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Preparation
O Lord, open our lips
and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
Praise
Lord of heaven and earth,
as Jesus taught his disciples to be persistent in prayer,
give us patience and courage never to lose hope,
but always to bring our prayers before you;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Psalm 107.1-8
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is gracious,
for his steadfast love endures for ever.
Let the redeemed of the Lord say this,
those he redeemed from the hand of the enemy,
and gathered out of the lands
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.
Some went astray in desert wastes
and found no path to a city to dwell in.
Hungry and thirsty,
their soul was fainting within them.
So they cried to the Lord in their trouble
and he delivered them from their distress.
He set their feet on the right way
till they came to a city to dwell in.
Let them give thanks to the Lord for his goodness
and the wonders he does for his children.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now and shall be for ever. Amen.
Reading
When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. ‘Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?’
He said to him, ‘ “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’
Matthew 22.34-40
This is the word of the Lord.
Prayers
Let us pray to the Lord who rules over all things on earth and in heaven.
May your Church always proclaim the Gospel entrusted to her, never to be turned aside by desire for popular approval or worldly glory. May she fulfil in all her works the great commandment of your love.
Draw the nations closer to the sharing of love that overcomes all differences. Hasten the time when the whole world shall acknowledge you as Lord of all.
In love and gentleness may we be ministers of your grace to all those with whom we share our lives. Help us to live together as true neighbours of one another.
Have mercy on all who have been led astray and harmed by false teaching. Forgive their errors and free them from the power of evil.
Raise up the faithful departed into the perfect love which they began to understand in this world. Have mercy on those who did not understand, and grant them now the joy and fellowship that they could not find here.
We make our prayers in holy love to God and to our neighbours.
Let your merciful ears, O Lord,
be open to our prayers of your humble servants;
and that they may obtain their petitions
make them to ask such things as shall please you;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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.
The Conclusion
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,
be with us all evermore. Amen.