The Ember Saturday Vigil in September

The Ember Saturday Vigil in September

This service on the Saturday following the Sunday after the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, is a traditional time for Ordinations and Admission of Lay Ministers.  

The Introit Psalm 95. Venite, exultemus.

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 show 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 To-day 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.

The service shall begin as usual until right before the reading of the epistle. Then shall be used the following.

The First Reading  Leviticus 23:26-32

And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord. And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the Lord your God. For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people. And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people. Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.

The First Gradual Psalm 79. Deus, venerunt.

O GOD, the heathen are come into thine inheritance; * thy holy temple have they defiled, and made Jerusalem an heap of stones.
    2 The dead bodies of thy servants have they given to be meat unto the fowls of the air, * and the flesh of thy saints unto the beasts of the land.
    3 Their blood have they shed like water on every side of Jerusalem, * and there was no man to bury them.
    4 We are become an open shame to our enemies, * a very scorn and derision unto them that are round about us.
    5 LORD, how long wilt thou be angry? * shall thy jealousy burn like fire for ever?
    6 Pour out thine indignation upon the heathen that have not known thee; * and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon thy Name.
    7 For they have devoured Jacob, * and laid waste his dwelling-place.
    8 O remember not our old sins, but have mercy upon us, and that soon; * for we are come to great misery.
    9 Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy Name: * O deliver us, and be merciful unto our sins, for thy Name's sake.
    10 Wherefore do the heathen say, * Where is now their God?
    11 O let the vengeance of thy servants' blood that is shed, * be openly showed upon the heathen, in our sight.
    12 O let the sorrowful sighing of the prisoners come before thee; * according to the greatness of thy power, preserve thou those that are appointed to die.
    13 And for the blasphemy wherewith our neighbours have blasphemed thee, * reward thou them, O Lord, sevenfold into their bosom.
    14 So we, that are thy people, and sheep of thy pasture, shall give thee thanks for ever, * and will alway be showing forth thy praise from generation to generation.

The First Collect

Grant, we beseech Thee, O Almighty God, that in fasting we may be filled with Thy grace-, and by abstinence become stronger than all our enemies. Through Jesus Christ our Lord who livest and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Then shall be held the Admission of Ushers and other such lay ministers.

The Second Reading  Lev 23:39-43

 Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the Lord seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath. And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days. And ye shall keep it a feast unto the Lord seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month. Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths: That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

The Second Gradual  Psalm 84. Quam dilecta!

O HOW amiable are thy dwellings, * thou LORD of hosts!
    2 My soul hath a desire and longing to enter into the courts of the LORD; * my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God.
    3 Yea, the sparrow hath found her an house, and the swallow a nest, where she may lay her young; * even thy altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God.
    4 Blessed are they that dwell in thy house; * they will be alway praising thee.
    5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; * in whose heart are thy ways.
    6 Who going through the vale of misery use it for a well; * and the pools are filled with water.
    7 They will go from strength to strength, * and unto the God of gods appeareth every one of them in Sion.
    8 O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer; * hearken, O God of Jacob.
    9 Behold, O God our defender, * and look upon the face of thine anointed.
    10 For one day in thy courts * is better than a thousand.
    11 I had rather be a door-keeper in the house of my God, * than to dwell in the tents of ungodliness.
    12 For the LORD God is a light and defence; * the LORD will give grace and worship; and no good thing shall he withhold from them that live a godly life.
    13 O LORD God of hosts, * blessed is the man that putteth his trust in thee.

The Second Collect

Grant, we beseech Thee, O Lord, that Thy faithful servants may rejoice in the blessings they have humbly implored : that they reverencing Thee by their outward fasting, may be fulfilled with the abundance of Thy good things. Through Jesus Christ our Lord who livest and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.

Then shall be held the Admission of Lectors.

The Third Reading  Micah 7:14-16 & 18-20

Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage, which dwell solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel: let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old. According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt will I shew unto him marvellous things. The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might: they shall lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf.
Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.

The Third Gradual Psalm 141. Domine, clamavi.

LORD, I call upon thee; haste thee unto me, * and consider my voice, when I cry unto thee.
    2 Let my prayer be set forth in thy sight as the incense; * and let the lifting up of my hands be an evening sacrifice.
    3 Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth, * and keep the door of my lips.

