Conversion of St. Paul

paul

SERVICE OF LIGHT

Greeting/Invocation

 We light the EVENING CANDLE and say or sing:

Jesus Christ is the Light of the World!

~The Light no darkness can extinguish!

 

Throughout all the Earth their voices carry;

~Their message resounds with hope for all!

 

HYMN FOR Conversion of St. PAUL

O gently blinding glorious Light

We praise you for that day

On which the man from Tarsus found

New eyes to see your Way.

 

For Jesus met him on the road

And called him by his name;

And Saul, through blindness found the light

That now he would proclaim.

 

That light reveals a greater world,

The world of Christ the One.

It is a fire within the heart

That longs for him to come.

 

It is the Spirit of your Son,

A vision for our eyes;

The life of God is shared with us,

With all who are baptized.

 

We thank you for the Spirit’s light

Revealed to Paul this day;

We thank you, Abba, for your Word

Who still remains the Way.  Amen.

Text:   Ralph Wright, OSB, alt. Tune: CONSOLATION C.M.

 

 

SERVICE    OF THE WORD

EVENING PSALMODY

Antiphon

I have run the race, I have kept the faith,

now I await the crown that has been prepared for me.

Psalm 115/116

I trust in God, even when I say,

“I am sorely afflicted,”

I believe, even when I cry out,

“There is no one I can trust!”

 

What gift can repay Adonai

for such goodness to me?

I will raise the cup of freedom

as I call on the Holy Name!

I will fulfill all my vows

in the presence of the people.

 

Adonai you hate to see

your faithful ones suffer and die.

It is I, the servant you love

the one you have freed from bondage,

who calls to you now for help.

 

I bring an offering of thanks

as I call on your Name.

I fulfill my vows to you, Adonai

standing before your assembly,

 in the courts of your house, my God,

in the very heart of Jerusalem.   

 

Glory to the ONE and to the WORD

And to the BREATH of Love!

As always before,

so now and evermore.  Amen.

I have run the race, I have kept the faith,

now I await the crown that has been prepared for me.

READING          I CORINTHIANS 15:3-5, 8

I handed on to you first of all what I myself had received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures; that he was buried and, in accordance with the Scriptures, rose on the third day; that he was seen by Cephas, then by the Twelve.  Last of all he was seen by me.

 

Responsory

R.  You will make them leaders over all the earth, * they will make your Name remembered for ever.  V. Your praise, O God, reaches to the ends of the earth; * they will make your Name remembered for ever. V.  Glory to the Abba and the Word and the Holy Breath of Love.

Gospel Canticle of Mary

Antiphon

To me life is Christ and death is gain;

God forbid that I should boast of anything

but the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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

To me life is Christ and death is gain;

God forbid that I should boast of anything

but the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

SERVICE OF PRAYER

 Litany of Intercession

You revealed yourself to Paul as “the one being persecuted” ~ help us to recognize you in those who are marginalized or oppressed in any way.

 

You called St. Paul to use his considerable gifts and talents to proclaim the Gospel,

make us worthy ministers of your Good News wherever you lead us.

 

You sent Paul to be the teacher of the Gentiles ~help all who teach to learn from and build on the wisdom and truth you have revealed in creation and in every culture and tradition.

 

You strengthened Paul to bear witness to the truth in the face of bitter persecution ~empower us to bear witness to the reality of your love at all times and in every place.

 

O Jesus, Gentle Shepherd and Living Bread, feed us, guide us to the land of everlasting life.  

 

Prayer of Jesus

Our Dear Abba…

 

Closing Prayer

Gracious God of Wisdom and Compassion, you called Paul to bring the Gospel to the world of his day and to witness to your truth and love with his life.  Lead us to wisdom through his teaching and example that we may share your compassion with the whole world.  We ask this in the Name of Jesus, who lives and loves with you and the Holy Spirit, One God for ever and ever.  Amen.

Blessing

May God bless + us, protect us from all evil, and lead us to freedom and the fullness of life,  ~Amen.

Let us bless Adonai.

~Thanks be to God.

 

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Those who wish may end evening prayer with Alma Redemptoris

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.  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 by the message of an angel, may, by his Passion and Cross, be brought to the glory of his Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord.  Amen.