Daniel Egan
Daniel Egan, a Bronx native, joined the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement in 1935 and was ordained a priest. A turning point in his life came in 1952, as he was preaching in a church and noticed a woman in grave distress. She confessed that she was a drug addict struggling to kick her habit.
Though Egan called every hospital in town, none would admit her: “She was shrugged off as a criminal.” He decided at that moment that he must open a home for women like her. That was the inspiration for Village Haven, a halfway house for women addicts, located across the street from the women’s house of detention.
The location was no accident. As Egan discovered, most of the women in the city jail were drug addicts. And yet few resources at the time were dedicated to recovery from addiction. Most authorities, even medical professionals, wrote off such addicts as hopeless cases. Father Egan believed otherwise. Egan received permission from his order to dedicate himself full time to working with addicts, and he became such an expert in the field that he was dubbed “the Junkie Priest”—a name he happily adopted. Father Egan died on February 10, 2000. 1
Antiphon https://tinyurl.com/knfvtvew
Look to your covenant, O Lord,
and forget not the life of your poor ones for ever.
Arise, O God, and defend your cause,
and forget not the cries of those who seek you. Psalm 74
Almighty God,
to whom all hearts are open,
all desires, known,
and from whom no secrets are hid:
Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts
by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,
that we may perfectly love you
and worthily magnify your holy name;
through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Music: https://tinyurl.com/ycn4djk5
O Lord, open my lips.
And my mouth will declare your praise.
Make haste, O God, to deliver me;
make haste to help me, O Lord.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Praise to you, O Christ, Alleluia!
HYMN: Shirley Erena Murray ©
Tune: Detroit https://tinyurl.com/4j5bwe3m
1 O God, to you I cry in pain
when sickness makes me weak,
when mind and body out of tune
bring fears I cannot speak.
2 Give me the strength to face my ill,
to trust in skill and care,
to bless the hands that help me heal,
and find your Spirit there.
3 Remind me I am not alone,
when suffering makes its mark;
be present at my pillow’s side,
and help me through the dark.
4 Within the comfort and the love
that human touch can give,
restore in me a larger sense
of what it is to live.
5 Allow my mind to rest in you,
and let your peace pervade
to hold me in your greater power,
and not to be afraid.
PSALMS
Psalm 47 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/sk7c3h7)
1 Clap your hands together, all ye people *
O sing unto God with the voice of melody.
2 For the Lord is high, and to be feared *
he is the great King upon all the earth.
3 He shall subdue the people under us *
and the nations under our feet.
4 He shall choose out an heritage for us *
even the worship of Jacob, whom he loved.
5 God is gone up with a merry noise *
and the Lord with the sound of the trump.
6 O sing praises, sing praises unto our God *
O sing praises, sing praises unto our King.
7 For God is the King of all the earth *
sing ye praises with understanding.
8 God reigneth over the heathen *
God sitteth upon his holy seat.
9 The princes of the people are joined
unto the people of the God of Abraham *
for God, which is very high exalted,
doth defend the earth, as it were with a shield.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son :
and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be :
world without end. Amen.
Psalm 47 (Plainsong: http://oremus.org/chant/Psalm-47.mp3)
1 Clap your hands, all you peoples; *
shout to God with a cry of joy.
2 For the LORD Most High is to be feared; *
he is the great King over all the earth.
3 He subdues the peoples under us, *
and the nations under our feet.
4 He chooses our inheritance for us, *
the pride of Jacob whom he loves.
5 God has gone up with a shout, *
the LORD with the sound of the ram’s-horn.
6 Sing praises to God, sing praises; *
sing praises to our King, sing praises.
7 For God is King of all the earth; *
sing praises with all your skill.
8 God reigns over the nations; *
God sits upon his holy throne.
9 The nobles of the peoples have gathered together *
with the people of the God of Abraham.
10 The rulers of the earth belong to God, *
and he is highly exalted.
Psalm 48 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/rhcanfm)
1 Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised *
in the city of our God, even upon his holy hill.
2 The hill of Sion is a fair place, and the joy of the whole earth *
upon the north-side lieth the city of the great King;
God is well known in her palaces as a sure refuge.
3 For lo, the kings of the earth *
are gathered, and gone by together.
4 They marvelled to see such things *
they were astonished, and suddenly cast down.
5 Fear came there upon them, and sorrow *
as upon a woman in her travail.
6 Thou shalt break the ships of the sea *
through the east-wind.
