LITURGY OF SUPPLICATION FOR THE VICTIMS AND FAMILIES OF THE BONDI BEACH MASSACRE

 

✠ A SERVICE OF PRAYER FOR THE VICTIMS AND FAMILY’S OF THE BONDI BEACH MASSACRE ✠

For the Consolation of the Afflicted, Imploring the Mercy of God upon the Departed, and Enlightening the Eyes of the Beloved Nation of the Old Covenant

✠ THE OPENING SENTENCES ✠

Minister:

I am the resurrection, and the life, saith the Lord:

he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live;

and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.

St. John xi. 25–26.

The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart;

and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

Psalm xxxiv. 18.

God is our refuge and strength,

a very present help in trouble.

Psalm xlvi. 1.

✠ THE COLLECT FOR COMFORT AND TRUTH ✠

Let us pray.

O Almighty God, the Lord of life and death,

the Judge of all the earth,

whose mercy is from everlasting to everlasting,

and whose compassions fail not;

Look down, we beseech thee, with pity and lovingkindness

upon all who mourn and are sore distressed

by the sudden and violent loss of life

in this grievous tragedy.

Grant unto the families of the departed

the consolation of thy Holy Spirit;

give them strength to endure the burden of sorrow,

light in the midst of darkness,

and hope where all seems desolate;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

✠ A READING FROM THE HOLY SCRIPTURES ✠

Lamentations iii. 31–33

For the Lord will not cast off for ever:

But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion

according to the multitude of his mercies.

For he doth not afflict willingly

nor grieve the children of men.

✠ THE PSALM ✠

Psalm 130 — De Profundis

(The Psalm may be said or sung, the congregation seated.)

Out of the deep have I called unto thee, O Lord;

Lord, hear my voice.

O let thine ears consider well

the voice of my complaint.

If thou, Lord, wilt be extreme to mark what is done amiss,

O Lord, who may abide it?

For there is mercy with thee;

therefore shalt thou be feared.

I look for the Lord; my soul doth wait for him;

in his word is my trust.

My soul fleeth unto the Lord,

before the morning watch, I say, before the morning watch.

O Israel, trust in the Lord;

for with the Lord there is mercy,

and with him is plenteous redemption.

And he shall redeem Israel

from all his sins.

✠ THE NEW TESTAMENT LESSON ✠

Romans xi. 16–24

For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy:

and if the root be holy, so are the branches.

And if some of the branches be broken off,

and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them,

and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;

Boast not against the branches.

But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.

Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in.

Well; because of unbelief they were broken off,

and thou standest by faith.

Be not highminded, but fear:

For if God spared not the natural branches,

take heed lest he also spare not thee.

Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God:

on them which fell, severity;

but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness:

otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in:

for God is able to graff them in again.

For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature,

and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree:

how much more shall these, which be the natural branches,

be graffed into their own olive tree?

Reader:

The Word of the Lord.

People:

Thanks be to God.

✠ THE HOLY GOSPEL ✠

St. John i. 1–14

(All standing)

Minister:

The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Saint John.

People:

Glory be to thee, O Lord.

In the beginning was the Word,

and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God.

The same was in the beginning with God.

All things were made by him;

and without him was not any thing made that was made.

In him was life;

and the life was the light of men.

And the light shineth in darkness;

and the darkness comprehended it not.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light,

that all men through him might believe.

He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

That was the true Light,

which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

He was in the world, and the world was made by him,

and the world knew him not.

He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

But as many as received him,

to them gave he power to become the sons of God,

even to them that believe on his Name:

Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh,

nor of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us,

and we beheld his glory,

the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,

full of grace and truth.

Minister:

The Gospel of the Lord.

People:

Praise be to thee, O Christ.

✠ A PRAYER FOR THE DEPARTED ✠

Minister:

O God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,

the God who spake by Moses and the Prophets,

the Holy One who made covenant with thy people of old,

and who, in the fullness of time,

didst fulfill thy promises in thine only-begotten Son,

Jesus Christ our Lord;

We commend into thy hands of mercy

the souls of those who have departed this life

in the midst of terror and bloodshed.

We acknowledge, O Lord,

that they are thine by creation,

formed by thy hand,

and sustained by thy breath;

and we humbly confess

that all judgment belongeth unto thee alone.

If it be thy gracious will,

look upon them with compassion;

forgive what was done in ignorance and blindness;

and deal not with them after their sins,

but according to thy mercy;

for thou alone knowest the hearts of all men.

O Christ,

True God and True Man,

the Word made Flesh,

the Bodily Shekinah incarnate within thy creation,

the Light that lighteth every man coming into the world;

have mercy upon whom thou wilt have mercy,

for thy compassions are unsearchable,

and thy judgments are righteous altogether.

Amen.

✠ A PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION AND SALVATION ✠

O Lord Jesus Christ,

the promised Seed of Abraham,

the Son of David,

the Desire of all nations;

Shine thy light upon those who yet walk in darkness,

and upon all who are cut off from the Promise

by the errors of the Scribes and Pharisees,

and by the hardness of the human heart.

Remove the veil from the eyes of thy ancient people,

that they may behold thee

as the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets,

the Messiah long foretold,

the Prince of Peace,

and the Resurrection and the Life.

Grant that sorrow may yet become the seed of repentance,

and mourning the doorway of salvation;

that hearts now broken

may be brought at last

to the obedience of faith;

to the glory of God the Father.

Amen.

✠ A PRAYER AGAINST VIOLENCE AND HATRED ✠

O God of peace,

in whose kingdom violence hath no dwelling,

rebuke the spirit of hatred, bloodshed, and lawlessness

which stalks among the nations.

Restrain the hearts of the violent;

frustrate the designs of the wicked;

protect the innocent and the defenseless;

and teach the peoples of the earth

to fear thee,

to honor life,

and to walk humbly before thy face.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

✠ THE LORD’S PRAYER ✠

Our Father, who art in heaven,

Hallowed be thy Name.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

and the power, and the glory,

for ever and ever. Amen.

✠ A Prayer Commending the Departed to the Mercy of God ✠

Let us pray.

O Almighty God,

the Creator of all flesh,

the Judge of the living and the dead,

before whom all hearts are open,

and from whom no secrets are hid;

We humbly commend unto thy righteous and merciful judgment

the souls of these thy creatures, now departed this life.

We confess, O Lord,

that thou alone knowest the secrets of the heart,

the measure of light given,

and the depth of ignorance borne;

and that thou art both just in thy judgments

and rich in mercy beyond our understanding.

Deal not with thy servants according to strict justice alone,

but according to the abundance of thy compassion,

remembering that thou art the Maker of all mankind,

and that thy mercy is over all thy works.

If there be repentance unknown to us,

faith imperfectly formed,

or longing unuttered and unexpressed,

we beseech thee, of thy great goodness,

to look thereon with pity.

And grant unto us who yet remain

a sober remembrance of death,

a true repentance while it is called today,

and a steadfast faith in Jesus Christ,

the only Mediator between God and man;

that we may be found in him at the last,

to whom with thee and the Holy Ghost

be glory, world without end.

Amen.

✠ THE CONCLUDING COLLECT ✠

O eternal God,

whose mercy is higher than the heavens,

and whose truth endureth unto all generations;

grant that, in the midst of judgment,

we may yet hope in thy mercy,

and rest in thy sovereign goodness.

Bring light out of darkness,

life out of death,

and peace out of sorrow;

until that day when all tears shall be wiped away,

and thy elect shall be gathered

into the joy of thy everlasting kingdom;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.