Rogationtide

OFFICE FOR THE CIRCUIT OF A PARISH IN ROGATIONTIDE

A short homily or sermon shall be said according to the discretion of the Priest.

When the Priest, Clerks, and people are assembled, the priest shall say the following.

Dearly beloved, let us beseech God the Father Almighty to purify the world from all errors, to repel diseases, avert famine, loose captives, break the chains, grant safe return to travellers, health to the sick, a sure haven to those at sea, to give peace in our days, to drive back our enemies who rise against us, and to deliver us from the hand of the evil one, for His Name's sake. Alleluia.

As they proceed to the Church Psalms 44 shall be sung, the Priest saying the Antiphon.

Stand

Ant. O Lord, arise, help us.

Psalm 44

1 O God, we have heard with our ears,

our fathers have told us,

what deeds you performed in their days,

in the days of old:

2 you with your own hand drove out the nations,

but them you planted;

you afflicted the peoples,

but them you set free;

3 for not by their own sword did they win the land,

nor did their own arm save them,

but your right hand and your arm,

and the light of your face,

for you delighted in them.

4 You are my King, O God;

ordain salvation for Jacob!

5 Through you we push down our foes;

through your name we tread down those who rise up against us.

6 For not in my bow do I trust,

nor can my sword save me.

7 But you have saved us from our foes

and have put to shame those who hate us.

8 In God we have boasted continually,

and we will give thanks to your name forever. Selah

9 But you have rejected us and disgraced us

and have not gone out with our armies.

10 You have made us turn back from the foe,

and those who hate us have gotten spoil.

11 You have made us like sheep for slaughter

and have scattered us among the nations.

12 You have sold your people for a trifle,

demanding no high price for them.

13 You have made us the taunt of our neighbors,

the derision and scorn of those around us.

14 You have made us a byword among the nations,

a laughingstock[b] among the peoples.

15 All day long my disgrace is before me,

and shame has covered my face

16 at the sound of the taunter and reviler,

at the sight of the enemy and the avenger.

17 All this has come upon us,

though we have not forgotten you,

and we have not been false to your covenant.

18 Our heart has not turned back,

nor have our steps departed from your way;

19 yet you have broken us in the place of jackals

and covered us with the shadow of death.

20 If we had forgotten the name of our God

or spread out our hands to a foreign god,

21 would not God discover this?

For he knows the secrets of the heart.

22 Yet for your sake we are killed all the day long;

we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.

23 Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord?

Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever!

24 Why do you hide your face?

Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?

25 For our soul is bowed down to the dust;

our belly clings to the ground.

26 Rise up; come to our help!

Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!

Ant. O Lord, arise, help us, and deliver us for Your Name's sake.

The Litany shall be said or sung, with the Church singing a Hymn for Rogation-Tide.

The Great Litany

At the close of the Hymn they shall proceed to make the Circuit of the Parish, singing Ps. 104, the Priest beginning with the following,

Ant. He waters the hills from above: the earth is filled with the fruit of Your works.

Psalm 104

1 Bless the Lord, O my soul!

O Lord my God, you are very great!

You are clothed with splendor and majesty,

2 covering yourself with light as with a garment,

stretching out the heavens like a tent.

3 He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters;

he makes the clouds his chariot;

he rides on the wings of the wind;

4 he makes his messengers winds,

his ministers a flaming fire.

5 He set the earth on its foundations,

so that it should never be moved.

6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment;

the waters stood above the mountains.

7 At your rebuke they fled;

at the sound of your thunder they took to flight.

8 The mountains rose, the valleys sank down

to the place that you appointed for them.

9 You set a boundary that they may not pass,

so that they might not again cover the earth.

10 You make springs gush forth in the valleys;

they flow between the hills;

11 they give drink to every beast of the field;

the wild donkeys quench their thirst.

12 Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;

they sing among the branches.

13 From your lofty abode you water the mountains;

the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.

14 You cause the grass to grow for the livestock

and plants for man to cultivate,

that he may bring forth food from the earth

15 and wine to gladden the heart of man,

oil to make his face shine

and bread to strengthen man's heart.

16 The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly,

the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.

17 In them the birds build their nests;

the stork has her home in the fir trees.

18 The high mountains are for the wild goats;

the rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers.

19 He made the moon to mark the seasons;

the sun knows its time for setting.

20 You make darkness, and it is night,

when all the beasts of the forest creep about.

