25 February, 2024, 10.30
To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints:
Grace to you, and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 1:7)
Celebrant & Preacher: The Rt. Rev. Mark D. W. Edington
Assisting Priest: The Rev. Dr. Francisco Alberca
St. Paul’s Choir
Organist: Stefano Vasselli
The readings are taken from the New Revised Standard version of the Bible; the Psalms follow the Book of Common Prayer.
This service will be live-streamed on YouTube.
Prelude
Maurice Duruflé (1902 – 1986)
Prelude (from Suite op. 5)
Words of Welcome
Hymn
The God of Abram praise
Leoni
The God of Abraham praise,
who reigns enthroned above;
Ancient of everlasting days,
and God of love;
the Lord, the great I AM,
by earth and heaven confessed:
we bow and bless the sacred Name
for ever blest.
He by himself hath sworn:
we on his oath depend;
we shall, on eagle-wings upborne,
to heaven ascend:
we shall behold his face,
we shall his power adore,
and sing the wonders of his grace
for evermore.
There dwells the Lord, our King,
the Lord, our Righteousness,
triumphant o’er the world and sin,
the Prince of Peace;
on Zion’s sacred height
his kingdom he maintains,
and, glorious with his saints in light,
for ever reigns.
The God who reigns on high
the great archangels sing,
and ‘Holy, holy, holy,’ cry,
‘Almighty King!
Who was, and is, the same,
and evermore shall be:
eternal Father, great I AM,
we worship thee.’
The whole triumphant host
give thanks to God on high;
‘Hail, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!’
they ever cry;
hail, Abraham’s Lord divine!
With heaven our songs we raise;
all might and majesty are thine,
and endless praise.
- Thomas Olivers (1725-1799)
A Pentitential Order
Kneel, stand or sit as you are able.
Blessed be the God of our salvation:
Who bears our burdens and forgives our sins.
Jesus said, “The first commandment is this: Hear, O Israel: The Lord your God is the only Lord. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.”
(Mark 12:29-31)
Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.
Most merciful God,
we confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us and forgive us;
that we may delight in your will,
and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your Name. Amen.
Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you all your sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen you in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life. Amen.
Kyrie
Cantor, then all:
Kyrie eleison. Kyrie eleison.
Christe eleison. Christe eleison.
Kyrie eleison. Kyrie eleison.
The Collect of the Day
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray.
O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious to all who have gone astray from your ways, and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of your Word, Jesus Christ your Son; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
All are seated for the readings and the psalm.
The First Lesson
Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16
A reading from Genesis.
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless. And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will make you exceedingly numerous.” Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to him, “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.
God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall give rise to nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.”
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
The Psalm
Psalm 22:22-30
Deus, Deus meus
All sing the Antiphon with the Choir.
We beheld him despised and rejected, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.
22 Praise the Lord, you that fear him; *
stand in awe of him, O offspring of Israel; all you of Jacob’s line, give glory.
23 For he does not despise nor abhor the poor in their poverty;
neither does he hide his face from them; *
but when they cry to him he hears them. [Refrain]
24 My praise is of him in the great assembly; *
I will perform my vows in the presence of those who worship him.
25 The poor shall eat and be satisfied, and those who seek the Lord shall praise him: *
“May your heart live for ever!” [Refrain]
26 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, *
and all the families of the nations shall bow before him.
27 For kingship belongs to the Lord; *
he rules over the nations. [Refrain]
28 To him alone all who sleep in the earth bow down in worship; *
all who go down to the dust fall before him.
29 My soul shall live for him; my descendants shall serve him; *
they shall be known as the Lord’s for ever.
30 They shall come and make known to a people yet unborn *
the saving deeds that he has done. [Refrain]
The Second Lesson
Romans 4:13-25
A reading from the first letter of Peter.
For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation. For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”) —in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become “the father of many nations,” according to what was said, “So numerous shall your descendants be.” He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. Therefore his faith “was reckoned to him as righteousness.” Now the words, “it was reckoned to him,” were written not for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification.
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Hymn
My faith looks up to thee
Olivet
All stand and sing.
My faith looks up to thee,
thou Lamb of Calvary,
Savior divine!
Now hear me while I pray,
take all my guilt away;
O let me from this day
be wholly thine.
May thy rich grace impart
strength to my fainting heart,
my zeal inspire;
as thou hast died for me,
O may my love to thee
pure, warm, and changeless be,
a living fire.
While life’s dark maze I tread,
and griefs around me spread,
be thou my guide;
bid darkness turn to day;
wipe sorrow’s tears away,
nor let me ever stray
from thee aside.
- Ray Palmer (1808-1887)
The Gospel
Mark 8:31-38
The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark.
Glory to you, Lord Christ.
Jesus began to teach his disciples that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”
He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Christ.
The Sermon
The Rt. Rev. Mark D. W. Edington
The Nicene Creed
All stand, and say together:
We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
The Prayers of the People
In the pauses please add your personal prayers and thanksgivings, aloud or in silence.
We are in awe of you and your promises.
Help us set our minds on you.
Your world is aching for healing. Make us good stewards of your creation, Lord. Grant our governments and our leaders in the courts compassion and wisdom.
Pause.
Have mercy upon us.
Set our minds on you.
