The Ember Saturday Vigil in Witsuntide

The Ember Saturday Vigil in Witsuntide

This service on the day before Trinity Sunday, is a traditional time for Ordinations and Admission of Lay Ministers.  

The Introit Psalm 88. Domine, Deus.

O LORD God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee: * O let my prayer enter into thy presence, incline thine ear unto my calling;

2 For my soul is full of trouble, * and my life draweth nigh unto the grave.
3 I am counted as one of them that go down into the pit, * and I am even as a man that hath no strength;
4 Cast off among the dead, like unto them that are slain, and lie in the grave, * who are out of remembrance, and are cut away from thy hand.
5 Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, * in a place of darkness, and in the deep.
6 Thine indignation lieth hard upon me, * and thou hast vexed me with all thy storms.

7 Thou hast put away mine acquaintance far from me, * and made me to be abhorred of them.
8 I am so fast in prison * that I cannot get forth.
9 My sight faileth for very trouble; * LORD, I have called daily upon thee, I have stretched forth my hands unto thee.
10 Dost thou show wonders among the dead? * or shall the dead rise up again, and praise thee?
11 Shall thy loving-kindness be showed in the grave? * or thy faithfulness in destruction?

12 Shall thy wondrous works be known in the dark? * and thy righteousness in the land where all things are forgotten?
13 Unto thee have I cried, O LORD; * and early shall my prayer come before thee.

14 LORD, why abhorrest thou my soul, * and hidest thou thy face from me?
15 I am in misery, and like unto him that is at the point to die; * even from my youth up, thy terrors have I suffered with a troubled mind.
16 Thy wrathful displeasure goeth over me, * and the fear of thee hath undone me.
17 They came round about me daily like water, * and compassed me together on every side.
18 My lovers and friends hast thou put away from me, * and hid mine acquaintance out of my sight.

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

The First Reading  Joel 2:28-32

And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.

The First Gradual Psalm 104:30-. Confitemini Domino.

    30 When thou lettest thy breath go forth, they shall be made; * and thou shalt renew the face of the earth.
    31 The glorious majesty of the LORD shall endure for ever; * the LORD shall rejoice in his works.
    32 The earth shall tremble at the look of him; * if he do but touch the hills, they shall smoke.
    33 I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live; * I will praise my God while I have my being.
    34 And so shall my words please him: * my joy shall be in the LORD.

    35 As for sinners, they shall be consumed out of the earth, * and the ungodly shall come to an end.
    36 Praise thou the LORD, O my soul. * Praise the LORD.

The First Collect

Let Thy Holy Spirit, O Lord, we beseech Thee, inflame us with that fire which our Lord Jesus Christ sent on earth, and earnestly desired that it should be kindled. livest and reigneth with Thee, one God, world without end. Amen.

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

The Second Reading  Lev 23:9-17,21

 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest: And he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it. And ye shall offer that day when ye wave the sheaf an he lamb without blemish of the first year for a burnt offering unto the Lord. And the meat offering thereof shall be two tenth deals of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire unto the Lord for a sweet savour: and the drink offering thereof shall be of wine, the fourth part of an hin. And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that ye have brought an offering unto your God: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete: Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the Lord. Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals; they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the Lord.  And ye shall proclaim on the selfsame day, that it may be an holy convocation unto you: ye shall do no servile work therein: it shall be a statute for ever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.

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

O God, Who for the healing our souls hast commanded us to mortify our bodies by devout fasting, mercifully grant that we may ever faithfully serve Thee, both with body and soul. 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  Deut 26:1-11

And it shall be, when thou art come in unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and possessest it, and dwellest therein; That thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the Lord thy God giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name there. And thou shalt go unto the priest that shall be in those days, and say unto him, I profess this day unto the Lord thy God, that I am come unto the country which the Lord sware unto our fathers for to give us. And the priest shall take the basket out of thine hand, and set it down before the altar of the Lord thy God. And thou shalt speak and say before the Lord thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous: And the Egyptians evil entreated us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage: And when we cried unto the Lord God of our fathers, the Lord heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, and our labour, and our oppression: And the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders: And he hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey. And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land, which thou, O Lord, hast given me. And thou shalt set it before the Lord thy God, and worship before the Lord thy God: And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the Lord thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thine house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you.

The Third Gradual Psalm 90:13-17 Domine, refugium.

    13 Turn thee again, O LORD, at the last, * and be gracious unto thy servants.
    14 O satisfy us with thy mercy, and that soon: * so shall we rejoice and be glad all the days of our life.
    15 Comfort us again now after the time that thou hast plagued us; * and for the years wherein we have suffered adversity.
    16 Show thy servants thy work, * and their children thy glory.
    17 And the glorious majesty of the LORD our God be upon us: * prosper thou the work of our hands upon us; O prosper thou our handy-work.

The Third Collect

Grant, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that being instructed by this wholesome fast, we may abstain from all vice, and more readily obtain Thy favour. 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  Lev 26:3-12

If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them; Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely. And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land. And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you. And ye shall eat old store, and bring forth the old because of the new. And I set my tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people.

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

Grant, we beseech Thee, O Almighty God, that we may in such wise abstain from carnal feasting, that we may in like manner fast from the assaults of vice. 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, in the behalf of the three children, didst assuage the flames of fire ; mercifully grant that, by the advent of the Holy Ghost, we Thy servants may not be set on fire by the flames of vice. 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 Acts 13:44-53

And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth. And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region. But the Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts. But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came unto Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost.

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 4:38-44

And he arose out of the synagogue, and entered into Simon's house. And Simon's wife's mother was taken with a great fever; and they besought him for her. And he stood over her, and rebuked the fever; and it left her: and immediately she arose and ministered unto them. Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them. And devils also came out of many, crying out, and saying, Thou art Christ the Son of God. And he rebuking them suffered them not to speak: for they knew that he was Christ. And when it was day, he departed and went into a desert place: and the people sought him, and came unto him, and stayed him, that he should not depart from them. And he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent. And he preached in the synagogues of Galilee.

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.