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SERVICE OF LIGHT
Greeting/Invocation
We light the Evening Vesper Candle and say or sing:
Light and peace in Jesus Christ our Love!
~Thanks be to God!
Sunday Evening Hymn
O radiant Light, O Sun divine, Of God the Abba’s deathless face,
O image of the Light sublime that fills the heavenly dwelling place.
O Word of God, the Source of Life, Praise is your due by night and day.
Our happy lips must raise the strain of your esteemed and splendid Name.
O Jesus Christ as daylight fades, as shine the lights of eventide,
We praise the Abba with the Word, the Spirit blest and with them one.
Text: Phos Hilaron, transl. WG Storey; Tune: Howard Hughes, S.M., Praise God in Song
Thanksgiving for the Light & Praise for Creation
Let us give thanks to the God of Light, always and for everything.
~Praise be to You, O God of Creation!
We praise you, O Holy One, with all your creatures. They came forth from your all-powerful hand; they are yours, filled with your presence and your tender love.
We praise you, O Word of God through whom all things were made. Formed in the womb of Mary, you became part of Earth, and gazed upon creation with human eyes.
Today, in your risen glory, you are alive in every creature.
We praise you O Holy Breath of Life.
By your light you guide this world towards God’s love
and accompany the groaning of creation.
You dwell in our hearts and inspire us to do what is good.
O Three-in-One, O wondrous Community of infinite love,
teach us to contemplate you in the beauty of the universe where all things speak of you.
– Awaken our praise and gratitude for every being that you have made.
– Give us the grace to feel our intimate oneness with everything that exists.
– Show us our place in this world as instruments of your care for all the creatures of this earth, for not one of them is forgotten in your sight.
With the poor and Mother Earth we cry out: “Seize us, O God, with your power and light, to protect all life, to prepare for a better future, for the coming the beauty and love, the justice and peace of your Reign. For you are full of loving kindness for your whole creation and with your creatures we glorify you: Abba, Word and Holy Breath of Love, now and forever. Amen!
(New translation of Pope Francis’ Prayer from the end of Laudato Si, no. 248)
SERVICE OF THE WORD
SUNDAY EVENING PSALM
Antiphon
I am the living bread that came down from heaven, alleluia!
Psalm 146/147
How good to sing God praise!
Sing to the One who is loving!
We cannot help but shout this praise!
Adonai rebuilds Jerusalem
and gathers the exiles of Israel;
healing the broken-hearted,
and binding up all of their wounds.
God fixes the number of the stars
and calls each one by its name.
Adonai is great and almighty;
wise beyond all telling:
For the Holy One raises the lowly and the poor,
while the wicked are humbled to the dust.
O sing to Adonai, giving thanks,
Sound the harp with psalms for our God,
Who stretches the heavens with clouds,
preparing rain for the Earth,
making mountains green with grass
and plants to serve everyone’s needs.
Adonai provides food for our cattle
and for young ravens when they call.
God is not impressed by the power of horses
nor by the strength and speed of a warrior.
For Adonai takes delight in the reverent;
and those who trust God’s compassion.
Glory to the ONE and to the WORD
And to the BREATH of Love;
as always before,
so now and evermore. Amen.
I am the living bread that came down from heaven, alleluia!
READING EPHESIANS 4:30 – 5:2
Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,
with which you were sealed for the day of redemption.
All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling
must be removed from you, along with all malice.
And be kind to one another, compassionate,
forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ.
So be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love,
as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us
as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma.
Responsory
R. The harvest of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience and kindness *Goodness, fidelity, gentleness and self-control. There is no law for these. V. If the Spirit is the source of life, let the Spirit direct our course. * Goodness, fidelity, gentleness and self-control. There is no law for these.
Canticle of Mary
Antiphon
Your ancestors ate manna in the desert, and they are dead.
I am the living bread that comes down from heaven.
Whoever eats this bread will live forever.
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.
Your ancestors ate manna in the desert, and they are dead.
I am the living bread that comes down from heaven.
Whoever eats this bread will live forever.
SERVICE OF PRAYER
Litany of Intercession
For peace from on high and for the salvation of all, let us pray:
~ God hear our prayer.
For the welfare of all communities of faith and for the unity of the human family, let us pray: ~ God hear our prayer.
For Francis, the bishop of Rome, for our local pastors, and for all ministers of the Gospel, let us pray: ~ God hear our prayer.
For our nations and governments and for all who work for the common good, let us pray:
~ God hear our prayer.
For Mother Earth, our common home, and for the wisdom and will to heal and conserve all life on this planet, let us pray: ~ God hear our prayer.
For the safety of travelers, the recovery of the sick, the care of the destitute and the release of prisoners, let us pray: ~ God hear our prayer.
For a peaceful evening and a night free from sin and harm, let us pray: ~ God hear our prayer.
For a holy end to our lives and for all who have died, let us pray: ~ God hear our prayer.
Prayer of Jesus
Our Dear Abba in heaven …
Closing Prayer
O Holy One–Source, Guide and Goal of all that is–
you are present in the whole universe and in the smallest of your creatures.
You embrace with your tenderness all that exists.
Pour out upon us the power of your love, that we may protect life and beauty.
Fill us with peace, that we may live as brothers and sisters, harming no one.
Gracious God of the poor,
help us to rescue the abandoned and forgotten of this earth, so precious in your eyes.
Bring healing to our lives, that we may protect this Earth and not prey on it,
that we may sow beauty, not pollution and destruction.
Touch the hearts of those who look only for gain at the expense of the poor and the earth.
Teach us to discover the worth of each thing, to be filled with awe and contemplation,
to recognize that we are profoundly united with every creature as we journey towards your infinite light.
We thank you for being with us each day.
Encourage us, we pray, in our struggle
for justice, love and peace. Amen.
(From Pope Francis, Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home, no. 248)
May the Holy Spirit bless + us with power and light,
so that we will protect all life and prepare for God’s reign of justice, peace, love and beauty. Amen.
Let us bless Adonai. ~Thanks be to God.
Those who wish may end evening prayer with the Marian Antiphon.
Salve Regina, Mater misericordiae, Vita dulcedo et Spes nostra, salve!
Ad te clamamus, exsules filii Evae; Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes in hac lacrimarum vale. Eia, ergo, Advocata nostra, illos tuos misericordes oculos, ad nos converte; et Jesum benedictum fructum ventris tui, nobis, post hoc exilium ostende.
O Clemens, O Pia, O Dulcis, Virgo Maria!