Your church is reaching for you. Help us to extend our reach to all whom you love. We pray for the Commission on the Ministry of the Baptized, and its Chair, The Rev. Ali Gray; and we pray for all Postulants and Candidates for Holy Orders.
Pause.
Have mercy upon us.
Set our minds on you.
Your people are being born, are ill, are both anxious and joyous. They are hungry and cold and don’t know where to turn. They bend under the weight of their lives and rejoice in your life-giving love. Enable us to bring them your healing and fullness of life.
Pause.
Have mercy upon us.
Set our minds on you.
The Peace
All stand
The peace of the Lord be always with you.
And also with you.
We remain in our places as we take this time to greet all those around us in the name of peace and reconciliation.
Announcements
The Offertory
The greeters will pass among you to take up your financial offerings.
If you prefer to make a donation online or by credit card follow this link. For information on other ways to give, please visit www.stpaulsrome.it/donate.
Offertory Music
H. Isaac (1450 -1517)
Oculi Mei
The Great Thanksgiving
Eucharistic Prayer 2 (EOW1)
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give him thanks and praise.
We praise you and we bless you, holy and gracious God, source of life abundant. From before time you made ready the creation. Your Spirit moved over the deep and brought all things into being: sun, moon, and stars; earth, winds, and waters; and every living thing. You made us in your image, and taught us to walk in your ways. But we rebelled against you, and wandered far away; and yet, as a mother cares for her children, you would not forget us. Time and again you called us to live in the fullness of your love. And so this day we join with Saints and Angels in the chorus of praise that rings through eternity, lifting our voices to magnify you as we sing:
Sanctus
All sing together.
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
Stand or kneel after the Sanctus
Glory and honor and praise to you, holy and living God. To deliver us from the power of sin and death and to reveal the riches of your grace, you looked with favor upon Mary, your willing servant, that she might conceive and bear a son, Jesus the holy child of God. Living among us, Jesus loved us. He broke bread with outcasts and sinners, healed the sick, and proclaimed good news to the poor. He yearned to draw all the world to himself yet we were heedless of his call to walk in love. Then, the time came for him to complete upon the cross the sacrifice of his life, and to be glorified by you.
On the night before he died for us, Jesus was at table with his friends. He took bread, gave thanks to you, broke it, and gave it to them, and said: “Take, eat: This is my Body, which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me.”
As supper was ending, Jesus took the cup of wine. Again, he gave thanks to you, gave it to them, and said: “Drink this, all of you: This is my Blood of the new Covenant, which is poured out for you and for all for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this for the remembrance of me.”
Now gathered at your table, O God of all creation, and remembering Christ, crucified and risen, who was and is and is to come, we offer to you our gifts of bread and wine, and ourselves, a living sacrifice.
Pour out your Spirit upon these gifts that they may be the Body and Blood of Christ. Breathe your Spirit over the whole earth and make us your new creation, the Body of Christ given for the world you have made. In the fullness of time bring us, with St. Paul and all your saints, from every tribe and language and people and nation, to feast at the banquet prepared from the foundation of the world.
Through Christ and with Christ and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, to you be honor, glory, and praise, for ever and ever. AMEN.
The Lord’s Prayer
And now, as our Savior Christ has taught us, we are bold to say,
We invite you to pray in your own languages.
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,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
The Breaking of the Bread
Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us;
Therefore let us keep the feast.
Agnus Dei
All sing together.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world: have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world: have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world: grant us peace.
The Ministration of Communion
The gifts of God for the people of God.
All baptized Christians of any denomination are invited to come forward to participate fully in Communion. Baptized children may receive at the discretion of their parents.
If you do not wish to take communion you may come forward for a blessing,
indicated by crossing your arms over your chest. Gluten-free communion wafers are available;
please raise your hand at the altar rail to receive one.
Communion Music
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525 – 1594)
Ego sum Panis Vivus
Post Communion Prayer
Let us pray.
Eternal God, heavenly Father,
you have graciously accepted us as living members
of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ,
and you have fed us with spiritual food
in the Sacrament of his Body and Blood.
Send us now into the world in peace,
and grant us strength and courage
to love and serve you
with gladness and singleness of heart;
through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Solemn Prayer
Bow down before the Lord.
Keep this your family, Lord, with your never-failing mercy, that relying solely on the help of your heavenly grace, they may be upheld by your divine protection; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Recessional Hymn
Take up your cross, the Savior said
Bourbon
All sing together.
Take up your cross, the Savior said,
if you would my disciple be;
take up your cross with willing heart,
and humbly follow after me.
Take up your cross, let not its weight
fill your weak spirit with alarm;
his strength shall bear your spirit up,
and brace your heart, and nerve your arm.
Take up your cross, heed not the shame,
and let your foolish heart be still;
the Lord for you accepted death
upon a cross, on Calvary’s hill.
Take up your cross, then, in his strength,
and calmly every danger brave:
it guides you to abundant life
and leads to victory o’er the grave.
Take up your cross, and follow Christ,
nor think till death to lay it down;
for only those who bear the cross
may hope to wear the glorious crown.
- Charles William Everest (1814-1877)
The Dismissal
Let us bless the Lord!
Benediciamo il Signore!
Rendiamo grazie a Dio! Thanks be to God!
Postlude
Maurice Duruflé (1902 – 1986)
Toccata (from Suite op. 5)