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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!
The Word became flesh,
~and dwelt among us!
EVENING HYMN for MARY
Star of steady guidance, safe and welcome haven,
with our song we greet you, God’s own Virgin Mother.
Gabriel’s great greeting now our salutation
Changes “Eve” to “Ave” Hail, our Virgin Mother!
Health with peace and pardon Gain for us from Jesus;
Prove your reputation: show yourself our Mother!
Sing with us now glory To the Word and Abba
And the Spirit binding all together as one. Amen!
Ave Maris Stella, transl. St. Meinrad, 1967
SERVICE OF THE WORD
PSALMODY
Antiphon
The Angel of the Lord brought the message to Mary
and she conceived of the Holy Spirit!
Psalm 44/45
My heart overflows with a marvelous song,
I must sing my ode to the One I love;
my tongue as skilled as a scribal pen.
You are unrivaled in beauty
and graciousness is poured out upon your lips,
how greatly God has blessed you!
O great Hero, take up your armor;
in splendor and state, ride on for truth,
show justice and goodness for the poor,
wield your power with boldness.
Your power is ready,
evil falls beneath your strength,
those who oppose kindness and truth,
lose heart and fall before you.
Your throne, God assures, will last forever,
Your scepter is a reign of justice,
Integrity is the law of your land.
Because you love justice and hate evil,
God, your God has anointed you
with the oil of gladness above your peers.
Your robes are fragrant with aloes and myrrh,
your clothes with cinnamon flowers.
From the palace you are welcomed with music,
the sound of strings lifts your heart.
Women of royalty wish to honor you
At your right stands your queen,
dressed with the gold of Ophir.
Listen, O daughter, give ear to my words:
leave your family and home behind.
Your Lover desires your beauty,
you may share the gift of your love.
The people of Tyre come with their gifts,
the whole of the people pay you honor.
For as queen you are clothed with splendor,
your robes embroidered with pearls and gold.
You are led with your sister-companions
escorted with gladness and joy;
you enter the palace of your Love.
Your children will inherit the throne,
and reign with justice throughout the land.
May this song make your name remembered for ever,
May the people praise you from age to age.
Glory to the ONE and to the WORD
And to the BREATH of Love;
as always before,
so now and evermore. Amen.
The Angel of the Lord brought the message to Mary
and she conceived of the Holy Spirit!
Reading + John 1:14-18
The Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of the Abba’s only Son, full of grace and truth. From whose fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God. It is God, the only Son, who is close to the Abba’s heart, who has revealed God to us.
Silent Prayer
Responsory
R. Though the law was given through Moses, *grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ. V. No one has ever seen God but God’s only Son, he who is nearest to the Abba’s heart has made God known; *grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ.
V. Glory to the ABBA and the WORD and the Holy BREATH of Love.
Gospel Canticle of Mary
Antiphon
“How shall this be done, Angel of God, since I know not man?”
“Hear, O Virgin Mary, the Holy Spirit shall come to you
and the power of the Most High shall cover you with Its shadow.”
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
“How shall this be done, Angel of God, since I know not man?”
“Hear, O Virgin Mary, the Holy Spirit shall come to you
and the power of the Most High shall cover you with Its shadow.”
Service of Prayer
Litany of Intercession
Incarnate Word of God and Son of Mary of Nazareth,
~In your compassion, hear our prayer.
Gabriel brought the invitation to Mary;
~ give us her courage to say “Let your will be done.”
She conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit;
~may your Spirit make us bearers of the Word.
You and your parents were refugees from violence and you were immigrants;
~may we welcome those who flee poverty and war.
Simeon and Anna recognized you in the temple and foretold the suffering your love would entail; ~help us to recognize you in others and comfort those whose hearts are pierced with sorrow.
You shared and entrusted your Mother to the Beloved disciple; ~may we include all who suffer loss in our circle of prayer and concern.
Your coming on Earth marked the beginning of a new age;
~may this great feast in early Spring mark the renewal of all creation.
You called Monseñor Oscar Romero to raise his voice for the voiceless and
to lay down his life for the sake of the poor ~ move us with compassion for all who suffer and with wisdom and courage to dismantle all the structures of injustice and privilege.
Prayer of Jesus
Our Father …
Closing Prayer & Blessing
Holy One, Source of all light and life, the virgin Mary conceived and bore a Son who is called Wonderful God and Prince of Peace. May her bold consent and “Let it be” inspire all of us to say “yes” when you call, and bring the Word to birth each day. On this anniversary of his martyrdom, fill us with the boldness of your servant, Oscar Romero; enable us to denounce sin in our world as we announce your reign among us, and to lend our hands and our hearts to building that reign in our world, as it is in heaven where you live and love both now and forever. ~Amen.
May the God of Life, the God of the poor+ incite us to the violence of love, the violence of kinship, the violence that beats swords into sickles for work. ~Amen.
Let us bless Adonai. ~And give thanks to God.
Those who wish may end evening prayer with the Marian Antiphon.
Marian Antiphon
Ave Regina caelorum! Ave Domina Angelorum!
Salve radix, salve porta, Ex qua mundo lux est orta.
Gaude Virgo gloriosa, Super omnes speciosa
Vale, O Valde decora, Et pro nobis Christum exora.
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 through the message of an angel; may by his passion and cross be brought to the glory of his resurrection, through the same Christ Our Love. Amen.