THE ANNUNCIATION OF THE The Collect. favoured, the LORD is with thee; blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary; for thou hast found favour with GOD. And behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a WE beseech thee, O LORD, pour thy grace into our hearts; that as we have known the incarnation of thy Son JESUS CHRIST by the message of an angel; so by his cross and passion we may be brought unto the glory of his resurrec- son, and shalt call his name tion, through the same JESUS CHRIST Our Lord. Amen. For the Epistle. Isa. vii. 10. JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the LORD GOD shall give unto him the throne of his father David. And he MOREOVER, the LORD shall reign over the house of spake again unto Ahaz, saying, Jacob for ever; and of his Ask thee a sign of the LORD kingdom there shall be no end. thy GoD; ask it either in the Then said Mary unto the angel, depth, or in the height above. How shall this be, seeing I But Ahaz said, I will not ask, know not a man? And the neither will I tempt the LORD. angel answered and said unto And he said, Hear ye now, O her, The HOLY GHOST shall house of David; Is it a small come upon thee, and the power thing for you to weary men, of the Highest shall overshadow but will ye weary my GOD also? thee therefore also that holy Therefore the LORD himself thing which shall be born of shall give you a sign: Behold, thee, shall be called the Son of a virgin shall conceive, and GOD. And behold, thy cousin bear a son, and shall call his Elisabeth, she hath also conname Immanuel. Butter and ceived a son in her old age; honey shall he eat, that he may and this is the sixth month with know to refuse the evil, and her, who was called barren. choose the good. For with God nothing shall be And Mary said, The Gospel. St. Luke i. 26. impossible. Behold the handmaid of the LORD; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. AND in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from GOD unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel ST. MARK'S DAY. The Collect. came in unto her, and said, O ALMIGHTY GOD, who Hail, thou that art highly hast instructed thy holy Church with the heavenly doctrine of | plieth, according to the effectual thy evangelist Saint Mark; working in the measure of give us grace, that being not every part, maketh increase of like children carried away with the body, unto the edifying of every blast of vain doctrine, itself in love. we may be established in the truth of thy holy Gospel, through JESUS CHRIST our Lord. Amen. The Gospel. St. John xv. 1. I AM the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. The Epistle. Ephes. iv. 7. Every branch in me that beareth UNTO every one of us is not fruit, he taketh away; and given grace, according to the every branch that beareth fruit, measure of the gift of CHRIST. he purgeth it, that it may bring Wherefore he saith, When he forth more fruit. Now ye are ascended up on high, he led clean through the word which captivity captive, and gave I have spoken unto you. Abide gifts unto men. (Now that he in me, and I in you. As the ascended, what is it but that branch cannot bear fruit of he also descended first into the itself, except it abide in the lower parts of the earth? He vine; no more can ye, except that descended is the same also ye abide in me. I am the vine, that ascended up far above all ye are the branches. He that heavens, that he might fill all abideth in me, and I in him, things.) And he gave some the same bringeth forth much apostles, and some prophets, fruit: for without me ye can and some evangelists, and some do nothing. If a man abide pastors and teachers; for the not in me, he is cast forth as a perfecting of the saints, for the branch, and is withered; and work of the ministry, for the men gather them, and cast them edifying of the body of CHRIST; into the fire, and they are till we all come in the unity of burned. If ye abide in me, the faith, and of the knowledge and my words abide in you, ye of the Son of GoD, unto a shall ask what ye will, and it perfect man, unto the measure shall be done unto you. Herein of the stature of the fulness of is my Father glorified, that ye CHRIST: that we henceforth be bear much fruit; so shall ye be no more children, tossed to and my disciples. As the Father fro, and carried about with hath loved me, so have I loved every wind of doctrine, by the you: continue ye in my love. sleight of men, and cunning If ye keep my commandments, craftiness, whereby they lie in ye shall abide in my love; even wait to deceive; but speaking as I have kept my Father's the truth in love, may grow up commandments, and abide in into him in all things, which is his love, These things have the head, even CHRIST: from I spoken unto you, that my whom the whole body fitly joy might remain in you, joined together, and compacted and that your joy might be by that which every joint sup-full. SAINT PHILIP AND SAINT JAMES' DAY. The Collect. Amen. heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways. Blessed is the man that endure th temptation; for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the LORD hath promised to them that love him The Gospel. St. John xiv. 1. AND JESUS said unto his O ALMIGHTY GOD, whom truly to know is everlasting life; grant us perfectly to know thy Son JESUS CHRIST to be the way, the truth, and the life; that following the steps of thy holy apostles, Saint Philip and Saint James, we may steadfastly walk in the way that leadeth to eternal life, through the same disciples, Let not your heart be thy Son JESUS CHRIST our troubled ye believe in God, Lord. I believe also in me. In my Father's house are many manThe Epistle. St. James i. 1. sions; if it were not so, I would JAMES, a servant of GOD, have told you. I go to prepare and of the Lord JESUS CHRIST, a place for you. And if I go to the twelve tribes which are and prepare a place for