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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!
Stay with us Lord for it is evening,
~And the day is almost over.
MONDAY EVENING HYMN
The blazing energies of light,
unleashed when God said, “Let it be,”
in fusion formed the womb of life,
the rain clouds and the raging sea.
These parted, each to its domain,
divided by the vault of sky;
untamed and turbulent, unchecked,
within them life and death would vie.
Those waters clothed our planet home,
so terrible and yet so fair:
the gift without which all would cease,
yet placed, so fragile, in our care.
Both sign and sacrament of life,
of love awash, poured out and fresh:
engulfing all that sin would spawn,
while nurt’ring life in all the rest.
Thus evening came and morning came
that second day when waters burst:
both flood and freshness for our world,
chaste herald of our second birth. Amen.
Text: Aelred-Seton Shanley; Tune: Plainsong
SERVICE OF THE WORD
PSALMODY
Antiphon
Gracious and kind is Adonai;
gentle and full of compassion.
Psalm 114/115
I love Adonai who has heard
the cry of my appeal;
and turns an ear to me
whenever I call!
Death had me in its grip,
the grave’s trap was set;
grief and anguish held me fast.
I called on the Holy Name:
“Adonai, my God,
rescue me and set me free!”
Kind and gracious is Adonai;
gentle and full of compassion:
God shelters those who are needy,
and raises me from the dust.
Rest once more, my heart
For you know how Adonai loves.
God rescued me from death,
wiped my tears and steadied my feet.
I will walk with Adonai, my God,
in the land of the living.
Glory to the ONE and to the WORD
And to the BREATH of Love;
as always before,
so now and evermore. Amen.
Gracious and kind is Adonai;
gentle and full of compassion.
Reading Hebrews 9:24-28
Christ did not enter into a sanctuary made by hands, a copy of the true one, but heaven itself, that he might now appear before God on our behalf. Not that he might offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters each year into the sanctuary with blood that is not his own; if that were so, he would have had to suffer repeatedly from the foundation of the world. But now once for all he has appeared at the end of the ages* to take away sin by his sacrifice. Just as it is appointed that human beings die once, and after this the judgment, so also Christ, offered once to take away the sins of many,* will appear a second time, not to take away sin but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await him.
Responsory
R. Christ has entered the sanctuary once and for all, *he has won for us an eternal redemption. V. He entered not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood. *he has won for us an eternal redemption. V. Glory to the Abba and the Word, and the Breath of Love.
Gospel Canticle of Mary
Antiphon
O Lord, Jesus Christ,
make your reign grow strong in our midst. Alleluia!
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
O Lord, Jesus Christ,
make your reign grow strong in our midst. Alleluia!
SERVICE OF PRAYER
Intercessory Prayer
You revealed yourself to St. Paul as the one he was persecuting,
may we see you present in everyone, especially our opponents and enemies.
You called Timothy and Titus to accompany Paul and continue his ministry of proclaiming the Gospel to the Gentiles, make us worthy ministers of your Good News wherever you lead us.
You favored Timothy with a deep love for the ancient scriptures and a willingness to serve the Gospel in a variety of ministries; illumine our reading of Scripture and strengthen our efforts to live the wisdom and values of the Gospel each day of our lives.
You blessed Titus with the skills of a peacemaker and used him to guide those in conflict to reconciliation; bless those who are working to reconcile nations, religions, peoples and families.
Prayer of Jesus
Our Father …
Closing Prayer & Blessing
Holy One and God of endless Compassion, you are the praise of all your saints and the joy of all creation. As you called Timothy and Titus to proclaim the Gospel and to guide the early Christian communities, direct all our actions by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit and further them on with your continual help so that every prayer and work of ours may always begin from you, be carried out in harmony with all of creation, and through you be brought to completion. For yours is the power and glory of love now and forever. Amen.
May the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. ~Amen.
Let us bless Adonai.
~Thanks be 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.