Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Videns Dominus flentes sorores Lazari ad monumentum,
lacrimatus est coram Judaeis, et clamabat: “Lazare, veni foras!”
Et prodiit ligatis manibus et pedibus, qui fuerat quatriduanus mortuus.
[When the Lord saw the sisters of Lazarus crying at the tomb,
Jesus wept openly; then he shouted: “Lazarus, Come Out!”
Then he came out still bound hand and foot, who had been dead for four days.]
[Communion Antiphon: Fifth Sunday of Lent Novus Ordo]
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!
You are the Resurrection and the Life!
~those who believe in you will never die!
Hymn for Lent V
O breathe on us, O Breath of God, Fill us with life anew,
That we may love the things you love, And do what you would do.
O breathe on us, O Breath of God, These old dry bones revive;
With sinews, flesh, with skin and breath, with love make us alive.
O breathe on us, O Word of God, Your resurrection-life;
Call us from graves, unbind these slaves, and free us from all strife.
O breathe on us, O Word of God, Our wills to yours incline,
Until our inmost hearts, once dead, Glow with your fire divine.
O breathe on us, Thrice Holy God, So shall we never die,
But live with you to share your love and praise your name, Most High.
Text: Edwin Hatch (1835-1889) alt. v. 2-3. The Daily Feast. Tune: ST. COLUMBA CM
SERVICE OF THE WORD
Evening Psalmody
Antiphon
For our sake God made him to be sin who knew no sin,
so that in him we might become the justice of God.
Refrain
By his wounds we have been healed.
I Peter 2:21-25
Christ suffered for you leaving you an example:
that you should follow in his steps. (Refrain)
He committed no sin; no guile was found upon his lips.
When he was reviled, he did not revile in return. (Refrain)
When he suffered, he did not threaten;
but he trusted in God who judges justly. (Refrain)
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree,
that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. (Refrain)
By his wounds you have been healed.
For you were straying like sheep,
but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls. (Refrain)
Glory to the Holy One and the Word and the Breath of Love.
As always before so now and evermore. Amen.
For our sake God made him to be sin who knew no sin,
so that in him we might become the justice of God.
READING Romans 8:8-11
Brothers and sisters:
Those who live only in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not merely in the flesh;
on the contrary, you are in the spirit, if only the Spirit of God dwells in you.
Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is alive because of righteousness. If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through the Spirit dwelling in you.
Responsory
R. O death, where is your victory? O Sheol, where is your sting?
V. The grain of wheat is buried in the earth; from its death will come new life.
V. Glory to the One and the Word and the Holy Breath of Love.
Gospel Canticle
When Jesus saw the sisters of Lazarus, he wept openly before the people.
And he cried with a loud voice: “Lazarus, come out!”
And he who had been dead for four days came out of the tomb still bound hands and feet.
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
When Jesus saw the sisters of Lazarus, he wept openly before the people.
And he cried with a loud voice: “Lazarus, come out!”
And he who had been dead for four days came out of the tomb still bound hands and feet.
Service of Prayer
Litany of Intercession
Your people cry “Our bones are dried up, our hope is lost, and we are cut off;”
~open our graves and call us to life.
Moved with compassion for those who were suffering, you wept at the grave of Lazarus;
~open our graves and call us to life.
You called Lazarus to life from the tomb, and called his family and friends to unbind him and let him go free; ~open our graves and call us to life.
You call those entombed by poverty and racism to fullness of life, and call us to work for justice, to unbind them and let them go free; ~open our graves and call us to life.
You call those entombed by bitterness and resentment to the new life of forgiveness, and call us to be ambassadors of reconciliation, to unbind them and let them go free; ~open our graves and call us to life.
You call those entombed by addictions to freedom and flourishing, and call us to support them on their journeys, to unbind them and let them go free; ~open our graves and call us to life.
You call those entombed by depression or loneliness to life in community, and call us to be a loving presence in their lives, to unbind them and let them go free; ~ open our graves and call us to life.
Prayer of Jesus
Our Father…
Closing Prayer
Gracious God of all Compassion, you sent Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life, to call from their tombs those sitting in darkness and the shadow of death and to lead them into the light of life. As Spring now calls forth an abundance of life-forms from their wintry tombs, call each of us from the holes which we have dug for ourselves and help us to unbind those still bound by poverty, racism and every form of injustice. Then, together with the whole of creation, we can join you in building up your reign on earth as it is in heaven where you live and love, One God, forever and ever. Amen
Blessing
May the Light of God surround us; the Love of God enfold us; and the Life of God + fill us to overlowing. ~Amen.
Let us bless Adonai. ~And give thanks to God.
Those who wish may end evening prayer with the Marian Antiphon for this season.
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.
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 Life. Amen.