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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 all 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
Take up your cross and follow me, mine is the way to life.
Psalm 112/113
Servants of God, sing praise,
praise God’s holy Name.
Bless the Name of the Holy One,
both now and forever.
From the rising of the sun to its setting
praised be the Holy Name.
Adonai towers above the nations;
God’s glory shines over the heavens.
Who compares to the Holy One?
Who is enthroned so high,
yet stoops from the heights to look down,
to observe both heaven and Earth?
Love lifts the humble from the dust
And raises the poor from the mire
To be seated with leaders of the people,
and to wear a crown of joy;
The childless, no longer alone,
Rejoice in many children.
Glory to the ONE and to the WORD
And to the BREATH of Love;
as always before,
so now and evermore. Amen.
Take up your cross and follow me, mine is the way to life.
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. Bear one another’s burdens *and so fulfill the law of Christ. V. Look to each other’s interests *and so fulfill the law of Christ. V. Glory to the Abba and to the Word and to the Holy Breath of Love.
Canticle of Mary
Antiphon
Any who wish to save their own lives will lose them.
But those who wish to lose their lives for my sake
and for the sake of the gospel, will find the fullness of life.
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.
Any who wish to save their own lives will lose them.
But those who wish to lose their lives for my sake
and for the sake of the gospel, will find the fullness of life.
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!