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10.38pm on Tuesday 25 November 2025

Morning Prayer (Matins) in Traditional Language

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   Morning Prayer from
    The Book of Common Prayer
    Tuesday, 25 November 2025
Catherine of Alexandria, Virgin, Martyr, 4th century
  The introduction to the service is used on Sundays, and may be used on any occasion. If the Introduction is not used, the service begins with the opening responses.
  Introduction
   
  The minister may use a seasonal sentence before using one or more of the penitential sentences.
   
  The minister introduces the service
     
    Dearly beloved [brethren],
    the Scripture moveth us in sundry places to acknowledge
       and confess our manifold sins and wickedness;
     
    [and that we should not dissemble nor cloak them before
       the face of almighty God our heavenly Father;
    but confess them with an humble, lowly, penitent and
       obedient heart;
    to the end that we may obtain forgiveness of the same
       by his infinite goodness and mercy.
    And although we ought at all times humbly to acknowledge
       our sins before God;
    yet ought we most chiefly so to do,
    when we assemble and meet together
    to render thanks for the great benefits that we have
       received at his hands,
    to set forth his most worthy praise,
    to hear his most holy word,
    and to ask those things which are requisite and necessary,
    as well for the body as the soul.]
     
    Wherefore I pray and beseech you,
    as many as are here present,
    to accompany me with a pure heart, and humble voice,
    unto the throne of the heavenly grace, saying [after me]:
     
    (or)
     
    Beloved, we are come together in the presence of almighty God and of the whole company of heaven to offer unto him through our Lord Jesus Christ our worship and praise and thanksgiving; to make confession of our sins; to pray, as well for others as for ourselves, that we may know more truly the greatness of God's love and shew forth in our lives the fruits of his grace; and to ask on behalf of all men such things as their well-being doth require.
     
    Wherefore let us kneel in silence, and remember God's presence with us now.
   
All
   Almighty and most merciful Father,
    we have erred, and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep.
    We have followed too much the devices and desires
       of our own hearts.
    We have offended against thy holy laws.
    We have left undone those things
       which we ought to have done;
    and we have done those things
         which we ought not to have done;
    and there is no health in us.
    But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us, miserable offenders.
    Spare thou them, O God, which confess their faults.
    Restore thou them that are penitent;
    according to thy promises declared unto mankind
       in Christ Jesu our Lord.
    And grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake,
    that we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life,
    to the glory of thy holy name.
  Amen.
   
  A priest says
     
    Almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
    who desireth not the death of a sinner,
    but rather that he may turn from his wickedness and live;
    and hath given power, and commandment, to his ministers
    to declare and pronounce to his people, being penitent,
    the absolution and remission of their sins:
    he pardoneth and absolveth all them that truly repent
       and unfeignedly believe his holy gospel.
    Wherefore let us beseech him to grant us true repentance,
       and his Holy Spirit,
    that those things may please him which we do at this present;
    and that the rest of our life hereafter may be pure and holy;
    so that at the last we may come to his eternal joy;
    through Jesus Christ our Lord.
All
   Amen.
   
  or other ministers may say
     
    Grant, we beseech thee, merciful Lord,
    to thy faithful people pardon and peace,
    that they may be cleansed from all their sins,
    and serve thee with a quiet mind;
    through Jesus Christ our Lord.
All
   Amen.
   
All
   Our Father, which art in heaven,
    hallowed be thy name;
    thy kingdom come;
    thy will be done,
    in earth as it is in heaven.
    Give us this day our daily bread.
    And forgive us our trespasses,
  as we forgive them that 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.
  Morning Prayer
   
  The introduction to the service is used on Sundays, and may be used on any occasion. If the Introduction is not used, the service begins with the opening responses.
   
  These responses are used
     
    O Lord, open thou our lips
All
   and our mouth shall shew forth thy praise.
     
    O God, make speed to save us.
All
   O Lord, make haste to help us.
     
    Glory be to the Father, and to the Son,
    and to the Holy Ghost;
All
   as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
    world without end. Amen.
     
