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December 15th — We add the image of MARY to the Jesse Tree
SERVICE OF LIGHT
Greeting/Invocation
Each evening this week, we light Three Candles on the Advent Wreath, and say or sing:
Light and Peace in Jesus Christ our Lord!
~Thanks be to God!
Let your face shine on us, O God;
~And we shall be saved.
ADVENT EVENING HYMN
All may sing or alternate the verses of an Advent Hymn such as Comfort My People.
Comfort my people and quiet her fear, Tell her the time of salvation draws near.
Tell her I come to remove all her shame, ‘She that is pitied’ shall be her new name.
Say to the cities of Judah: “Behold! Gentle yet mighty the arm of the Lord
Rescues the captives of darkness and sin Bringing them justice and joy without end.
Mountains and hills shall become as a plain; Vanished are mourning and hunger and pain;
Never again shall these war against you; See Love comes quickly to make all things new!”
Text: Based on Isaiah 40, Tune: COMFORT MY PEOPLE, St. Joseph’s Abbey, 1967.
SERVICE OF THE WORD
PSALMODY
An Advent Antiphon may be sung with the Evening Psalm.
A Voice resounds in the desert; prepare the way of Adonai;
make straight the paths of our God.
Psalm 32/33a
Shout joy to the ONE, O you just,
Those who love can’t help but sing praise.
Give thanks plucking strings of your harp,
On a lute with ten strings sing your psalms.
O sing a song that is new
Play loudly with the best of your skill.
For the Word of the Creator is Truth,
And all creation reflects Its Beauty.
This Lover of justice and truth
Fills the Earth with great love.
With a Word, the heavens are made,
With a Breath, all the stars appear;
The waves of the sea are collected
And stored as a treasure in the deep.
May all peoples be astounded,
All on earth stand in wonder and awe!
When Love speaks, creation is freed;
All that is– springs into being.
To plan without Love leads to nothing;
Such designs will crumble and fall.
Love’s design will stand forever,
The plans of Compassion for ages.
Glory to the ONE and to the WORD
and to the BREATH of Love;
as always before,
so now and evermore. Amen.
A Voice resounds in the desert; prepare the way of Adonai;
make straight the paths of our God.
READING: James 5:7-8,9b
Be patient, sisters & brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmers await the precious yield of the soil. They look forward to it patiently while the soil receives the winter and the spring rains. You, too, must be patient. Steady your hearts, because the coming of the Lord is at hand. See! The judge stands at the gate.
Responsory:
R. Adonai will come to save this people; *and God’s own Self will be our peace.
V. On that promised day all the peaks will drip with newest wine and the hills shall flow with milk and honey. *and God’s own Self will be our peace.
V. Glory to the Abba and to the Word and to the Breath of Love.
Canticle of Mary
Antiphon
There is one yet to come much greater than I,
whose sandal I am not worthy to loosen.
My heart + is radiant with Adonai,
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 the WORD
and to the BREATH of Love;
as always before,
so now and evermore. Amen.
There is one yet to come much greater than I,
whose sandal I am not worthy to loosen.
SERVICE OF PRAYER
Litany
We humbly pray to the one who rescues us from the darkness of sin
and in faith we cry out: ~ Come Lord Jesus
Gather together all the people of the Earth
and establish with them your everlasting covenant. ~Come Lord Jesus.
Lamb of God you came of old to take away the sin of the world;
purge us today from the dregs of our guilt. ~ Come Lord Jesus
You came to recover what was lost;
come again in your mercy. ~Come Lord Jesus.
Teach us to welcome the immigrant, the refugee, and the stranger. ~Come Lord Jesus.
Our faith seeks you out; let us find everlasting joy with you when you come again.
~Come Lord Jesus.
Prayer of Jesus
You taught us to pray…
Our Dear Abba in heaven …
Closing Prayer & Blessing
Stir up your love, O Jesus, and come. As a mother hen spreads her wings to gather her brood, extend your arms to gather and protect us. Free us to bring the warmth of your love to a world freezing in loneliness and fear. For yours is the glory and power of Love, now and forever. Amen.
May the One who makes justice to rain down from the heights, + shower us and all on Earth with compassion and peace. Amen.
Let us bless Adonai.
~Thanks be to God.
Those who wish may end evening prayer with the Marian Antiphon for Advent.
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. We ask, O Lord, that we who have been privileged to receive the Good News of the Incarnation of Christ, you Son, may be prepared through his passion and cross to approach also the glory of his resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.