Aelred of Rievaulx, Abbot and Theologian, 1167

The Collect:

Rite I:
Grant to thy people, Almighty God, a spirit of mutual affection, that following the example of thy servant Aelred, we might know the love of Christ in loving one another, and might rejoice in the gift of thine eternal goodness; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Rite II:
Grant to your people, Almighty God, a spirit of mutual affection, that following the example of your servant Aelred, we might know the love of Christ in loving one another, and might rejoice in the gift of your eternal goodness; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

First Lesson: Ecclesiasticus 6:5-17 

⁵ Pleasant speech multiplies friends,
    and a gracious tongue multiplies courtesies.
⁶ Let those who are friendly with you be many,
    but let your advisers be one in a thousand.
⁷ When you gain friends, gain them through testing,
    and do not trust them hastily.
⁸ For there are friends who are such when it suits them,
    but they will not stand by you in time of trouble.
⁹ And there are friends who change into enemies,
    and tell of the quarrel to your disgrace.
¹⁰ And there are friends who sit at your table,
    but they will not stand by you in time of trouble.
¹¹ When you are prosperous, they become your second self,
    and lord it over your servants;
¹² but if you are brought low, they turn against you,
    and hide themselves from you.
¹³ Keep away from your enemies,
    and be on guard with your friends.

¹⁴ Faithful friends are a sturdy shelter:
    whoever finds one has found a treasure.
¹⁵ Faithful friends are beyond price;
    no amount can balance their worth.
¹⁶ Faithful friends are life-saving medicine;
    and those who fear the Lord will find them.
¹⁷ Those who fear the Lord direct their friendship aright,
    for as they are, so are their neighbours also.

Psalm: Psalm 36:5-10

⁵ Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, *
       and your faithfulness to the clouds.
⁶ Your righteousness is like the strong mountains,
  your justice like the great deep; *
       you save both man and beast, O LORD.
⁷ How priceless is your love, O God! *
       your people take refuge under the shadow of your wings.
⁸ They feast upon the abundance of your house; *
       you give them drink from the river of your delights.
⁹ For with you is the well of life, *
       and in your light we see light.
¹⁰ Continue your loving-kindness to those who know you, *
       and your favor to those who are true of heart.

Second Lesson: Philippians 2:1-4

¹If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, ²make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. ³Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. ⁴Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.

Gospel: John 15:9–17

⁹As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. ¹⁰If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. ¹¹I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

¹² ‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. ¹³No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. ¹⁴You are my friends if you do what I command you. ¹⁵I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. ¹⁶You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. ¹⁷I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.

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