7 Like as we have heard, so have we seen
in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God *
God upholdeth the same for ever.
8 We wait for thy loving-kindness, O God *
in the midst of thy temple.
9 O God, according to thy Name, so is thy praise unto the world’s end *
thy right hand is full of righteousness.
10 Let the mount Sion rejoice, and the daughter of Judah be glad *
because of thy judgements.
11 Walk about Sion, and go round about her *
and tell the towers thereof.
12 Mark well her bulwarks, set up her houses *
that ye may tell them that come after.
13 For this God is our God for ever and ever *
he shall be our guide unto death.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son :
and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be :
world without end. Amen.
Psalm 48 (Plainsong: http://oremus.org/chant/Psalm-48.mp3)
1 Great is the LORD, and highly to be praised; *
in the city of our God is his holy hill.
2 Beautiful and lofty, the joy of all the earth, is the hill of Zion, *
the very center of the world and the city of the great King.
3 God is in her citadels; *
he is known to be her sure refuge.
4 Behold, the kings of the earth assembled *
and marched forward together.
5 They looked and were astounded; *
they retreated and fled in terror.
6 Trembling seized them there; *
they writhed like a woman in childbirth,
like ships of the sea when the east wind shatters them.
7 As we have heard, so have we seen,
in the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God; *
God has established her for ever.
8 We have waited in silence on your loving-kindness, O God, *
in the midst of your temple.
9 Your praise, like your Name, O God, reaches to the world’s end; *
your right hand is full of justice.
10 Let Mount Zion be glad and the cities of Judah rejoice, *
because of your judgments.
11 Make the circuit of Zion; walk round about her; *
count the number of her towers.
12 Consider well her bulwarks; examine her strongholds; *
that you may tell those who come after.
13 This God is our God for ever and ever; *
he shall be our guide for evermore.
Psalm 49 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/v8qpz99)
1 O hear ye this, all ye people *
ponder it with your ears, all ye that dwell in the world;
2 High and low, rich and poor *
one with another.
3 My mouth shall speak of wisdom *
and my heart shall muse of understanding.
4 I will incline mine ear to the parable *
and shew my dark speech upon the harp.
5 Wherefore should I fear in the days of wickedness *
and when the wickedness of my heels compasseth me round about?
6 There be some that put their trust in their goods *
and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches.
7 But no man may deliver his brother *
nor make agreement unto God for him;
8 For it cost more to redeem their souls *
so that he must let that alone for ever;
9 Yea, though he live long *
and see not the grave.
10 For he seeth that wise men also die, and perish together *
as well as the ignorant and foolish, and leave their riches for other.
11 And yet they think that their houses shall continue for ever *
and that their dwelling-places shall endure
from one generation to another;
and call the lands after their own names.
12 Nevertheless, man will not abide in honour *
seeing he may be compared unto the beasts that perish;
this is the way of them.
13 This is their foolishness *
and their posterity praise their saying.
14 They lie in the hell like sheep, death gnaweth upon them,
and the righteous shall have domination over them in the morning *
their beauty shall consume in the sepulchre out of their dwelling.
15 But God hath delivered my soul from the place of hell *
for he shall receive me.
16 Be not thou afraid, though one be made rich *
or if the glory of his house be increased ;
17 For he shall carry nothing away with him when he dieth *
neither shall his pomp follow him.
18 For while he lived, he counted himself an happy man *
and so long as thou doest well unto thyself,
men will speak good of thee.
19 He shall follow the generation of his fathers *
and shall never see light.
20 Man being in honour hath no understanding *
but is compared unto the beasts that perish.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son :
and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be :
world without end. Amen.
Psalm 49 (Setting by Karl Kohlhase https://tinyurl.com/6zxc3suh)
Hear this, all people, give ear, all who dwell on the earth;
Both the high and the low, both the rich and the poor
My mouth shall sound forth with wisdom,
the thoughts of my heart with understanding
I’ll incline my ear to a proverb,
and solve my riddle to the music of a harp
Why should I fear in times of trouble,
with all the sins of my foes all around me?
