The Lesser Feast of Helena of Constantinople, Protector of the Holy Places
Learn more about today’s feast
Page numbers listed are from The Book of Common Prayer.
Opening Sentence, page 103
Officiant: O God, make speed to save us.
People: O Lord, make haste to help us.
All: Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia.
Psalm 2, page 586
All:
1 Why are the nations in an uproar?
Why do the peoples mutter empty threats?
2 Why do the kings of the earth rise up in revolt, and the princes plot together,
against the Lord and against his Anointed?
3 “Let us break their yoke,” they say;
“let us cast off their bonds from us.”
4 He whose throne is in heaven is laughing;
the Lord has them in derision.
5 Then he speaks to them in his wrath,
and his rage fills them with terror.
6 “I myself have set my king
upon my holy hill of Zion.”
7 Let me announce the decree of the Lord:
he said to me, “You are my Son; this day have I begotten you.
8 Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance
and the ends of the earth for your possession.
9 You shall crush them with an iron rod
and shatter them like a piece of pottery.”
10 And now, you kings, be wise;
be warned, you rulers of the earth.
11 Submit to the Lord with fear,
and with trembling bow before him;
12 Lest he be angry and you perish;
for his wrath is quickly kindled.
13 Happy are they all
who take refuge in him!
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
Lesson: Luke 23:26–32
As they led Jesus away, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming from the country, and they laid the cross on him, and made him carry it behind Jesus. A great number of the people followed him, and among them were women who were beating their breasts and wailing for him. But Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For the days are surely coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.’ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us’; and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?”
Two others also, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him.
Reflection
The Prayers, pages 106-107
Officiant: Lord have mercy.
People: Christ have mercy.
Officiant: Lord have mercy.
All: 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.
Officiant: Lord, hear our prayer;
People: And let our cry come to you.
Officiant: Let us pray.
Most Merciful God, who blessed your servant Helena with such grace and devotion to you that she venerated the very footsteps of our Savior; Grant unto us the same grace that, aided by her prayers and example, we also may always behold your glory in the cross of your Son. Through the same Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Intercessions and Thanksgivings
Dismissal, page 107
Officiant: Let us bless the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God.
Officiant: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen.