Octave of Thomas Aquinas

Evening Prayer

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Today is the Octave of the Feast of Thomas Aquinas

Evening Prayer from his Feast on January 28th is repeated here.

 

Antiphon in Honor of St. Dominic                                                                        O Lumen Ecclesiae

O Lumen Ecclesiae, Doctor Veritatis, Rosa Patientiae, Ebur Castitatis,

Aquam Sapientiae propinasti gratis, Praedicator Gratiae, nos junge Beatis.

Service of Light

Greeting/Invocation

 We light the Evening Candle and say or sing:

Light and Peace in Jesus Christ our Lord!

~Thanks be to God!

Evening Hymn                                                               Family of Dominic

In Dominic, we claim to be, through all the world one family.

O praise God Laudare! A living heritage we share, of study, common life and prayer.

Laudare, alleluia! Benedicere, alleluia! Praedicare!

 

To East and West, to South and North, O sisters, brothers, now go forth!

Be a blessing, Benedicere! Throughout the universe release, God’s reign of justice, love and peace! Laudare, alleluia! Benedicere, alleluia! Praedicare!

 

How beautiful upon the Earth, the feet of those who bring God’s Word,

Praedicare! The path we walk is holy ground, the word we speak, a holy sound!

Laudare, alleluia! Benedicere, alleluia! Praedicare!

Text: Mary Fran Fleischaker, OP;  Tune: LASST UNS ERFREUEN

 

 

Light Thanksgiving

Let us give thanks to the God of Light, always and for everything.

~ The God in whom we live and move and have our being.

 

We give you thanks, O God of Light, for all your gifts so freely bestowed upon us: for the beauty and wonder of your creation, in earth and sky and sea;  for all that is gracious in the lives of men and women, revealing the light of Christ; for minds to muse and hearts to love and hands to serve; for health and strength to work, for leisure to rest and play;  for communion with your saints, in all times and places; and above all, for the great promises and mercies given to us in Christ Jesus our Love.  To him be praise and glory, with You and the Holy Spirit, now and forever.  ~ Amen.

All:     Amen.

 

SERVICE OF THE WORD

PSALMODY

Antiphon                                                                                                                       All Things Are Good

Text: Thomas Aquinas, OP (1225-1274); Tune: Genevieve Pinion, OP

Psalm 64/65

To You our praise is due

O God in Zion

To You do we commit our lives,

for you are the One who hears our prayer.

 

To you do we come

when we have gone astray.

When our transgressions weigh us down

You are the One who sets us free.

 

Blessed are those you invite

and welcome to your dwelling.

You fill us with the bounty of your house,

and the holiness of your temple.

 

You keep your promise with wonders,

O Adonai, our savior,

You are the hope of all on Earth

even the most distant isles.

 

Clothed in power and strength

You uphold and steady the mountains;

You still the roaring of the seas

(restless waves and raging nations).

O Jerusalem, look up and see the power of your God.

Behold a savior comes to set you free.

 

You fill them from east to west with your joy.

You tend and water the land,

and it yields a great harvest.

You fill your springs,

ready the seeds, and prepare the grain.

 

You soak the furrows and level the ridges;

With softening rain you bless its growth.

You crown the year with your goodness,

All you touch comes alive:

Abundance flows in your steps,

In fields and meadows it flows.

 

The hills are dressed with joy,

the pastures covered with flocks.

the valleys wrap themselves in grain,

They shout for joy and break into song:

 

Glory to the ONE and to the WORD

And to the BREATH of Love;

as always before,

so now and evermore. Amen.

 

 

Reading   Wisdom 7:7-10, 15-16

I prayed, and prudence was given me;  I pleaded, and the spirit of Wisdom came to me.

I preferred her to scepter and throne, and deemed riches nothing in comparison with her,

nor did I liken any precious gem to her; because all gold, in view of her, is a little sand,

and before her, silver is to be accounted mire.  Beyond health and comeliness I loved her,

and I chose her rather than the light, because the splendor of her never yields to sleep.

Now God grant I speak suitably and value these endowments at their worth: for You are  the guide of Wisdom and the director of the wise. For both we and our words are in your hand, as well as all prudence and knowledge of crafts.

 

Responsory

Responsory                                                                                                                             O Mystery!

Refrain: Thomas Aquinas, OP (1225-1274); Setting: Mary Niemeyer, OP

 

V. Our life’s great quest, our heart’s longing search, our truest aim above all else: To search for You, the living God, is life, is joy, is love.