21 The young lions roar for their prey,

seeking their food from God.

22 When the sun rises, they steal away

and lie down in their dens.

23 Man goes out to his work

and to his labor until the evening.

24 O Lord, how manifold are your works!

In wisdom have you made them all;

the earth is full of your creatures.

25 Here is the sea, great and wide,

which teems with creatures innumerable,

living things both small and great.

26 There go the ships,

and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it.

27 These all look to you,

to give them their food in due season.

28 When you give it to them, they gather it up;

when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.

29 When you hide your face, they are dismayed;

when you take away their breath, they die

and return to their dust.

30 When you send forth your Spirit, they are created,

and you renew the face of the ground.

31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever;

may the Lord rejoice in his works,

32 who looks on the earth and it trembles,

who touches the mountains and they smoke!

33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;

I will sing praise to my God while I have being.

34 May my meditation be pleasing to him,

for I rejoice in the Lord.

35 Let sinners be consumed from the earth,

and let the wicked be no more!

Bless the Lord, O my soul!

Praise the Lord!

Ant. He waters the hills from above: the earth is filled with the fruit of Your works. He brings forth grass for the cattle, and green herb for the service of men; that He may bring food out of the earth, and wine that makes glad the heart of man, and oil to make him a cheerful countenance, and bread to strengthen man's heart.

After the Priest has repeated the Antiphon at the close of the Psalm, the Procession shall stop, and the Priest and Clerks shall say as follows,

Lord, have mercy upon us.

Christ, have mercy upon us.

Lord, have mercy upon us.

OUR FATHER, Who is in heaven, hallowed be Your Name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Priest: The Lord shall show lovingkindness .

People: And our land shall give her increase.

Priest: When You let Your breath go forth, they shall be made:

People: And You shall renew the face of the earth.

Priest: Lord, hear our prayers.

People: And let our cry come unto you.

The Lord be with you:

And with your spirit.

Let us pray.

May God, ever our God, give us His blessing, and the earth bring forth her increase abundantly, that the sower may sow in joy, and the reapers gather their sheaves in gladness, and ever bless His Name; Through Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Amen.

The Psalms shall be sung while the Procession is moving; after each Psalm it shall halt at some convenient place while the Priest says the succeeding prayer: after which it shall again move on as before.

Stand

Ant. You, O God, send a gracious rain upon Your inheritance.

Psalm 68

1 God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered;

and those who hate him shall flee before him!

2 As smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away;

as wax melts before fire,

so the wicked shall perish before God!

3 But the righteous shall be glad;

they shall exult before God;

they shall be jubilant with joy!

4 Sing to God, sing praises to his name;

lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts;

his name is the Lord;

exult before him!

5 Father of the fatherless and protector of widows

is God in his holy habitation.

6 God settles the solitary in a home;

he leads out the prisoners to prosperity,

but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.

7 O God, when you went out before your people,

when you marched through the wilderness, Selah

8 the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain,

before God, the One of Sinai,

before God,[a] the God of Israel.

9 Rain in abundance, O God, you shed abroad;

you restored your inheritance as it languished;

10 your flock[b] found a dwelling in it;

in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.

11 The Lord gives the word;

the women who announce the news are a great host:

12 “The kings of the armies—they flee, they flee!”

The women at home divide the spoil—

13 though you men lie among the sheepfolds—

the wings of a dove covered with silver,

its pinions with shimmering gold.

14 When the Almighty scatters kings there,

let snow fall on Zalmon.

15 O mountain of God, mountain of Bashan;

O many-peaked[c] mountain, mountain of Bashan!

16 Why do you look with hatred, O many-peaked mountain,

at the mount that God desired for his abode,

yes, where the Lord will dwell forever?

17 The chariots of God are twice ten thousand,

thousands upon thousands;

the Lord is among them; Sinai is now in the sanctuary.

18 You ascended on high,

leading a host of captives in your train

and receiving gifts among men,

even among the rebellious, that the Lord God may dwell there.

19 Blessed be the Lord,

who daily bears us up;

God is our salvation. Selah

20 Our God is a God of salvation,

and to God, the Lord, belong deliverances from death.

21 But God will strike the heads of his enemies,

the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilty ways.

22 The Lord said,

“I will bring them back from Bashan,

I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,

23 that you may strike your feet in their blood,

that the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from the foe.”

