Judith prostrated herself, put ashes on her head, and uncovered the sackcloth she was wearing. At the very time when the evening incense was being offered in the house of God in Jerusalem, Judith cried out to the Lord with a loud voice, and said, "Your strength does not depend on numbers, nor your might on the powerful. But you are the God of the lowly, helper of the oppressed, upholder of the weak, protector of the forsaken, savior of those without hope. Please, please, God of my father, God of the heritage of Israel, Lord of heaven and earth, Creator of the waters, King of all your creation, hear my prayer! Make my deceitful words bring wound and bruise on those who have planned cruel things against your covenant, and against your sacred house, and against Mount Zion, and against the house your children possess. Let your whole nation and every tribe know and understand that you are God, the God of all power and might, and that there is no other who protects the people of Israel but you alone!"
The love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them.
From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.
Psalm 42:1-7
1 As the deer longs for the water brooks, *
so longs my soul for you, O God.
2 My soul is athirst for God, even for the living God; *
when shall I come before the presence of God?
3 My tears have been my bread day and night, *
while all day long they say to me, ‘Where is now your God?’
4 Now when I think on these things, I pour out my soul: *
how I went with the multitude
and led the procession to the house of God,
5 With the voice of praise and thanksgiving, *
among those who kept holy day.
6 Why are you so full of heaviness, O my soul, *
and why are you so disquieted within me?
7 O put your trust in God; *
for I will yet give him thanks,
who is the help of my countenance, and my God.
But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ She said to them, ‘They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.’ When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbouni!’ (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, ‘Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”’ Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord’; and she told them that he had said these things to her.
Morning Prayer
Psalm 116
1 I love the Lord,
for he has heard the voice of my supplication; *
because he inclined his ear to me
on the day I called to him.
2 The snares of death encompassed me;
the pains of hell took hold of me; *
by grief and sorrow was I held.
3 Then I called upon the name of the Lord: *
‘O Lord, I beg you, deliver my soul.’
4 Gracious is the Lord and righteous; *
our God is full of compassion.
5 The Lord watches over the simple; *
I was brought very low and he saved me.
6 Turn again to your rest, O my soul, *
for the Lord has been gracious to you.
7 For you have delivered my soul from death, *
my eyes from tears and my feet from falling.
8 I will walk before the Lord *
in the land of the living.
9 I believed that I should perish
for I was sorely troubled; *
and I said in my alarm,
‘Everyone is a liar.’
10 How shall I repay the Lord *
for all the benefits he has given to me?
11 I will lift up the cup of salvation *
and call upon the name of the Lord.
12 I will fulfil my vows to the Lord *
in the presence of all his people.
13 Precious in the sight of the Lord *
is the death of his faithful servants.
14 O Lord, I am your servant, *
your servant, the child of your handmaid;
you have freed me from my bonds.
15 I will offer to you a sacrifice of thanksgiving *
and call upon the name of the Lord.
16 I will fulfil my vows to the Lord *
in the presence of all his people,
17 In the courts of the house of the Lord, *
in the midst of you, O Jerusalem.
Alleluia.
Zephaniah 3:14-20
Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem! The LORD has taken away the judgments against you, he has turned away your enemies. The king of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; you shall fear disaster no more. On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands grow weak. The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing as on a day of festival. I will remove disaster from you, so that you will not bear reproach for it. I will deal with all your oppressors at that time. And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth. At that time I will bring you home, at the time when I gather you; for I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes, says the LORD.
Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last.
And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.
Now when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, ‘Truly this man was God’s Son!’
There were also women looking on from a distance; among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome.
These used to follow him and provided for him when he was in Galilee; and there were many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem.
When evening had come, and since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath,
Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.
Then Pilate wondered if he were already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he had been dead for some time.
When he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the body to Joseph.
Then Joseph bought a linen cloth, and taking down the body, wrapped it in the linen cloth, and laid it in a tomb that had been hewn out of the rock. He then rolled a stone against the door of the tomb.
Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where the body was laid.
When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him.
And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb.
They had been saying to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?’
When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back.
As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.
But he said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him.
But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.’
Evening Prayer
Psalm 30, 149
1 I will exalt you, O Lord,
because you have raised me up *
and have not let my foes triumph over me.
2 O Lord my God, I cried out to you *
and you have healed me.
3 You brought me up, O Lord, from the dead; *
you restored me to life from among those that go down to the Pit.
4 Sing to the Lord, you servants of his; *
give thanks to his holy name.
5 For his wrath endures but the twinkling of an eye,
his favour for a lifetime. *
Heaviness may endure for a night,
but joy comes in the morning.
6 In my prosperity I said,
‘I shall never be moved. *
You, Lord, of your goodness,
have made my hill so strong.’
7 Then you hid your face from me *
and I was utterly dismayed.
8 To you, O Lord, I cried; *
to the Lord I made my supplication:
9 ‘What profit is there in my blood,
if I go down to the Pit? *
Will the dust praise you or declare your faithfulness?
10 ‘Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me; *
O Lord, be my helper.’
11 You have turned my mourning into dancing; *
you have put off my sackcloth and girded me with gladness;
12 Therefore my heart sings to you without ceasing; *
O Lord my God, I will give you thanks for ever.
1 Alleluia.
O sing to the Lord a new song; *
sing his praise in the congregation of the faithful.
2 Let Israel rejoice in their maker; *
let the children of Zion be joyful in their king.
3 Let them praise his name in the dance; *
let them sing praise to him with timbrel and lyre.
4 For the Lord has pleasure in his people *
and adorns the poor with salvation.
5 Let the faithful be joyful in glory; *
let them rejoice in their ranks,
6 With the praises of God in their mouths *
and a two-edged sword in their hands;
7 To execute vengeance on the nations *
and punishment on the peoples;
8 To bind their kings in chains *
and their nobles with fetters of iron;
9 To execute on them the judgement decreed: *
such honour have all his faithful servants.
Alleluia.
When the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his chariot drivers went into the sea, the LORD brought back the waters of the sea upon them; but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground. Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand; and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with dancing. And Miriam sang to them: ‘Sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.’
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation, who consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ are abundant for us, so also our consolation is abundant through Christ. If we are being afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation; if we are being consoled, it is for your consolation, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we are also suffering.
Our hope for you is unshaken; for we know that as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our consolation.