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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!
O Adonai, You are my Light;
~My God, You illumine my darkness.
EVENING HYMN for FRIDAYS in LENT
Take up your cross, the Savior said, If you would my disciple be;
Give up your priv’lege and your greed, And humbly follow after me.
Take up your cross, let not its weight Fill your weak spirit with alarm;
His strength will lift your spirit up And brace your heart and nerve your arm.
Take up your cross, heed not the shame, Nor let your foolish pride rebel;
Our Lord for you the cross endured and fought the pow’rs of death and hell.
Take up your cross, and follow Christ, Nor think till death to lay it down;
For only those who bear the cross May hope to wear the glorious crown. Amen.
Tune: DISTRESS L.M. (Southern Harmony 1835); Text: C.W. Everest (1814-1877), alt.
SERVICE OF THE WORD
PSALMODY
Antiphon/Refrain
Save me, O God, for the waters have risen to my neck.
Psalm 68/69
I am sinking in the mud,
without a rock to stand on,
plunged into the waters of the deep
and the waves now overwhelm me.
I am tired of shouting,
my throat is raw.
My eyes are swollen;
worn out from looking for God.
Many hate me without cause,
they outnumber the hairs on my head.
Those who attack me with lies
are too much for my strength.
Let those who hope in you not be ashamed
because of me, Adonai Sabbaoth:
May those seeking you not be humiliated
because of me, O God of Israel.
It is for your Name that I suffer insults,
that shame covers my face;
Rejected by my family
I am now a stranger to my kin.
I am consumed with zeal for your cause,
insults meant for you now fall on me.
Adonai, hear this my prayer,
favor me now with your compassion,
and send me your ready help:
rescue me from sinking in the mud;
save me from all that I fear–
lift me above the rising waters.
Do not let these waters drown me,
the deep is ready to swallow me,
the pit closes me in its mouth
unless you come to my aid.
Answer me, Adonai, for your love is kind
turn to me with your compassion.
Face me, I am desperate.
Answer your servant now,
Come quickly to my rescue
free me from all that I fear.
Their insults have broken my spirit
I have reached the end of my strength.
I looked in vain for compassion
for comfort and sympathy, none could be found.
They poisoned all of my food
and gave me vinegar to drink.
Glory to the ONE and to the WORD
and to the BREATH of Love;
as always before,
so now and evermore. Amen.
Save me, O God, for the waters have risen to my neck.
Reading Wisdom 2: 1a, 12-14
The wicked said among themselves, thinking not aright:
“Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us; he sets himself against our doings, Reproaches us for transgressions of the law and charges us with violations of our training. He professes to have knowledge of God and styles himself a child of ADONAI.
To us he is the censure of our thoughts; merely to see him is a hardship for us,
Because his life is not like that of others, and different are his ways. He judges us debased;
he holds aloof from our paths as from things impure. He calls blest the destiny of the just
and boasts that God is his Father.
Responsory
R. If you uphold me I shall be unharmed and set in your presence for evermore.
V. My enemies whisper together against me. They all weigh up the evil which is on me.
V. Thus even my friends, in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, have turned against me. V. Glory to the Holy ONE, and the WORD, and the Holy BREATH of love.
Gospel Canticle of Mary
Antiphon
Although they would have liked to arrest him,
no one laid a hand upon him,
for his hour had not yet come.
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
Although they tried to arrest him,
no one laid a hand upon him,
because his hour had not yet come.
Service of Prayer
Litany of Intercession
You ask us to break the chains of evil and untie the bonds of injustice; ~Help us to love you by loving our neighbor.
You ask us to free the oppressed and welcome the poor into our homes; ~Help us to love you by loving our neighbor.
You ask us to clothe the persons we find naked and not despise our neighbors; ~Help us to love you by loving our neighbor.
You ask us to share food with the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, and welcome immigrants and strangers;~Help us to love you by loving our neighbor.
You ask us to care for those who are sick or injured and visit those who are in prison; ~Help us to love you by loving our neighbor.
Create in us clean hearts, O God;
~ And fill us with your Holy Spirit.
Prayer of Jesus
Our Father …
Closing Prayer & Blessing
O Gracious God of Creation, we stand in awe before the wondrous beauty of the universe and the miraculous cycle of life and death which you called forth from Sun and Earth. Open our eyes to the new life which Spring shares with us each day and our ears to the voice of your love which invites us to follow you on the path that leads to freedom, flourishing and fullness of life for all people and all creation, for your love is the power that has created all things, sustains all things, and frees all things to join you in building the future now and forever. Amen.
May the God of all Compassion + fill our hearts with loving-kindness for all people and all creation . Amen.
Let us bless Adonai! ~And give thanks to God.
Those who wish may end evening prayer with the Marian Antiphon.
Queen of the heavens we greet you, Queen of Angels now we entreat you,
Fairest flower, heaven’s portal From whom came the Light immortal.
Matchless maiden, God did raise you For the Universe to praise you.
Hear us, O hear us, dear Mother; Show your children Jesus, our brother.
Pray for us O gracious Queen of the Universe.
~That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray. O Gracious God, grant to your people lasting health of mind and body. Send us your assistance in times of temptation. May we who celebrate the memory of the Holy Mother of God, rise from our sins by the help of her intercession. We ask this through Christ our Love. Amen.