INTROIT: Ps. 25:16,18; Ps. 25:1-2a
(Antiphon) Turn Yourself to me, and have mercy on me, For I am desolate and afflicted. Look on my affliction and my pain, And forgive all my sins.
To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul.
O my God, I trust in You; Let me not be ashamed.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
COLLECT
O God, the Protector of all who trust in You, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy, increase and multiply upon us Your mercy that, with You as our Ruler and Guide, we may so pass through things temporal that we finally lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
OLD TESTAMENT READING: Micah 7:18-20
18 Who is a God like You,
Pardoning iniquity
And passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage?
He does not retain His anger forever,
Because He delights in mercy.
19 He will again have compassion on us,
And will subdue our iniquities.
You will cast all our sins
Into the depths of the sea.
20 You will give truth to Jacob
And mercy to Abraham,
Which You have sworn to our fathers
From days of old. (NKJV)
GRADUAL: Ps. 55:22a,16,18a
Cast your burden on the LORD, And He shall sustain you;
As for me, I will call upon God, And the LORD shall save me.
He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me.
EPISTLE READING: 1 Peter 5:6-11
6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. 10 But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. 11 To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. (NKJV)
VERSE: Ps. 18:1-2a
Alleluia. Alleluia. I will love You, O LORD, my strength.
The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer. Alleluia.
HOLY GOSPEL: Luke 15:1-10
1 Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. 2 And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.” 3 So He spoke this parable to them, saying:
4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ 7 I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.
8 “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!’ 10 Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (NKJV)
