Collect
God of peace,
who gave such grace to your servant Edward King
that whomever he met he drew to Christ:
fill us, we pray, with tender sympathy and joyful faith,
that we also may win others
to know the love that passes knowledge;
through him who is the shepherd and guardian of our souls,
Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
A reading from the prophecy of Ezekiel.
Thus says the Lord God: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited parts of the land. I will feed them with good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and they shall feed on rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.
I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord God. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice.
This is the word of the Lord.
Ezekiel 34.11–16
Responsorial Psalm
R: I will search for my sheep, says the Lord,
[and I will seek them out].
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,
in the company of the faithful and in the congregation.
The works of the Lord are great,
sought out by all who delight in them. R
His work is full of majesty and honour
and his righteousness endures for ever.
He appointed a memorial for his marvellous deeds;
the Lord is gracious and full of compassion. R
He sent redemption to his people;
he commanded his covenant for ever;
holy and awesome is his name. R
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
a good understanding have those who live by it;
his praise endures for ever. R
From Psalm 111
A reading from the Letter to the Hebrews.
Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured. Let marriage be held in honour by all, and let the marriage bed be kept undefiled; for God will judge fornicators and adulterers. Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.’ So we can say with confidence,
‘The Lord is my helper;
I will not be afraid.
What can anyone do to me?’
Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever.
This is the word of the Lord.
Hebrews 13.1–8
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew.
Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.’
This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Matthew 5.10–12
Post Communion
God, shepherd of your people,
whose servant Edward King revealed the loving service of Christ
in his ministry as a pastor of your people:
by this eucharist in which we share
awaken within us the love of Christ
and keep us faithful to our Christian calling;
through him who laid down his life for us,
but is alive and reigns with you, now and for ever.
8 March
Duthac
Bishop of Ross
Scotland: Commemoration
If celebrated otherwise, Common of Bishops
Duthac was born in Scotland, studied in Ireland, and on his return to Scotland became Bishop of Ross in the eleventh century. He was renowned for his missionary zeal, his compassion, his ready espousal of poverty and the austerity of his life. He was described as the ‘saint reckoned to be the most venerated in the land of Ross’. His relics, kept at Tain, were an object of pilgrimage throughout the Middle Ages. He died in 1068.
8 March
Felix
Bishop, Apostle to the East Angles
England: Commemoration
If celebrated otherwise, Common of Missionaries
Born in Burgundy at the beginning of the seventh century, Felix reputedly converted the exiled King Sigebert of the East Angles and, after the King’s return to Britain, was consecrated bishop and then persuaded by the King to follow him to effect the conversion of his subjects. He was commissioned by Honorius, Archbishop of Canterbury, to this work and made Dunwich the centre of his new See. He established schools and monasteries and ministered in his diocese for seventeen years. He died in the year 647.
8 March
Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy
Priest, Poet
England: Commemoration
If celebrated otherwise, Common of Pastors
Born in 1883, Studdert Kennedy was a young vicar in Worcester who became an army chaplain during the First World War. His warm personality soon earned the respect of soldiers, who nicknamed him ‘Woodbine Willie’ after the brand of cigarettes he shared with them. After the First World War, he became a writer and regular preacher, drawing large crowds, who were attracted by his combination of traditional sacramental theology with more unconventional theological views. He worked tirelessly for the Christian Industrial Fellowship, but his frail health gave way and he died (still a young man) on this day in 1929.
10 March
Kessog
Monk, Bishop, Martyr