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St. Kateri Tekakwitha (1656-1680)

Patron of Environment and Ecology

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!

 

Stay with us, O Christ, for it is evening,

~And the day is almost over.

 

 SONG AT THE CENTER

All may sing or alternate the verses of any Evening Hymn 

From the corners of creation to the center where we stand,

let all things be blessed and holy, all is fashioned by your hand.

Brother Wind and Sister and Water, Mother Earth and Father Sky

Sacred Plants and Sacred Creatures, Sacred People of the Land.

 

In the East the place of dawning there is beauty in the morn;

Here the seeker finds new visions as each sacred day is born.

All who honor life around them, All who honor life within,

They shall shine with light and glory when the morning breaks again.

 

In the South the place of growing, there is wisdom in the Earth

Both the painful song of dying and the joyful song of birth.

As the Earth gives up her lifeblood,so her children’s hearts may beat

We give back to her our reverence; holy ground beneath our feet.

 

In the North the place of wisdom there is holy darkness deep,

Here the silent song of mystery may awake you from your sleep.

Here the music still and holy sounds beneath the snow and night

In the  to wait with patience for the coming of the light

 

In the West the place of seeing there is born a vision new

of the Servant of the servants who proclaimed a Gospel true.

Let the creatures of creation Echo back creation’s prayer,

Let the Spirit now breathe through us And restore the sacred here.

 

From the corners of creation to the center where we stand,

let all things be blessed and holy, all is fashioned by your hand.

Brother Wind and Sister and Water, Mother Earth and Father Sky

Sacred Plants and Sacred Creatures, Sacred People of the Land.

_{Marty Haugen, (C) GIA Publications}

 

PSALMODY

Antiphon

“I am no longer my own. I have given myself entirely to Jesus Christ.”

Refrain

Let the peoples praise you, O God;

let all the peoples praise you!

Psalm 66/67

O Holy One, show your graciousness and bless us,

let the Light of your Face shine upon us.

So will your ways be known upon Earth

and all nations will see how you save.

Let the peoples praise you, O God;

let all the peoples praise you!

Let the nations exult and be glad

for you rule the world with justice.

With fairness you govern the peoples

and guide the nations on Earth.

Let the peoples praise you, O God;

let all the peoples praise you!

This way Earth can yield her fruit,

for these blessings extend to all creation–

May your blessings continue for all time

so the ends of Earth can respond with praise.

Let the peoples praise you, O God;

let all the peoples praise you!

Then the peoples can praise you, O God;

then all peoples will praise you!

Glory to the ONE and to the WORD

And to the BREATH of Love,

As always before,

so now and evermore. Amen.

Let the peoples praise you, O God;

let all the peoples praise you!

“I am no longer my own. I have given myself entirely to Jesus Christ.”

READING  Hosea 2:16bc, 17cd, 21-22

Thus says Adonai:
I will lead her into the desert and speak to her heart.
She shall respond there as in the days of her youth,
when she came up from the land of Egypt.
I will espouse you to me forever;
I will espouse you in right and in justice, in love and in mercy;
I will espouse you in fidelity, and you shall know ADONAI.

Responsory

 R. Set me as a seal upon your heart; like a band around your arm, * for love is stronger than death, it can never be destroyed.  V.  My beloved is hiding in the clefts of the rock, O let me but see your face; for love is stronger than death, it can never be destroyed.  V.  Glory to the Abba, and the Word, and the Holy Breath of Love.

Gospel Canticle of Mary

Antiphon

With the work of my hands I shall always earn what is needed

and what is left over I’ll give to my relatives and to the poor.

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

With the work of my hands I shall always earn what is needed

and what is left over I’ll give to my relatives and to the poor.

Litany of the Circle

Teach your children that Earth is our mother.

 Whatever befalls Earth befalls all the children of Earth.

 

The water’s murmur is the voice of our ancestors.

We are part of Earth, and Earth is part of us.

 

The rivers are our brothers; they quench our thirst.

The trees and flowers are our sisters.

 

The air is precious,

for all of us share the same breath.

  

All things are connected, like the blood which unites one family.

Our God is the same God, whose compassion is equal for all.

 

For we did not weave the web of life; we are merely a strand in it;

Whatever we do to the web we do to ourselves.

 

Let us give thanks for the web in the circle that connects all of us.

Thanks be to God, the God of all.

 

Prayer of Jesus

Using a translation prepared by the Nez Percé Tribe, we pray as Jesus taught his disciples

O Great Spirit, You are our Shepherd Chief in the most high place.

Your home is everywhere, even beyond the stars and moon.

Whatever You want to be done, let it be done everywhere.

Give us Your gift of bread day by day.

Forgive us our wrongs as we forgive those who wrong us.

Take us away from wrong doings. Free us from evil.

For everything belongs to You.  Let Your power and glory shine forever.  Amen.

 

Closing Prayer & Blessing

Gracious God and Beauty of Creation, you called and gifted Kateri Tekakwitha
to flower among Native Americans in a life of prayer close to nature.

May her example of humility and love of nature inspire us to walk gently upon Earth,

and join with peoples from every nation, tribe and tongue in singing your praise  now and forever. ~Amen.

 

May the Great Spirit + bless us and all of creation.  ~Amen 

 

Let us bless Adonai.     ~Thanks be to God.

 

Those who wish may end evening prayer with the Salve Regina

Marian Antiphon

Mother of Mercy, Our Queen we greet you. Our life, our hope, our happiness we hail you. We call to you as Eve’s own children, and exiles.  To you we lift our hearts in sorrow and fear,  in this valley of tears.  Turn then, our loving Advocate, and look with favor upon us.  And after our life in exile, show us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus.  O gracious, O loving, O Virgin benign, our Mother Mary.

Pray for us, Holy Mother of God ~ That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray.  Holy, Mighty and Immortal God, through the working of the Holy Spirit, you prepared the body and soul of the glorious virgin Mother Mary, as a worthy dwelling for your Word; grant that we, who celebrate her memory each evening, may with the help of her prayers, be freed from ever-present evil, and come to share the fulness of life eternal.   Amen.