Men who trust in their wealth,
who boast in the surplus of their riches
No man can ransom his brother,
or give God the price of His life
For the ransom of his life is too costly,
that he should always live and never see the Pit
But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol
For since even wise men will die,
so the fool and the ignorant perish
Leaving their wealth all to others,
though they thought that their homes were forever
Their dwelling for all generations;
they called earthly lands by their names
But no man abides in his boasting;
like the beasts of the earth he shall die
But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol
This is the fate of the foolish,
and of all who approve of their words
As sheep that are led to Sheol,
with Death leading them as their shepherd
The upright shall reign in the morning,
while their form is consumed by Sheol
So they shall be left with no dwelling,
But God will ransom my soul
Yes God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol
Fret not for those who get rich,
though the wealth of his house is increasing
For he’ll carry nothing when he dies,
and his wealth will not go down with him
Though while he lived he blessed himself,
and was praised for all his success
He shall go to the place of his fathers,
who will never again see the light
But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol
Yes, God will ransom my soul and receive me
PRAYER
Giver of all wisdom,
deliver us from the folly of betraying our eternal birthright
for temporal gain.
Teach us to hold firmly to you
so that we may not treasure things,
but show the imperishable riches of your love
in Jesus Christ. Amen. BCW
THE WORD OF GOD
Reading: Genesis 27:1-29
When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called his elder son Esau and said to him, ‘My son’; and he answered, ‘Here I am.’ He said, ‘See, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field, and hunt game for me. Then prepare for me savoury food, such as I like, and bring it to me to eat, so that I may bless you before I die.’
Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game and bring it, Rebekah said to her son Jacob, ‘I heard your father say to your brother Esau, “Bring me game, and prepare for me savoury food to eat, that I may bless you before the Lord before I die.” Now therefore, my son, obey my word as I command you. Go to the flock, and get me two choice kids, so that I may prepare from them savoury food for your father, such as he likes; and you shall take it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before he dies.’ But Jacob said to his mother Rebekah, ‘Look, my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am a man of smooth skin. Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be mocking him, and bring a curse on myself and not a blessing.’ His mother said to him, ‘Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my word, and go, get them for me.’ So he went and got them and brought them to his mother; and his mother prepared savoury food, such as his father loved. Then Rebekah took the best garments of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob; and she put the skins of the kids on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. Then she handed the savoury food, and the bread that she had prepared, to her son Jacob.
So he went in to his father, and said, ‘My father’; and he said, ‘Here I am; who are you, my son?’ Jacob said to his father, ‘I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me; now sit up and eat of my game, so that you may bless me.’ But Isaac said to his son, ‘How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?’ He answered, ‘Because the Lord your God granted me success.’ Then Isaac said to Jacob, ‘Come near, that I may feel you, my son, to know whether you are really my son Esau or not.’ So Jacob went up to his father Isaac, who felt him and said, ‘The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.’ He did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him. He said, ‘Are you really my son Esau?’ He answered, ‘I am.’ Then he said, ‘Bring it to me, that I may eat of my son’s game and bless you.’ So he brought it to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank. Then his father Isaac said to him, ‘Come near and kiss me, my son.’ So he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his garments, and blessed him, and said,
‘Ah, the smell of my son
is like the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed.
May God give you of the dew of heaven,
and of the fatness of the earth,
and plenty of grain and wine.
Let peoples serve you,
and nations bow down to you.
Be lord over your brothers,
and may your mother’s sons bow down to you.
Cursed be everyone who curses you,
and blessed be everyone who blesses you!’
HYMN: Henry Francis Lyte
Tune: Eventide https://tinyurl.com/4krcpy9h
1 Abide with me: fast falls the eventide;
the darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.
2 Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away.
Change and decay in all around I see.
O thou who changest not, abide with me.
3 I need thy presence every passing hour.
What but thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?
Who like thyself my guide and strength can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, O abide with me.
4 I fear no foe with thee at hand to bless,
ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if thou abide with me.
5 Hold thou thy cross before my closing eyes.
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven’s morning breaks and earth’s vain shadows flee;
in life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.
Reading: 1 Corinthians 14:13-25
Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray for the power to interpret. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unproductive. What should I do then? I will pray with the spirit, but I will pray with the mind also; I will sing praise with the spirit, but I will sing praise with the mind also. Otherwise, if you say a blessing with the spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say the ‘Amen’ to your thanksgiving, since the outsider does not know what you are saying? For you may give thanks well enough, but the other person is not built up. I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you; nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind, in order to instruct others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue.