Gospel Canticle of Mary

Antiphon

 

 

The learned will shine like the brilliance of the firmament,

and those who train many in the ways of justice

will sparkle like the stars for all eternity.

It is customary to make the sign of the cross at the beginning of the Gospel Canticle.

My heart + is radiant with the Lord,

My whole being delights in God my Savior.

 

All people now will call me blessed

For God has loved this humble handmaid.

The Almighty has shown me great favor

Holy is the NAME,

 

Whose mercy embraces the faithful,

From one generation to the next.

The mighty arm of God,

Scatters the proud in their own conceit,

 

Pulls tyrants from their thrones

While lifting up the lowly:

Fills the famished with bounty,

And reveals the emptiness of riches.

 

Rescues lowly Israel,

Sharing such loving kindness,

As promised to our ancestors

To Abraham and Sarah, and their descendants forever.

 

Glory to the ONE and to  WORD

And to the BREATH of Love!

As always before,

so now and evermore.  Amen

 The learned will shine like the brilliance of the firmament,

and those who train many in the ways of justice

will sparkle like the stars for all eternity.

Service of Prayer

Litany of Intercession

On this day, when we remember Saint Thomas Aquinas, let us ask the all-powerful Source of Truth,

for the help of the Holy Spirit whom Thomas always invoked.

 

INTERCESSIONS

That the God of Truth will lead us forward in holiness and unity,

so that all women and men may recognize the happiness to which they are called;

We pray:  ~Fill us with your Spirit of Truth.

 

In his search for Truth, Thomas was attentive to the Word, to the Church, and to the wisdom and insights of the liberal arts and professions of his day. May God open our hearts and minds to the Truth wherever it may be found; We pray:  ~Fill us with your Spirit of Truth.

 

With farsighted wisdom, Thomas succeeded in establishing a fruitful conversation with the Arab and Hebrew thought of his time. May all of us who search for truth, especially those who work in academic and cultural contexts, be ready to enter into dialogue with those who experience and explain the world in ways that differ from our own;

We pray:  ~Fill us with your Spirit of Truth.

 

Gifted with a keen intellect and a passionate love, Thomas expressed his experience of God in both clear, systematic reasoning and in beautiful, mystical poetry.  May all those who hunger for meaning and passion in their lives be fed by the truths expressed in the Arts, the Sciences, the Humanities and the Spiritual traditions of the world;

We pray:  ~Fill us with your Spirit of Truth.

 

Thomas taught that we should not consider material possessions our own, but as common to all; May we be freed to share them without hesitation when others are in need.

We pray:  ~Fill us with your Spirit of Truth.

Prayer of Jesus

Eternal Spirit, Earth-Maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver, source of all that is and that shall be, Father and Mother of us all, Loving God, in whom is heaven: The hallowing of your name echo through the universe! The way of your justice be followed by the peoples of the earth! Your heavenly will be done by all created beings! Your reign of peace and freedom sustain our hope and come on earth. With the bread we need for today, feed us. In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us. In times of temptation and test, strengthen us. From the grip of all that is evil, free us. For you reign in the glory of the power that is love, now and forever. Amen.

Translation prepared for the New Zealand Book of Common Prayer

Closing Prayer & Blessing

On this feast of our brother Thomas, we praise and bless you, O God of Truth and Love.

Thomas devoted himself to a life of prayer and study and you clothed him with the clear light of divine wisdom. Shadows of confusion were swept away by his teaching.

Brilliant in life and word, Thomas shone like the sun illuminating the church.

We pray with him:  Grant us,  O Loving God, minds to know you, hearts to seek you, wisdom to find you, conduct pleasing to you, faithful perseverance in waiting for you, and the hope of finally embracing you.  Amen.

 

May the God of all creation + bless us with a hunger for the Truth and a passion for  Justice.   Amen.

 

Let us bless Adonai!    ~And give thanks to God.

 

 

Those who wish may end evening prayer with the Marian Antiphon for this season.
Marian Antiphon

 

Loving Mother of our Savior, holding open heaven’s only hope, Star for steerage in this vastness, rise to help us, save the sinking.  Nature’s greatest  Wonder: you have borne your own true Maker, giving human life to him. Virgin ever, before and after, that Good News from Gabriel, Word of Life for living, tell it now: mercy to all people!

 

The angel of the Lord brought the message to Mary. ~ And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.

 

Let us pray.  Pour forth, we beseech you, O Lord, your grace into our hearts that we, to whom the Incarnation of Christ, your Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may, by his Passion and Cross, be brought to the glory of his Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord.  Amen.