    4 O let not mine heart be inclined to any evil thing; * let me not be occupied in ungodly works with the men that work wickedness, neither let me eat of such things as please them.
    5 Let the righteous rather smite me friendly, and reprove me; * yea, let not my head refuse their precious balms.
    6 As for the ungodly, * I will pray yet against their wickedness.
    7 Let their judges be overthrown in stony places, * that they may hear my words; for they are sweet.
    8 Our bones lie scattered before the pit, * like as when one breaketh and heweth wood upon the earth.
    9 But mine eyes look unto thee, O LORD God; * in thee is my trust; O cast not out my soul.
    10 Keep me from the snare that they have laid for me, * and from the traps of the wicked doers.
    11 Let the ungodly fall into their own nets together, * and let me ever escape them.

The Third Collect

Grant, O Lord, we beseech Thee, that we may so abstain from carnal feastings, as to fast in like manner from all vices that assault us. Through the same Jesus Christ or Lord who livest and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, unto the ages of ages. Amen. 

Then shall be held the Admission of Lay Ministers of Healing of mind, body, or spirit

The Fourth Reading  Zachariah 8:14-20

For thus saith the Lord of hosts; As I thought to punish you, when your fathers provoked me to wrath, saith the Lord of hosts, and I repented not: So again have I thought in these days to do well unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah: fear ye not. These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates: And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the Lord. And the word of the Lord of hosts came unto me, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace. Thus saith the Lord of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities:

The Fourth Gradual Psalm 28. Ad te, Domine.

UNTO thee will I cry, O LORD, my strength: * think no scorn of me; lest, if thou make as though thou hearest not, I become like them that go down into the pit.
    2 Hear the voice of my humble petitions, when I cry unto thee; * when I hold up my hands towards the mercyseat of thy holy temple.
    3 O pluck me not away, neither destroy me with the ungodly and wicked doers, * which speak friendly to their neighbours, but imagine mischief in their hearts.
    4 Reward them according to their deeds, * and according to the wickedness of their own inventions.
    5 Recompense them after the work of their hands; * pay them that they have deserved.
    6 For they regard not in their mind the works of the LORD, nor the operation of his hands; * therefore shall he break them down, and not build them up.
    7 Praised be the LORD; * for he hath heard the voice of my humble petitions.
    8 The LORD is my strength, and my shield; my heart hath trusted in him, and I am helped; * therefore my heart danceth for joy, and in my song will I praise him.
    9 The LORD is my strength, * and he is the wholesome defence of his anointed.
    10 O save thy people, and give thy blessing unto thine inheritance: * feed them, and set them up for ever.

The Fourth Collect

As it is by Thy grace, O Lord, that we offer Thee the tribute of this solemn fast; so grant us, we beseech Thee, the aid of Thy pardoning mercy. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Who livest and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen. 

Then shall be held the Admission of Acolytes, Altar Guild Members etc.

The Fifth Reading  The Prayer of Azariah 24-28 being Dan 3:47-51

So that the flame streamed forth above the furnace forty and nine cubits. And it passed through, and burned those Chaldeans it found about the furnace. But the angel of the Lord came down into the oven together with Azarias and his fellows, and smote the flame of the fire out of the oven; And made the midst of the furnace as it had been a moist whistling wind, so that the fire touched them not at all, neither hurt nor troubled them. Then the three, as out of one mouth, praised, glorified, and blessed, God in the furnace, saying,

The Fifth Gradual The Prayer of Azariah 29-34 being Dan 3:51-56

Blessed art thou, O Lord God of our fathers: and to be praised and exalted above all for ever.

And blessed is thy glorious and holy name: and to be praised and exalted above all for ever. Blessed art thou in the temple of thine holy glory: and to be praised and glorified above all for ever.

Blessed art thou that beholdest the depths, and sittest upon the cherubims: and to be praised and exalted above all for ever.

Blessed art thou on the glorious throne of thy kingdom: and to be praised and glorified above all for ever.

Blessed art thou in the firmament of heaven: and above ail to be praised and glorified for ever.

The Fifth Collect

O God, Who for the three children didst quench the flames of fire, mercifully grant us that we Thy servants may not be consumed by the flames of our sins. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Who livest and reigneth with Thee and the same Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen. 

Here shall be prayed the collect of the day and the customary memorials.

Then shall be held the Admission of Deaconesses and Sub Deacons, and the profession of religious.

The Epistle Hebrews 9:2-12

For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread; which is called the sanctuary. And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all; Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly. Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God. But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people: The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation. But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

Here if a bishop be present may be held the ordination of deacons.

The Gradual Psalm 117. Laudate Dominum.

    O PRAISE the LORD, all ye nations; * praise him, all ye peoples.
    2 For his merciful kindness is ever more and more toward us; * and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever. Praise the LORD.

The Gospel Luke 13:6-17

He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down. And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself. And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day. The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day? And when he had said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him.

Here if a bishop be present may be held the ordination of Priests

Then shall be given the sermon after which the Holy Communion resumes its normal order.