THE RECESSIONAL: GUIDE ME, O THOU GREAT JEHOVAH
THE DISMISSAL
The Mass is ended. Let us go forth into the world, rejoicing in the power of the Spirit.
Thanks be to God.