Brothers and sisters, do not be children in your thinking; rather, be infants in evil, but in thinking be adults. In the law it is written,
‘By people of strange tongues
and by the lips of foreigners
I will speak to this people;
yet even then they will not listen to me,’
says the Lord. Tongues, then, are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is not for unbelievers but for believers. If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your mind? But if all prophesy, an unbeliever or outsider who enters is reproved by all and called to account by all. After the secrets of the unbeliever’s heart are disclosed, that person will bow down before God and worship him, declaring, ‘God is really among you.’
HYMN: Richard G Jones ©
Tune: Gonfalon Royal https://tinyurl.com/55yx5dw7
1 Come, all who look to God today,
stretch out your hands, enlarge your mind,
together share his living way
where all who humbly seek will find.
2 Come, young and old of every faith,
bring all your treasuries of prayer,
and seek the living Spirit’s breath
to realise the truths we share.
3 Bring your traditions’ richest store,
your hymns and rites and cherished creeds;
explore your visions, pray for more,
since God delights to meet fresh needs.
4 Come, trust in God and live in peace,
anticipate that final light
when strife and bigotry shall cease,
and faith be lost in praise and sight. Amen.
Reading: Mark 7:9-13
Then Jesus said to them, ‘You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition! For Moses said, “Honour your father and your mother”; and, “Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must surely die.” But you say that if anyone tells father or mother, “Whatever support you might have had from me is Corban” (that is, an offering to God)— then you no longer permit doing anything for a father or mother, thus making void the word of God through your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many things like this.’
CANTICLE Isaiah 55:6-11
(Setting by Gregory Wilbur: https://tinyurl.com/yawmg8fp)
Seek ye the Lord while he may be found,
Call ye upon him while He is near.
Let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts:
And let him return unto the Lord,
and he will have mercy upon him;
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
As the heavens are higher than the earth,
My ways and thoughts are higher than yours.
And let him return unto the Lord,
and he will have mercy upon him;
and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.
For as the rain cometh down, and snow from heaven,
And maketh it bring forth and bud that it may give seed to sow,
that it may give bread to eat.
So shall my world be that goeth forth out of my mouth:
It shall not return unto me void,
but it shall accomplish that which I please it shall prosper
in the thing whereunto I sent it.
THE PRAYERS BCW
God of all mercies, we praise you that you have brought us to this new day, brightening
our lives with the dawn of promise and hope in Jesus Christ.
Especially we thank you for
the warmth of sunlight, the wetness of rain and snow, and all that nourishes the earth…
the presence and power of your Spirit . . .
the support and encouragement we receive from others . . .
those who provide for public safety and well-being . . .
the mission of the church around the world. . . .
Merciful God, strengthen us in prayer that we may lift up the brokenness of this
world for your healing, and share in the saving love of Jesus Christ.
Especially we pray for
those in positions of authority over others . . .
the lonely and forgotten . . .
children without families or homes . . .
agents of caring and relief . . .
the church in Asia and the Middle East. . . .
Setting by Eric Wyse:2
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your Name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread;
and forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours,
now and for ever. Amen.
God, who draws near,
who comes to our level,
whose nature is revealed
in lordship laid aside:
give us grace to follow the example of Daniel Egan
and welcome you in the one who tests the bounds
of our community:
in the child,
the outcast,
the one who comes with no power
save that of remaking our heart;
through Jesus Christ, the one who will be betrayed. Amen. PIC, alt.
Music: https://tinyurl.com/y9efvwm5
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with us all. Amen. 2 Cor. 13:14
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BCW Book of Common Worship, Presbyterian Church U.S.A., 1993.
PIC Prayers for An Inclusive Church. Steven Shakespeare © 2008 Canterbury Press.
The three main scripture readings are from the The New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Edition, The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, 1995 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The traditional language psalms are from The Book of Common Prayer (1662). The modern language version of Psalms 47 and 48 is from the The Book of Common Prayer (1979) and is sung by Ryland Angel. Psalm 49 is the version sung by Karl Kohlhase, http://www.k4communications.com/karl/index.html
Musical links are usually either to artists’ albums posted on Spotify or to recordings made available at smallchurchmusic.com. Audio stripped from YouTube videos is footnoted accordingly above.
Compilation © 2022 Stephen T. Benner. All links worked at the time they were created, but I cannot accept responsibility for their content or any damage resulting from their use. The linked content is under the control of the respective content creators and is subject to change at any time. Any copyright texts included in this compilation are provided for non-commercial purposes related to study or worship. Please contact the respective copyright holders for permission to use the texts in other contexts.
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