    Praise ye the Lord.
All
   The Lord's name be praised.
     
Venite, exultemus Domino  
     
1
   O come, let us sing unto the Lord :
    let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our salvation.
     
2
   Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving :
    and shew ourselves glad in him with psalms.
     
3
   For the Lord is a great God :
    and a great King above all gods.
     
4
   In his hand are all the corners of the earth :
    and the strength of the hills is his also.
     
5
   The sea is his, and he made it :
    and his hands prepared the dry land.
     
6
   O come, let us worship, and fall down :
    and kneel before the Lord our Maker.
     
7
   For he is the Lord our God :
    and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.
     
[8
   Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts :
    as in the provocation,
         and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness;
     
9
   When your fathers tempted me :
    proved me, and saw my works.
     
10
   Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said :
    It is a people that do err in their hearts,
       for they have not known my ways.
     
11
   Unto whom I sware in my wrath :
    that they should not enter into my rest.]
   
Psalm 95
     
    Glory be to the Father, and to the Son :
    and to the Holy Ghost;
    as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be :
    world without end. Amen.
     
Psalmody  
   

Psalm 119.33-72

  
 

  
33
 Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes *
 and I shall keep it unto the end.
  
 
  
34
 Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law *
 yea, I shall keep it with my whole heart.
  
 
  
35
 Make me to go in the path of thy commandments *
 for therein is my desire.
  
 
  
36
 Incline my heart unto thy testimonies *
 and not to covetousness.
  
 
  
37
 O turn away mine eyes, lest they behold vanity *
 and quicken thou me in thy way.
  
 
  
38
 O stablish thy word in thy servant *
 that I may fear thee.
  
 
  
39
 Take away the rebuke that I am afraid of *
 for thy judgements are good.
  
 
  
40
 Behold, my delight is in thy commandments *
 O quicken me in thy righteousness.
  
 
  
41
 Let thy loving mercy come also unto me, O Lord *
 even thy salvation, according unto thy word.
  
 
  
42
 So shall I make answer unto my blasphemers *
 for my trust is in thy word.
  
 
  
43
 O take not the word of thy truth utterly out of my mouth *
 for my hope is in thy judgements.
  
 
  
44
 So shall I alway keep thy law *
 yea, for ever and ever.
  
 
  
45
 And I will walk at liberty *
 for I seek thy commandments.
  
 
  
46
 I will speak of thy testimonies also, even before kings *
 and will not be ashamed.
  
 
  
47
 And my delight shall be in thy commandments *
 which I have loved.
  
 
  
48
 My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments, which I have loved *
 and my study shall be in thy statutes.
  
 
  
49
 O think upon thy servant, as concerning thy word *
 wherein thou hast caused me to put my trust.
  
 
  
50
 The same is my comfort in my trouble *
 for thy word hath quickened me.
  
 
  
51
 The proud have had me exceedingly in derision *
 yet have I not shrinked from thy law.
  
 
  
52
 For I remembered thine everlasting judgements, O Lord *
 and received comfort.
  
 
  
53
 I am horribly afraid *
 for the ungodly that forsake thy law.
  
 
  
54
 Thy statutes have been my songs *
 in the house of my pilgrimage.
  
 
  
55
 I have thought upon thy Name, O Lord, in the night-season *
 and have kept thy law.
  
 
  
56
 This I had *
 because I kept thy commandments.
  
 
  
57
 Thou art my portion, O Lord *
 I have promised to keep thy law.
  
 
  
58
 I made my humble petition in thy presence with my whole heart *
 O be merciful unto me, according to thy word.
  
 
  
59
 I called mine own ways to remembrance *
 and turned my feet unto thy testimonies.
  
 
  
60
 I made haste, and prolonged not the time *
 to keep thy commandments.
  
 
  
61
 The congregations of the ungodly have robbed me *
 but I have not forgotten thy law.
  
 
  
62
 At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee *
 because of thy righteous judgements.
  
 
  
63
 I am a companion of all them that fear thee *
 and keep thy commandments.
  
 
  
