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Listen to or read a Service of Holy Communion for the Wednesday after the Second Sunday of Easter, 22 April 2020, and make your own act of Spiritual Communion.
The Gathering
In the name of the Father,
and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Alleluia. Christ is risen.
He is risen indeed. Alleluia.
Prayer of Preparation
Almighty God,
to whom all hearts are open,
all desires known,
and from whom no secrets are hidden:
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.
Prayers of Penitence
Christ our passover lamb has been sacrificed for us.
Let us therefore rejoice by putting away all malice and evil
and confessing our sins with a sincere and true heart.
Almighty God, our heavenly Father,
we have sinned against you
and against our neighbour
in thought and word and deed,
through negligence, through weakness,
through our own deliberate fault.
We are truly sorry
and repent of all our sins.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
who died for us,
forgive us all that is past
and grant that we may serve you in newness of life
to the glory of your name.
Amen.
Almighty God,
who forgives all who truly repent,
have mercy upon us,
pardon and deliver us from all our sins,
confirm and strengthen us in all goodness,
and keep us in life eternal;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
The Collect
Almighty Father,
you have given your only Son to die for our sins
and to rise again for our justification:
grant us so to put away the leaven of malice and wickedness
that we may always serve you
in pureness of living and truth;
through the merits of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
The Liturgy of the Word
Reading
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles.
Then the high priest took action; he and all who were with him (that is, the sect of the Sadducees), being filled with jealousy, arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors, brought them out, and said, ‘Go, stand in the temple and tell the people the whole message about this life.’ When they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and went on with their teaching.
When the high priest and those with him arrived, they called together the council and the whole body of the elders of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. But when the temple police went there, they did not find them in the prison; so they returned and reported, ‘We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them, we found no one inside.’ Now when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were perplexed about them, wondering what might be going on. Then someone arrived and announced, ‘Look, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people!’ Then the captain went with the temple police and brought them, but without violence, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people.
This is the word of the Lord.
Psalm
I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise shall ever be in my mouth.My soul shall glory in the Lord;
let the humble hear and be glad.O magnify the Lord with me;
let us exalt his name together.I sought the Lord and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.Look upon him and be radiant
and your faces shall not be ashamed.This poor soul cried, and the Lord heard me
and saved me from all my troubles.The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him
and delivers them.O taste and see that the Lord is gracious;
Psalm 34.1–8
blessed is the one who trusts in him.
Gospel Reading
Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the first and the last, says the Lord, and the living one;
I was dead, and behold I am alive for evermore.
Alleluia.
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John.
Glory to you, O Lord.
Jesus said to Nicodemus: ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
‘Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgement, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.’
This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.
Prayers of Intercession
Let us pray to God for the Church and for the world, giving thanks for the gift of his Son.
May the Church be filled with the light of faith and proclaim the message of salvation. Strengthen her ministers to serve the Son of God in word and sacrament so that his glory may be lifted up in the sight of all.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We pray for peace among nations, for light to shine in the dark places of strife and violence and reveal to those who are in conflict their shared humanity. May God’s love for the world be honoured by the people of the world now and in time to come.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
As we praise God for the love that sent his Son, we pray that we may have that love for those with whom we share our lives. Give light to direct all that we do together and all the work of this community.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Have mercy on those who have loved darkness rather than light and have into the grip of evil. Release them by the love of the Son, raised on the Cross for sinners and raised from death that they might have life.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We remember the departed who have lived their live in faith and at the last have not perished but come to eternal life. Grant to us to follow their example and share with them the fruit of the same promise.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
May our prayers be accepted through Christ, the Saviour of the world.
Merciful Father,
accept these prayers
for the sake of your Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen.
The Liturgy of the Sacrament
The Peace
The risen Christ came and stood among his disciples and said,
‘Peace be with you.’
Then were they glad when they saw the Lord. Alleluia.
The peace of the Lord be always with you
The Eucharistic Prayer
The Lord is here.
His Spirit is with us.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give thanks and praise.
It is indeed right, our duty and our joy,
always and everywhere to give you thanks,
almighty and eternal Father,
and in these days of Easter
to celebrate with joyful hearts
the memory of your wonderful works.
For by the mystery of his passion
Jesus Christ, your risen Son,
has conquered the powers of death and hell
and restored in men and women the image of your glory.
He has placed them once more in paradise
and opened to them the gate of life eternal.
And so, in the joy of this Passover,
earth and heaven resound with gladness,
while angels and archangels and the powers of all creation
sing for ever the hymn of your glory:
Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
We praise and bless you, loving Father,
through Jesus Christ, our Lord;
and as we obey his command,
send your Holy Spirit,
that broken bread and wine outpoured
may be for us the body and blood of your dear Son.
On the night before he died he had supper with his friends
and, taking bread, he praised you.
He broke the bread, gave it to them and said:
Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you;
do this in remembrance of me.
When supper was ended he took the cup of wine.
Again he praised you, 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.
Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.
So, Father, we remember all that Jesus did,
in him we plead with confidence his sacrifice
made once for all upon the cross.
Bringing before you the bread of life and cup of salvation,
we proclaim his death and resurrection
until he comes in glory.
Great is the mystery of faith:
Christ has died;
Christ is risen;
Christ will come again.
Lord of all life,
help us to work together for that day
when your kingdom comes
and justice and mercy will be seen in all the earth.
Look with favour on your people,
gather us in your loving arms
and bring us with all the saints
to feast at your table in heaven.
Through Christ, and with Christ, and in Christ,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
all honour and glory are yours, O loving Father,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Let us pray with confidence as our Saviour 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,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
Breaking of the Bread
Every time we eat this bread and drink this cup
we proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
Giving of Communion
Lord, I am not worthy to receive you,
but only say the word, and I shall be healed.
The priest receives communion.
The people are invited to participate in an Act of Spiritual Communion.
Prayer after Communion
Lord God our Father,
through our Saviour Jesus Christ
you have assured your children of eternal life
and in baptism have made us one with him:
deliver us from the death of sin
and raise us to new life in your love,
in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,
by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Father of all,
we give you thanks and praise,
that when we were still far off
you met us in your Son and brought us home.
Dying and living, he declared your love,
gave us grace, and opened the gate of glory.
May we who share Christ’s body live his risen life;
we who drink his cup bring life to others;
we whom the Spirit lights give light to the world.
Keep us firm in the hope that you have set before us,
so we and all your children shall be free,
and the whole earth live to praise your name;
through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
The Blessing and Dismissal
The God of peace,
who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus,
that great shepherd of the sheep,
through the blood of the eternal covenant,
make you perfect in every good work to do his will,
working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight;
and the blessing of God almighty,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be among you and remain with you always.
Amen.
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord. Alleluia, alleluia.
In the name of Christ. Alleluia, alleluia.