Weekly Bulletin for Sunday, February 07, 2010

The Second Sunday before Lent

Divine Office

Order of service for Morning and Evening Prayer.

Services and Events

Opening Prayer

Almighty God,
you have created the heavens and the earth
and made us in your own image:
teach us to discern your hand in all your works
and your likeness in all your children;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who with you and the Holy Spirit
reigns supreme over all things,
now and for ever.

First Reading

Genesis 2.4b-9, 15-25
A reading from the book of Genesis.

4 In the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,
5 when no plant of the field was yet in the earth
and no herb of the field had yet sprung up –
for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth,
and there was no one to till the ground;
6 but a stream would rise from the earth,
and water the whole face of the ground –
7 then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground,
and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life;
and the man became a living being.
8 And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east;
and there he put the man whom he had formed.
9 Out of the ground the LORD God made to grow every tree
that is pleasant to the sight and good for food,
the tree of life also in the midst of the garden,
and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
15 The LORD God took the man
and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.
16 And the LORD God commanded the man,
‘You may freely eat of every tree of the garden;
17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat,
for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.’
18 Then the LORD God said,
‘It is not good that the man should be alone;
I will make him a helper as his partner.’
19 So out of the ground the LORD God formed every animal of the field
and every bird of the air,
and brought them to the man to see what he would call them;
and whatever the man called every living creature,
that was its name.
20 The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air,
and to every animal of the field;
but for the man there was not found a helper as his partner.
21 So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man,
and he slept;
then he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh.
22 And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man
he made into a woman and brought her to the man.
23 Then the man said,
‘This at last is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
this one shall be called Woman,
for out of Man this one was taken.’
24 Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife,
and they become one flesh.
25 And the man and his wife were both naked, and were not ashamed.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 65
R You crown the year with goodness.

1 You are to be praised, O God, in Zion;
to you shall vows be performed in Jerusalem.
2 To you that hear prayer shall all flesh come,
because of their transgressions.
3 Our sins are stronger than we are,
but you will blot them out. R
4 Happy are they whom you choose
and draw to your courts to dwell there!
they will be satisfied by the beauty of your house,
by the holiness of your temple.
5 Awesome things will you show us in your righteousness,
O God of our salvation,
O Hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the seas that are far away. R
6 You make fast the mountains by your power;
they are girded about with might.
7 You still the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
and the clamour of the peoples. R
8 Those who dwell at the ends of the earth
will tremble at your marvellous signs;
you make the dawn and the dusk to sing for joy.
9 You visit the earth and water it abundantly;
you make it very plenteous;
the river of God is full of water. R
10 You prepare the grain,
for so you provide for the earth.
11 You drench the furrows and smooth out the ridges;
with heavy rain you soften the ground
and bless its increase.
12 You crown the year with your goodness,
and your paths overflow with plenty. R
13 May the fields of the wilderness be rich for grazing,
and the hills be clothed with joy.
14 May the meadows cover themselves with flocks
and the valleys cloak themselves with grain;
let them shout for joy and sing. R

Second Reading

Revelation 4
A reading from the book of Revelation.

1 After this I looked,
and there in heaven a door stood open!
And the first voice,
which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said,
‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.’
2 At once I was in the spirit,
and there in heaven stood a throne,
with one seated on the throne!
3 And the one seated there looks like jasper and carnelian,
and around the throne is a rainbow that looks like an emerald.
4 Around the throne are twenty-four thrones,
and seated on the thrones are twenty-four elders,
dressed in white robes, with golden crowns on their heads.
5 Coming from the throne are flashes of lightning,
and rumblings and peals of thunder,
and in front of the throne burn seven flaming torches,
which are the seven spirits of God;
6 and in front of the throne there is something like a sea of glass, like crystal.
Around the throne, and on each side of the throne,
are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind:
7 the first living creature like a lion,
the second living creature like an ox,
the third living creature with a face like a human face,
and the fourth living creature like a flying eagle.
8 And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings,
are full of eyes all around and inside.
Day and night without ceasing they sing,
‘Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God the Almighty,
who was and is and is to come.’
9 And whenever the living creatures give glory and honour and thanks
to the one who is seated on the throne, who lives for ever and ever,
10 the twenty-four elders fall before the one who is seated on the throne
and worship the one who lives for ever and ever;
they cast their crowns before the throne, singing,
11 ‘You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honour and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were created.’

Gospel

Luke 8.22-25
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.

22 One day Jesus got into a boat with his disciples,
and he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side of the lake.’
So they put out,
23 and while they were sailing he fell asleep.
A gale swept down on the lake,
and the boat was filling with water, and they were in danger.
24 They went to him and woke him up, shouting,
‘Master, Master, we are perishing!’
And he woke up and rebuked the wind and the raging waves;
they ceased, and there was a calm.
25 He said to them, ‘Where is your faith?’
They were afraid and amazed, and said to one another,
‘Who then is this,
that he commands even the winds and the water,
and they obey him?’

Closing Prayer

God our creator,
by your gift
the tree of life was set at the heart of the earthly paradise,
and the bread of life at the heart of your Church:
may we who have been nourished at your table on earth
be transformed by the glory of the Saviour’s cross
and enjoy the delights of eternity;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.