you, scattered abroad, greeting. My I will come again, and receive brethren, count it all joy when you unto myself; that where ye fall into divers temptations; I am, there ye may be also. knowing this, that the trying And whither I go, ye know, of your faith worketh patience. and the way ye know. Thomas But let patience have her saith unto him, LORD, We perfect work, that ye may be know not whither thou goest, perfect and entire, wanting and how can we know the nothing. If any of you lack way? JESUS saith unto him, wisdom, let him ask of GOD, I am the way, the truth, and that giveth to all men liberally, the life: no man cometh unto and upbraideth not; and it shall the Father but by me. be given him. But let him ask had known me, ye should have in faith, nothing wavering: for known my Father also: and he that wavereth is like a wave from henceforth ye know him, of the sea, driven with the wind, and have seen him. Philip saith and tossed. For let not that unto him, LORD, show us the man think that he shall receive Father, and it sufficeth us. any thing of the LORD. A JESUS saith unto him, Have I double-minded man is unstable been so long time with you, in all his ways. Let the brother and yet hast thou not known of low degree rejoice in that he me, Philip? He that hath seen is exalted, but the rich in that me, hath seen the Father; he is made low; because as and how sayest thou then, the flower of the grass he shall Show us the Father? Believest pass away. For the sun is no thou not that I am in the sooner risen with a burning Father, and the Father in If ye me? The words that I speak | the LORD. Then departed unto you, I speak not of myself; Barnabas to Tarsus for to seek but the Father that dwelleth Saul: and when he had found in me, he doeth the works. him, he brought him unto Believe me, that I am in the Antioch. And it came to pass, Father, and the Father in that a whole year they assemme; or else believe me for the bled themselves with the very works' sake. Verily, Church, and taught much peoverily, I say unto you, He that ple: and the disciples were believeth on me, the works that called Christians first in AnI do shall he do also; and tioch. And in these days came greater works than these shall prophets from Jerusalem unto he do; because I go unto my Antioch. Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the FATHER may be glorified in the SoN. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. SAINT BARNABAS THE APOSTLE. The Collect. O LORD GOD Almighty, who didst endue thy holy apostle Barnabas with singular gifts of the HOLY GHOST ; leave us not, we beseech thee, destitute of thy manifold gifts, nor yet of grace to use them alway to thy honour and glory, through JESUS CHRIST our Lord. Amen. For the Epistle. Acts xi. 22. TIDINGS of these things came unto the ears of the Church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch: who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad; and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the LORD. For he was a good man, and full of the HOLY GHOST, and of faith: and much people was added unto And there stood up one of them, named Agabus, and signified by the SPIRIT, that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Cæsar. Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judea. Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul. The Gospel. St. John xv. 12. THIS is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father, I have made known unto you. Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may thereof is as the flower of the give it you. SAINT JOHN BAPTIST'S DAY. The Collect. field. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, ALMIGHTY GOD, by whose the flower fadeth; but the word providence thy servant John of our GoD shall stand for ever. Baptist was wonderfully born, O Zion, that bringest good and sent to prepare the way tidings, get thee up into the of thy Son our Saviour, by high mountain: O Jerusalem, preaching repentance; make that bringest good tidings, lift us so to follow his doctrine and up thy voice with strength; holy life, that we may truly lift it up, be not afraid; say repent according to his preach- unto the cities of Judah, Behold ing; and after his example con- your GOD. Behold, the LORD stantly speak the truth, boldly GOD will come with strong rebuke vice, and patiently hand, and his arm shall rule for suffer for the truth's sake, him: behold his reward is with through JESUS CHRIST our him, and his work before him. Lord. Amen. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd; he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. For the Epistle. Isa. xl. 1. The Gospel. St. Luke i. 57. COMFORT ye, comfort ye my people, saith your GOD. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: ELISABETH'S full time for she hath received of the came that she should be deliLORD's hand double for all her vered; and she brought forth sins. The voice of him that a son. And her neighbours crieth in the wilderness, Pre- and her cousins heard how the pare ye the way of the LORD, LORD had showed great mercy make straight in the desert a upon her; and they rejoiced highway for our GoD. Every with her. And it came to pass, valley shall be exalted, and that on the eighth day they every mountain and hill shall came to circumcise the child; be made low and the crooked and they called him Zacharias, shall be made straight, and the after the name of his father. rough places plain. And the And his mother answered and glory of the LORD shall be said, Not so; but he shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see called John. And they said it together; for the mouth of unto her, There is none of thy the LORD hath spoken it. The kindred that is called by this voice said, Cry. And he said, name. And they made signs What shall I cry? All flesh to his father, how he would is grass, and all the goodliness have him called. And he asked |