64
 The earth, O Lord, is full of thy mercy *
 O teach me thy statutes.
  
 
  
65
 O Lord, thou hast dealt graciously with thy servant *
 according unto thy word.
  
 
  
66
 O learn me true understanding and knowledge *
 for I have believed thy commandments.
  
 
  
67
 Before I was troubled, I went wrong *
 but now have I kept thy word.
  
 
  
68
 Thou art good and gracious *
 O teach me thy statutes.
  
 
  
69
 The proud have imagined a lie against me *
 but I will keep thy commandments with my whole heart.
  
 
  
70
 Their heart is as fat as brawn *
 but my delight hath been in thy law.
  
 
  
71
 It is good for me that I have been in trouble *
 that I may learn thy statutes.
  
 
  
72
 The law of thy mouth is dearer unto me *
 than thousands of gold and silver.
  
 
   
  At the end of each psalm these words are said or sung
   
  Glory be to the Father, and to the Son :
  and to the Holy Ghost;
  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be :
  world without end. Amen.
   
  Old Testament Reading  
   

First Reading: Isaiah 17

The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
 The cities of Aroer are forsaken: they shall be for flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid.
 The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria: they shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, saith the Lord of hosts.
 And in that day it shall come to pass, that the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean.
 And it shall be as when the harvestman gathereth the corn, and reapeth the ears with his arm; and it shall be as he that gathereth ears in the valley of Rephaim.
 Yet gleaning grapes shall be left in it, as the shaking of an olive tree, two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the outmost fruitful branches thereof, saith the Lord God of Israel.
 At that day shall a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel.
 And he shall not look to the altars, the work of his hands, neither shall respect that which his fingers have made, either the groves, or the images.
 In that day shall his strong cities be as a forsaken bough, and an uppermost branch, which they left because of the children of Israel: and there shall be desolation.
 Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength, therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants, and shalt set it with strange slips:
 In the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish: but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow.
 Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations, that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!
 The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.
 And behold at eveningtide trouble; and before the morning he is not. This is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us.

   
  Te Deum Laudamus  
   
  Either the Te Deum Laudamus (as follows) or Benedicite, omnia opera is said or sung.
   
  We praise thee, O God; we acknowledge thee to be the Lord.
  All the earth doth worship thee, the Father everlasting.
  To thee all angels cry aloud, the heavens and all the powers therein.
  To thee cherubin and seraphin continually do cry,
  Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Sabaoth;
  Heaven and earth are full of the majesty of thy glory.
  The glorious company of the apostles praise thee.
  The goodly fellowship of the prophets praise thee.
  The noble army of martyrs praise thee.
  The holy Church throughout all the world doth acknowledge thee:
  the Father of an infinite majesty;
  thine honourable, true and only Son;
  also the Holy Ghost the Comforter.
   
  Thou art the King of glory, O Christ.
  Thou art the everlasting Son of the Father.
  When thou tookest upon thee to deliver man,
       thou didst not abhor the Virgin's womb.
  When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death,
       thou didst open the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
  Thou sittest at the right hand of God, in the glory of the Father.
  We believe that thou shalt come to be our judge.
  We therefore pray thee, help thy servants,
       whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood.
  Make them to be numbered with thy saints in glory everlasting.
   
  O Lord, save thy people and bless thine heritage.
  Govern them and lift them up for ever.
  Day by day we magnify thee;
  and we worship thy name, ever world without end.
  Vouchsafe, O Lord, to keep us this day without sin.
  O Lord, have mercy upon us, have mercy upon us.
  O Lord, let thy mercy lighten upon us, as our trust is in thee.
  O Lord, in thee have I trusted; let me never be confounded.
   
  New Testament Reading  
   

Second Reading: Matthew 9.35 - 10.15

And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.
 But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.
 Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;
 Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.

 

And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.

Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;
 Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;
 Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.
 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:
 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.
 Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses,
 Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat.
 And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, enquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence.
 And when ye come into an house, salute it.
 And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.
 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.
 Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.