24 Your procession is[d] seen, O God,

the procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary—

25 the singers in front, the musicians last,

between them virgins playing tambourines:

26 “Bless God in the great congregation,

the Lord, O you[e] who are of Israel's fountain!”

27 There is Benjamin, the least of them, in the lead,

the princes of Judah in their throng,

the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.

28 Summon your power, O God,[f]

the power, O God, by which you have worked for us.

29 Because of your temple at Jerusalem

kings shall bear gifts to you.

30 Rebuke the beasts that dwell among the reeds,

the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples.

Trample underfoot those who lust after tribute;

scatter the peoples who delight in war.[g]

31 Nobles shall come from Egypt;

Cush shall hasten to stretch out her hands to God.

32 O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God;

sing praises to the Lord, Selah

33 to him who rides in the heavens, the ancient heavens;

behold, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.

34 Ascribe power to God,

whose majesty is over Israel,

and whose power is in the skies.

35 Awesome is God from his[h] sanctuary;

the God of Israel—he is the one who gives power and strength to his people.

Blessed be God!

Ant. You, O God, send a gracious rain upon Your inheritance, and refresh it when it was weary.

Let us pray.

Almighty GOD, we beseech Your mercy that You would vouchsafe to bless the lands and multiply the harvests of Your servants, as You did bless those of the Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that Your servants may have plenty, and that the poor and needy may bless Your glorious Name. Through our only advocate and mediator, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Ant. I am the Lord Your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

Psalm 81

1 Sing aloud to God our strength;

shout for joy to the God of Jacob!

2 Raise a song; sound the tambourine,

the sweet lyre with the harp.

3 Blow the trumpet at the new moon,

at the full moon, on our feast day.

4 For it is a statute for Israel,

a rule of the God of Jacob.

5 He made it a decree in Joseph

when he went out over the land of Egypt.

I hear a language I had not known:

6 “I relieved your shoulder of the burden;

your hands were freed from the basket.

7 In distress you called, and I delivered you;

I answered you in the secret place of thunder;

I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah

8 Hear, O my people, while I admonish you!

O Israel, if you would but listen to me!

9 There shall be no strange god among you;

you shall not bow down to a foreign god.

10 I am the Lord your God,

who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.

Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.

11 “But my people did not listen to my voice;

Israel would not submit to me.

12 So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts,

to follow their own counsels.

13 Oh, that my people would listen to me,

that Israel would walk in my ways!

14 I would soon subdue their enemies

and turn my hand against their foes.

15 Those who hate the Lord would cringe toward him,

and their fate would last forever.

16 But he would feed you with the finest of the wheat,

and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

Ant. I am the Lord Your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt: open your mouth wide, and I shall fill it.

Let us pray.

O God, who gives to every man his work and through his labours do accomplish Your purposes upon earth: Grant Your blessing, we beseech You, to those who are engaged in the industries and commerce of this land; Defend them from injustice and oppression; give them the due reward of their labours; and deepen within them the spirit of humility and unselfish service, according to the pattern of Your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ; who reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, ever one God. Amen.

The Lord be with you.

And with your spirit.

Let us pray.

O LORD, mercifully hear the prayers of those who cry unto You, and as You did spare the Ninevites when they afflicted themselves, so vouchsafe to help us in our penitent sorrows; Through our only mediator and advocate, Your only begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Ant. We have sinned, O LORD, and You were angry with us.

Psalm 89

1 I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord, forever;

with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.

2 For I said, “Steadfast love will be built up forever;

in the heavens you will establish your faithfulness.”

3 You have said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one;

I have sworn to David my servant:

4 ‘I will establish your offspring forever,

and build your throne for all generations.’” Selah

5 Let the heavens praise your wonders, O Lord,

your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones!

6 For who in the skies can be compared to the Lord?

Who among the heavenly beings[b] is like the Lord,

7 a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones,

and awesome above all who are around him?

8 O Lord God of hosts,

who is mighty as you are, O Lord,

with your faithfulness all around you?

9 You rule the raging of the sea;

when its waves rise, you still them.

10 You crushed Rahab like a carcass;

you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.

11 The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours;

the world and all that is in it, you have founded them.

12 The north and the south, you have created them;

Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name.

13 You have a mighty arm;

strong is your hand, high your right hand.

14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;

steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.

15 Blessed are the people who know the festal shout,

who walk, O Lord, in the light of your face,

16 who exult in your name all the day

and in your righteousness are exalted.

17 For you are the glory of their strength;

by your favor our horn is exalted.

