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SERVICE OF LIGHT
Greeting/Invocation
We light the EASTER CANDLE and say or sing:
Christ our Light!
~Thanks be to God!
Christ is risen, alleluia!
~He is risen indeed, alleluia!
HYMN FOR EASTER EVENINGS
Come, one and all, white-robed and washed,
the banquet of the Lamb is spread!
Our exodus is at an end:
proclaim Christ risen from the dead!
For death, our blood-stained doors did pass
that night we fled our slavery;
of our oppressors, none survived,
while we passed dry-shod through the sea.
Our Moses, Christ! Our Guide our Pasch
whose blood has sanctified us all:
Our Paschal Bread, sincere and true,
whose fragrance fills the wedding hall.
O Word of God, for us enfleshed,
whom we betrayed, for silver sold:
You suffered death, yet loved us still
to give us life a hundredfold.
Hell is no more; it’s sov’reign head,
deceiving death, is dragged in tow.
You raise us to our Abba’s throne,
with all the dead whose names you know.
With boundless love the feast is laid,
yet never did you count the cost!
Our savior, priest and sacrifice–
our shepherd shoulders now the lost! Amen!
Text: Aelred-Seton Shanley ; Tune: NEW JERUSALEM L.M.
SERVICE OF THE WORD
Evening Psalmody
Antiphon/Refrain
Adonai will guide us
like a shepherd guiding a flock; Alleluia!
Canticle from Jeremiah 31:10-13
Hear the word of Adonai, O Nations,
and declare it in the coastlands far away;
“The ONE who scattered Israel, will gather them,
and will keep them as a shepherd keeping a flock. (R)
For Adonai has ransomed Jacob
and redeemed this people from hands too strong.
They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion,
and they shall be radiant over the goodness of Adonai,(R)
Over the grain, the wine and the oil,
and over the young of the flock and the herd;
their life shall become like a watered garden,
and they shall never languish again. (R)
Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance,
and the young men and the old shall be merry.
I will turn their mourning into joy,
I will comfort them and give them gladness for sorrow.(R)
Glory to the ONE and to the WORD
and to the BREATH of Love,
as always before,
so now and evermore, Amen.
Adonai will guide us
like a shepherd guiding a flock; Alleluia!
READING Romans 6:9-11
Christ being raised from the dead will never die again;
death no longer has dominion over him.
The death he died, he died to sin, once for all;
but the life he lives, he lives unto God.
So you must consider yourselves dead to sin,
and alive to God, in Christ Jesus our Love.
Responsory
R. God has ransomed this people and has redeemed them * alleluia, alleluia! V. They shall come and sing aloud on the heights of Zion, and they shall be radiant over the goodness of Adonai *alleluia, alleluia! V. Glory to the Abba and the Word and the Holy Breath of Love.
Gospel Canticle
Antiphon
I have other sheep, too, that do not belong to this fold.
These also must I lead, and they will listen to my voice.
Then there will be one flock–one Shepherd. Alleluia!
Canticle of Mary
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
I have other sheep, too, that do not belong to this fold.
These also must I lead, and they will listen to my voice.
Then there will be one flock–one Shepherd. Alleluia!
SERVICE OF PRAYER
Litany of Intercession
O Good Shepherd, you know and call each of us by name; ~ lead us to green pastures where we can live in health and harmony with the rest of your beloved creation.
O Good Shepherd, you seek those who are lost and gently carry them back to the fold; ~lead us out of our comfort and complacency to find and welcome those who are isolated, lost or wandering aimlessly.
O Good Shepherd, you have sheep who belong to other folds but listen to the voice of your deep wisdom, ~open our ears to hear your voice speaking through them and their traditions and bring us together into one flock of great diversity and beauty.
O Good Shepherd, you have given yourself to us as a Banquet in the face of all we fear; ~may our sharing of the Eucharist and of each meal transform us into Bread for the World.
O Good Shepherd, you provide so much more than we need that our cups overflow;
~free us to share all that we have so that all people and all creation may flourish.
O Good Shepherd, you lead your sheep through darkness and death into God’s marvelous light; ~ bring us through the gate of self-giving love to the fullness of life.
Prayer of Jesus
Our Father…
Closing Prayer
We bless and thank you, O Gracious God, for all that you have done in raising Jesus from the dead. You have conquered the power of death and opened to us the way to the freedom, flourishing and fullness of life which your love offers to us and all of your creation. May the Good Shepherd call us by name to follow him through the gate of self-emptying love into the pastures of abundant life now and forever. Amen
Blessing
May the Good Shepherd who lay down his life for the sheep + bless us and lead us to everlasting life. Alleluia! ~Amen, Alleluia!
Let us bless Adonai, Alleluia, Alleluia! ~Thanks be to God, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Those who wish may end evening prayer with the Marian Antiphon for the Easter Season.
O Queen of heaven, Be joyful, alleluia!
For He whom you rejoiced to bear for us, alleluia!
Has arisen, as he promised, alleluia!
Pray now for us to our God, alleluia!
Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, Alleluia!
For our Love is truly risen, Alleluia!
Let us pray.
Holy, Immortal and Mighty God, you have brought joy to the world by raising Jesus from the dead. By the prayers of Mary his Mother, and of all the myrrh-bearing women,
raise us up with Jesus and bring us to the fullness of life. We ask this through the same Jesus Christ, our Risen Love. Amen.