   
  Benedictus  
   
  Either The Benedictus (as follows) or Jubilate Deo (Psalm 100) is said or sung.
   
 
1
   Blessed be the Lord God of Israel :
  for he hath visited, and redeemed his people;
   
 
2
   And hath raised up a mighty salvation for us :
  in the house of his servant David;
   
 
3
   As he spake by the mouth of his holy Prophets :
  which have been since the world began;
   
 
4
   That we should be saved from our enemies :
  and from the hands of all that hate us;
   
 
5
   To perform the mercy promised to our forefathers :
      and to remember his holy covenant;
       
 
6
   To perform the oath which he sware to our forefather Abraham :
      that he would give us,
       
 
7
   That we being delivered out of the hands of our enemies :
      might serve him without fear,
       
 
8
   In holiness and righteousness before him :
      all the days of our life.
       
 
9
   And thou, child, shalt be called the Prophet of the Highest :
      for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;
       
 
10
   To give knowledge of salvation unto his people :
      for the remission of their sins;
       
 
11
   Through the tender mercy of our God :
      whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us;
       
 
12
   To give light to them that sit in darkness,
         and in the shadow of death :
      and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
     
Luke 1.68-79
   
  Glory be to the Father, and to the Son :
  and to the Holy Ghost;
  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be :
  world without end. Amen.
   
  The Apostles' Creed  
   
All
   I believe in God the Father almighty,
    maker of heaven and earth:
  and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord,
    who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
    born of the Virgin Mary,
    suffered under Pontius Pilate,
    was crucified, dead, and buried.
    He descended into hell;
    the third day he rose again from the dead;
    he ascended into heaven,
    and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father almighty;
    from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
    I believe in the Holy Ghost;
    the holy catholic Church;
    the communion of saints;
    the forgiveness of sins;
    the resurrection of the body,
    and the life everlasting.
    Amen.
     
  Prayers  
     
    The Lord be with you.
All
   And with thy spirit.
     
    Let us pray.
     
    Lord, have mercy upon us.
All
   Christ, have mercy upon us.
    Lord, have mercy upon us.
     
All
   Our Father, which art in heaven,
    hallowed be thy name;
    thy kingdom come;
    thy will be done,
    in earth as it is in heaven.
    Give us this day our daily bread.
    And forgive us our trespasses,
    as we forgive them that trespass against us.
    And lead us not into temptation;
    but deliver us from evil. Amen.
     
    O Lord, shew thy mercy upon us.
All
   And grant us thy salvation.
     
    O Lord, save the King.
All
   And mercifully hear us when we call upon thee.
     
    Endue thy ministers with righteousness.
All
   And make thy chosen people joyful.
     
    O Lord, save thy people.
All
   And bless thine inheritance.
     
    Give peace in our time, O Lord.
All
   Because there is none other that fighteth for us,
  but only thou, O God.
     
    O God, make clean our hearts within us.
All
   And take not thy Holy Spirit from us.
     
  Three Collects are said.
     
The Collect of the Day  
     
    Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may of thee be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
All
   Amen.
     
     
The Collect for Peace  
     
    O God, who art the author of peace and lover of concord,
    in knowledge of whom standeth our eternal life,
    whose service is perfect freedom;
    defend us thy humble servants in all assaults of our enemies;
    that we, surely trusting in thy defence,
    may not fear the power of any adversaries;
    through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord.
All
   Amen.
     
The Collect for Grace  
     
    O Lord, our heavenly Father,
    almighty and everlasting God,
    who hast safely brought us to the beginning of this day;
    defend us in the same with thy mighty power;
    and grant that this day we fall into no sin,
    neither run into any kind of danger,
    but that all our doings may be ordered by thy governance,
    to do always that is righteous in thy sight;
    through Jesus Christ our Lord.
All
   Amen.
     
  The order for the end of the service may include:
     
  hymns or anthems
    a sermon
    further prayers (which may include prayers from here)
     
  This prayer may be used to conclude the service
     
    The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
    and the love of God,
    and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost,
    be with us all evermore.
All
   Amen.
   
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