18 For our shield belongs to the Lord,

our king to the Holy One of Israel.

19 Of old you spoke in a vision to your godly one, and said:

“I have granted help to one who is mighty;

I have exalted one chosen from the people.

20 I have found David, my servant;

with my holy oil I have anointed him,

21 so that my hand shall be established with him;

my arm also shall strengthen him.

22 The enemy shall not outwit him;

the wicked shall not humble him.

23 I will crush his foes before him

and strike down those who hate him.

24 My faithfulness and my steadfast love shall be with him,

and in my name shall his horn be exalted.

25 I will set his hand on the sea

and his right hand on the rivers.

26 He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father,

my God, and the Rock of my salvation.’

27 And I will make him the firstborn,

the highest of the kings of the earth.

28 My steadfast love I will keep for him forever,

and my covenant will stand firm[d] for him.

29 I will establish his offspring forever

and his throne as the days of the heavens.

30 If his children forsake my law

and do not walk according to my rules,[e]

31 if they violate my statutes

and do not keep my commandments,

32 then I will punish their transgression with the rod

and their iniquity with stripes,

33 but I will not remove from him my steadfast love

or be false to my faithfulness.

34 I will not violate my covenant

or alter the word that went forth from my lips.

35 Once for all I have sworn by my holiness;

I will not lie to David.

36 His offspring shall endure forever,

his throne as long as the sun before me.

37 Like the moon it shall be established forever,

a faithful witness in the skies.” Selah

38 But now you have cast off and rejected;

you are full of wrath against your anointed.

39 You have renounced the covenant with your servant;

you have defiled his crown in the dust.

40 You have breached all his walls;

you have laid his strongholds in ruins.

41 All who pass by plunder him;

he has become the scorn of his neighbors.

42 You have exalted the right hand of his foes;

you have made all his enemies rejoice.

43 You have also turned back the edge of his sword,

and you have not made him stand in battle.

44 You have made his splendor to cease

and cast his throne to the ground.

45 You have cut short the days of his youth;

you have covered him with shame. Selah

46 How long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself forever?

How long will your wrath burn like fire?

47 Remember how short my time is!

For what vanity you have created all the children of man!

48 What man can live and never see death?

Who can deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah

49 Lord, where is your steadfast love of old,

which by your faithfulness you swore to David?

50 Remember, O Lord, how your servants are mocked,

and how I bear in my heart the insults[f] of all the many nations,

51 with which your enemies mock, O Lord,

with which they mock the footsteps of your anointed.

52 Blessed be the Lord forever!

Amen and Amen.

Ant. We have sinned, O LORD, and You were angry with us, and there is none that can deliver out of Your hand, but we pray that Your mercy may come upon us; You Who did spare the Ninevites, have mercy upon us, O Lord, our God.

Kneel

Lord, have mercy upon us.

Christ, have mercy upon us.

Lord, have mercy upon us.

Priest: O LORD, save Your servants and Your handmaid:

People: Who put their trust in You.

Priest: The sorrows of our heart are enlarged:

People: O bring us out of our troubles.

Priest: We have sinned with our fathers:

People: We have done amiss and dealt wickedly.

Priest: Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us:

People: For we are utterly despised.

Priest: O LORD, let Your mercy be shown upon us:

People: As we put our trust in You.

Priest: Be not far from us, O LORD:

People: You are our succour, You make haste to help us.

Priest: Remember, O LORD, Your congregation:

People: Whom You have purchased and redeemed of old.
Priest: LORD, hear our prayers:

People: And let our cry come unto You.

Let us pray.

Grant us, O LORD, joy after our sorrow, that while we are punished for our sins, we may be refreshed by Your mercy; and being mindful of Your goodness may walk before You in holiness and righteousness all the days of our life. Through our Lord and Savior, Your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Amen

O Lord, we beseech You, help Your people which pray unto You, and mercifully grant Your aid unto the weak, that serving You with a pure heart, they may rejoice in this world and in the world to come; Through our only mediator and advocate, Jesus Christ. Amen.

O God, Who desires not the death of a sinner, but that of his sins, restrain Your anger which we have deserved, and pour down upon us that lovingkindness for which we pray, that after our grief we may attain the gladness of Your mercy; Through Your only begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Stand

Ant. He gives food to all flesh.

Psalm 136

1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,

for his steadfast love endures forever.

2 Give thanks to the God of gods,

for his steadfast love endures forever.

3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords,