Sunday Mass
The first Christians fasted on Saturday and celebrated Mass on Sunday.
Service of the Word at Dawn
Presbyter (All sit): AWAKE, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. HONOUR and glory through endless ages to the king of all the ages, the immortal, the invisible, who alone is God. Amen.
All (kneel): GLORY in the heights to God, on earth peace, to men favour. We Praise you, bless you, worship you, laud you, we give you thanks for your great glory, O lord, King of heaven, God the Father all-powerful, Lord the only Son, Jesus Christ, and you, Holy Spirit. O Lord God, God’s Lamb, the Father’s Son, you take the world’s sins away: have mercy on us. You take the world’s sins away: accept our prayer. You sit at the Father’s right hand: have mercy on us. For you alone are holy, you alone are Lord, O Jesus Christ, for God the Father’s glory. Amen.
Morning Prayer and Oath - All (stand): I RISE and pledge myself to God to do no deed at all of dark. This day shall be his sacrifice and I, unmoved, my passions’ lord. I blush to be so old and foul and yet to stand before his table. You know what I would do, O Christ; O then, to do it make me able.
End Service of the Word. Resumption of daily activities until Mass at the end of the day.
Mass - Opening Intercessory Prayer
Presbyter (arms outstretched) All (stand): MAY God, the author of all endurance and all encouragement, enable you to be all of one mind according to the mind of Christ Jesus, so that you may all have but one heart and one mouth, to glorify God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. May
God, the author of our hope, fill you with all joy and Peace in your believing; so that you may have hope in abundance, through the power of the Holy Spirit. ... May God, the author of peace, be with you all, Amen. God, who is the author of peace, will crush Satan under your feet before long. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
All: And also with you, Amen.
Reading of Scripture - All (sit) Presbyter: Any scripture from the Epistles of Paul (Galatians, 1st and 2nd Corinthians, Romans, 1st and 2nd Thessalonians, Laodiceans, Colossians, Philemon and Philippians) within pages 7 -237 of The Very First Bible can be used here.
Sermon - Presbyter: Bases sermon on scripture read above and applies it to events and issues facing the church and community. Material can also be found in The Gospel of the Lord (pages 1-72).
Communion - Eucharistic Prayer
Presbyter: THE Lord is with you.
All: May he be with your spirit too.
Presbyter: Set your hearts on the things above. All: They are fixed on the Lord.
Presbyter: Let us give thanks to the Lord. All: It is right and proper that we should.
Presbyter: We give you thanks, O God, through your dear
Child, Jesus Christ, whom in this, the last of all periods of time, you sent to save and redeem us and to tell us what you wanted of us. He is your Word, inseparable from you; you made all things through him and you were well pleased with him. He did what you wanted him to do, and when he suffered, acquiring thereby a holy people for you, he stretched out his hands to free those who believed in you from suffering. When he was handed over to undergo the suffering he had chosen him - self, thereby to destroy death, to break the chains the Devil held us in, crush hell beneath his feet, give light to the just, make a covenant and manifest his resurrection: he took bread, gave thanks to you and said: Take this and eat it: it is this body of mine that is to be broken for you.
In the same way, he took the chalice, saying: This is my blood being shed for you. When you do this, you will be commemorating me. Calling, then, his death and resurrection to mind, we offer you bread and a chalice and we thank you for enabling us to stand before you and serve you. We ask you to send down your Holy Spirit on the offering holy Church makes you, to unite all who receive holy communion and to fill them with the Holy Spirit, for the strengthening of their faith in the truth. So may we give you praise and glory, through your Child, Jesus Christ.
All: Amen.
Presbyter: Dispenses communion.
Presbyter: LORD God, all-powerful, Father of Christ the blessed (yes, he is indeed your Child), when we ask your help sincerely you answer our prayers, and even when we are silent you know what petitions we would make. We thank you for enabling us to take part in your holy mysteries, which you gave us to perfect our faith, maintain our devotion and forgive our sins; for we are called by the name of your Christ and we live with you. You have withdrawn us from the society of the wicked: enable us, then, to join with those who are dedicated to you; grant that the continual visitation of your Holy Spirit may ground us firmly in the truth; make good our deficiencies, consolidate what we have acquired. Keep your priests blameless in your service, give peace to kings and justice to magistrates, make the weather temperate and the crops fruitful, watch over the whole world with your invincible providence, bring gentleness to those nations
that are inclined to war and set in the right way those that have gone astray. Make all your people holy: protect the virgins, keep the married faithful, give strength to those who have made their peace with the Church, bring our children to maturity, strengthen the newly baptized, teach the catechumens and make them fit for initiation; gather us all into your kingdom in heaven, bring us together in Jesus Christ, our Lord. To him be glory, to you and to the Holy Spirit: glory, honor and veneration throughout the ages.
Amen.
Song & Closing Prayer
All: O gladsome Light, O Grace of God the Father's face, th'eternal splendor wearing; celestial, holy, blest, our Savior Jesus Christ, joyful in Thine appearing! Now, as day fadeth quite, we see the evening light, our wonted hymn outpouring; Father of might unknown, Thee, His incarnate Son, and Holy Ghost adoring. To Thee of right belongs all praise of holy songs, O Son of God, Life-giver; Thee, therefore, O Most High, the world does glorify and shall exalt forever.
Closing Prayer of Perseverance
Presbyter: YOUR prayers are more likely to be answered now, for it is easier to obtain what you ask when you are being persecuted. Beseech the good God, then, as earnestly as you can that we may all confess His name to the end, and that we too may emerge unscathed and glorious from the snares of this world and its darkness. As we have been linked together by charity and peace, and together have withstood persecution from the pagans, so may we rejoice together in the kingdom of heaven.
All: Amen.
Fellowship Meal
It was traditional for the first Christians to share a meal with each other after Mass, each person bringing some food that was equally divided among all. This was the fitting end to a day that began with a simple prayer at dawn, culminating in celebration of God, Christian fellowship and a shared meal. The meal is also to be delivered to the infirm, sick or anyone unable to attend Mass.
"For if righteousness come by the (Torah) law, then Christ died for nothing." (Galatians 2:16)
"We have been released from the (Torah) law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code." (Romans 7:6)
