Podcast: Play in new window | Download
SERVICE OF LIGHT
Greeting/Invocation
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 .
Earth hurt’ling into dark’ning dusk, Our future running out,
The Word kept sounding from the past, Isaiah made it shout.
A faithful few could feel the warmth As precious promise grew;
Joy flooded those who heard the Word, As Mary made it true.
Refresh this remnant in these wilds Who, left must surely grope;
Unfold the pledge with plenitude for those still holding hope.
Great Abba, everlasting care Is yours for Earth you own,
Your Word, Your Spirit flourish now! And leave us not alone.
Text: St. Meinrad, 1967, alt., Tune WALSALL CM. W. Anchors (ca 1721)
SERVICE OF THE WORD
PSALMODY
Antiphon
Rejoice and be glad, daughter of Jerusalem.
behold, your Love is coming to you.
Zion, do not be afraid, your salvation is near at hand.
Psalm 23/24
Yours, is the Earth, the world and its fullness
The world and all its peoples
It is you who set it on the seas,
on the waters you made it firm.
Who shall climb your mountain, Adonai,
and stand in your holy place?
Those with clean hands and pure hearts
Who desire no worthless thing.
They shall receive blessings from your Love
and reward from your saving Presence.
Such are the people who seek you,
Who seek the God of Jacob.
Stretch toward heaven you gates,
open high and wide.
Let the glorious sovereign enter.
Who is this splendid ruler?
Adonai, Adonai Sabbaoth
The One who conquers the chaos.
Stretch toward heaven, you gates.
open high and wide.
Let the glorious sovereign enter.
Who is this splendid ruler?
Adonai of heaven’s glory
This splendid ruler is God.
Glory to the ONE and to the WORD
and to the BREATH of Love,
As always before,
so now and evermore. Amen.
Rejoice and be glad, daughter of Jerusalem.
behold, your Love is coming to you.
Zion, do not be afraid, your salvation is near at hand.
READING: 1 Corinthians 1:7b-9
We await the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will strengthen us to the end, so that we will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, and it was God who called us to fellowship with the Son.
Silent Reflection
Responsory
R. Shine forth from your Cherubim Throne, *rouse up your might and come!
V. Let your face shine on us and we shall be saved. *rouse up your might and come!
V. Glory to the Abba and the Word and the Holy Breath of Love.
Canticle of Mary Luke 1:46-55
Antiphon:
When John came, you did not believe him;
but tax collectors and prostitutes did.
Yet even when you saw that,
you refused to change your lives.
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 the WORD
and to the BREATH of Love!
As always before,
so now and evermore. Amen
When John came, you did not believe him;
but tax collectors and prostitutes did.
Yet even when you saw that,
you refused to change your lives.
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.
You taught us to pray…
Our Dear Abba in heaven …
Prayer of St. Damasus & Blessing
O Christ, your names are manifold:
Adonai, because you are Spirit;
Word, because you are God;
Son, because you are the Only-Begotten;
Shepherd, because you are a guardian;
Way, because you are the path to life;
Lamb, because you were slain;
Cornerstone, because you bind as one all that is divided;
Teacher, because you instruct and demonstrate how to live;
Truth, because you are from the Holy One;
Good Samaritan, because you are the compassion of God;
Vine, because we are redeemed by your blood;
Prophet, because you have revealed what is to come.
~Maranatha! Come Lord Jesus. 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.
When John came, you did not believe him;
but tax collectors and prostitutes did.
Yet even when you saw that,
you did not change your lives.